"Small fucking mercy," Dario muttered.He stared at me, jaw tight."How compromised are you with this girl?Can you leave her alone?"
The question caught me off guard.Not how compromised my cover, but how compromised I felt emotionally?I opened my mouth, closed it again."More than I should be," I finally admitted."But it won't affect the job."
Dario's expression told me he believed otherwise.The city sprawled beyond the windows at his back, oblivious to the tension filling this private sanctuary of power.Everything in me wanted to defend what I felt for Wren, but loyalty to the Luca family ran too deep for outright defiance.They were the only family I had.I'd crossed a line, one I couldn't uncross, and now both my task and my heart hung in the balance.And I could admit I’d headed straight to falling for Wren.Might already be there.
"You know what this could cost us?"Dario asked, his voice deceptively soft.He turned sharply, facing me."All because you couldn't keep it in your pants."
The accusation stung because it contained just enough truth."It happened," I admitted."I take full responsibility.But I’ll see this through no matter what."
"Oh?"Dario arched an eyebrow."So you’ll stay away from Ghost's daughter?You’ll let me smooth this over with Jack?You’llsmooth things over with Ghost?”He scrubbed a hand over his face.
“I’ll do whatever I have to, Dario.You know I will.”
“You will?”
"Look, I care about her," I said quietly."I never expected to connect with her the way I did.So, I feel more than I should."
"You think she'll listen to anything you have to say now?"Dario shook his head."You fucked her, lied to her, and got caught.In what universe does that conversation end well?"
The brutal assessment hit home.Wren's face flashed in my mind—the hurt, the betrayal, the disgust.No explanation would erase that pain.But something in me refused to accept that things ended this way.
Dario stared at me for a long moment, his expression unreadable.Then, unexpectedly, his shoulders dropped, the rigid anger deflating from his posture.He rolled his head, working out the kinks."Fuck,” he muttered.“The heart wants what it wants," he said with a sigh, the words surprisingly gentle."Even when it wants the most inconvenient, dangerous Goddamned thing possible."A rueful smile touched his lips."Believe me, I understand that better than most."
He returned to the table, straightening his already perfect cuffs with a practiced motion."Let's refocus on what matters now, Rocky."
"The trafficking pipeline."
"Exactly."Dario tapped the dossier."If your intel checks out, and I have no reason to doubt it does, we can move on this quickly.The shipment Saturday provides perfect timing."He looked up at me."You said this shipment runs larger than their usual operation?"
"Much larger.They expanded their network over the past three months.New routes, more girls."My stomach turned at the memory of overheard conversations, the casual cruelty with which the Copperheads discussed human lives."Vex mentioned at least thirty girls coming in with this shipment."
"Christ."Dario rubbed his jaw."We’ve waited long enough."He pulled out his phone, typed a quick message."We’re going to be set up and ready for Saturday.This ends."
"I still need to attend tomorrow's meeting atThe Pit," I said."If I miss it, they'll get suspicious."
Dario nodded."Go to the meeting.You report everything directly to me or Tori."
"And Wren?"I couldn't stop myself from asking.
Dario’s expression softened marginally."Once this ends.We can sort out the mess with Bound in Blood."He leaned forward."I'll help with the Wren problem.I hadn’t wanted to involve Bound in Blood in this because I know how some of those guys get about trafficked women.It would be like throwing a match onto a funeral pyre.They’ll burn the whole city to the ground and I can’t have that.”He pulled out his phone.“I’ll take care of this, Rocky.Those girls come first though."
"Agreed."Wren was safe.The others weren’t.
"In the meantime, stay away from her."Dario fixed me with a penetrating stare."Distractions in a situation like this will get you killed.One slip, one moment of divided attention, and you're dead.And those girls might be too."
"I understand."
"Do you?"Dario asked quietly."Because the look on your face tells me otherwise."
I paused, halfway to the door."I'll do what needs to be done," I promised."I always have."
Dario grinned and nodded."I’ll take care of your girl.I owe you that and more.I’ll explain things to Jack but I’m leaving Ghost to you."
“Fantastic,” I growled.
As I walked out of the conference room and back toward the elevator, conflicting emotions warred within me.Knowing how badly I'd hurt Wren left a deep ache inside my chest.Her face haunted me with every step.
The elevator doors closed and I descended back toward the gritty reality of my undercover life, caught between two worlds and belonging fully to neither.I'd complete this task.I'd help bring down the Copperheads and their vile operation.But after that...after that, I needed to find a way back to Wren, to make her understand that while my approach might have begun as deception, what grew between us still lived as something real.The only question that remained?Would she ever give me the chance to explain?
