“Keep eyes on her until this is over,” I ordered, even though we both knew it would all be over tonight.
The rental house felt too quiet. Despite the earlier chaos of moving from the cabin to the new place, it was too still. Matteo was upstairs, finally asleep after refusing to go down without Ren. It had taken my solemn promise to bring Ren back, safeand sound, before he finally closed his eyes and let sleep claim him.
I made the promise to my son but also to myself. No matter what happened tonight, Ren would be safe and David would not. The words echoed in my head as I paced the living room, fingers curling and uncurling at my sides. “Why the fuck hasn’t he called yet?” I snapped.
It had been four fucking hours since Ren had been dragged away in front of her office. Four hours since the world had tilted on its axis.
Luca leaned against the counter, arms crossed. “Have we confirmed he’s there?”
Luca nodded. “Thatsoftware developerhas some really cool fucking toys. We picked up at least three heat signatures inside.” He shrugged. “There could be more.”
“Then I should just show up,” I said. The waiting was fucking killing me, and I wasn’t the type to wait around for shit to happen to me. “Stop waiting for him to make the first move.”
“You know why he hasn’t called,” Luca said evenly.
I did. And it pissed me off that it was working. “The fucker wants me off-balance so I fuck up.” I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.
“Exactly. Look, your cousin doesn’t have a mind for this kind of shit. He thinks he does, which makes him even less suited for it. He’s already in over his head, so let’s just keep cool and let him fuck up first.” Luca forced my gaze to his. “You hear me?”
I nodded, blowing out a breath as I dragged my hand through my hair. “I’m losing my shit here, man.”
“You’re not,” he insisted, gripping my shoulders tight. “You’re pissed off and scared because he’s got your woman. You should be all of those things, but we only get her back if you don’t spiral.”
I nodded once. I couldn’t afford to spiral, definitely not now. I already knew how this ended. I just hadn’t said it out loud yet.
The phone rang thirty minutes later.
Once.
Twice.
I let it ring two more times before I answered. “What?”
A laugh crackled through the speaker—low and smug, slightly nasal. “Hello, cousin.”
My nostrils flared. Rage, white-hot, poured through me, and the decision I’d already made settled deep in my bones. “What do you want, David?”
“You’ll find out soon enough. Five o’clock at the old Hampton Studios Lot.” His message was meant to be cryptic, and it might’ve been if I didn’t have a team of people working with me. He ended the call abruptly.
“You know this is a trap, right?” Luca watched with his hands fisted at his hips. “Right?”
I nodded, sliding the phone into my pocket. “Of course it is. The only way any of this works is if he’s planning to kill me.”
“And you’re still going,” he said because he knew me well enough to know there was no question about it.
“Yeah,” I sighed. “I have to.” Ren was counting on me.
“Not alone,” Luca insisted.
“Not alone,” I agreed. “But I’ll have to go in there alone at first.” If I tried anything from the start, Ren would pay the price.
“I’m coming with you.” I heard the worry in his voice, and I wasn’t unaffected.
I turned to him and smiled. “You’ve had my back since before we knew what that shit even meant. You’ve been my brother in every way that matters, but tonight I need you to have my back in a different way.”
Recognition flashed in his eyes, and he shook his head. “Don’t do this, Enzo.”
“I have to,” I said, gripping his shoulders the way he gripped mine. “I need to know that Matteo is with family, someone he loves and trusts. That’s you.”
