“Enzo,” he tried again, but I wouldn’t be talked out of this.
“I need you here with Matteo if things go sideways. If I don’t come back, you’re all he has, Luca.”
“Fuck,” he grumbled. “You’re asking me to stay here instead of covering your back. Don’t.”
“I already did, brother. Just do this for me.”
He nodded. “You know I will, but do me a favor and try to come back in one fucking piece.”
I grinned. “I plan on coming back, but I didn’t plan on David being the architect behind all of this. I trust these guys to do their job.”
“Me too,” he agreed. “I just trust myself more.”
“Next time,” I promised, and then we got down to the business of preparing for my cousin’s ambush.
The next two hours were spent bent over blueprints of the old studio, clocking all ways in and out of the building. We were armed to the teeth, angry, and amped up. We were ready to go.
But first, I stopped in Matteo’s room. It was dim, the glow of the moonlight cast soft shadows on the wall, and my boy lay on his side, Leo clutched possessively under one arm. The blanket was pulled up to his chin, dark lashes flush against his cheek as he slept.
I sat on the edge of his bed and brushed his hair back gently until his sleeping face came into view. “I’m going to bring her home,” I whispered. “I promise.”
He stirred, brow furrowing, before he relaxed again.
I pressed a kiss to his forehead and lingered there a moment longer than necessary, breathing him in, memorizing the weight of this moment.
When I stood, I didn’t look back. I couldn’t. I’d come back and spend the rest of my life hugging him.I hope.
“This ends tonight,” I told Luca as I made my way to the door where a team of guards waited for my orders.
“I’ll see you when you get back,” was all he said.
No more words were needed. I slid into the car and watched the world pass me by as I drove straight into a trap.
Chapter 27
Serenity
“He’ll be here soon.” David sounded almost giddy as he paced the studio, checking his watch for the third time in as many minutes. The gun never wavered from where it was aimed, straight at my chest. It was such a casual move, despite the deliberate nature of every move he made. He wanted to force Enzo to imagine exactly how I would die the moment he arrived.
“You really think he’ll give you what you want?” I kept my voice steady. Mocking him felt dangerous, but silence felt worse, so I settled for something in the middle.
“He won’t have much of a choice,” David said brightly. “Not if he wants you to live.” That pleased him. I could see it in the way his smile stretched and the flicker of joy in his eyes. This wasn’t about power alone. He wanted to punish Enzo, to make him suffer. All of this was revenge.
I really didn’t want to antagonize him, but I had to distract him. “If Enzo wanted me more than the family business,” I said, “he had seventeen years to prove it. He didn’t.” The words stung me too, but I pushed through it. He needed to doubt himself and his ridiculous plan.
David scoffed. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
I laughed a laugh I didn’t feel. “I think I’m the only one here who knows what she’s talking about. This was all a fluke, David. He didn’t know I was here, and he didn’t come here for me. I’m just watching Matteo.”
“Bullshit,” he snarled. “Even if it wasjust an accident, there’s no fucking way you two are under the same roof and nothing happened.”
He was right. “That’s water under the bridge,” I said, trying for casual.
“I guess we’ll find out.” He crossed his arms, chin lifted high and defiant.
He was determined, I’d give him that. But still, I wanted answers. “Then what happens,” I pressed, “if you’re wrong? If he tells you that he doesn’t care about me at all?”
His jaw clenched and worry flickered, but it was gone quickly. “He won’t.”
