"Okay," I said. "I'll meet with Diana tomorrow. If she makes a good offer, I'll resign from Sterling."
"She'll make a good offer. I've already told her what you're worth." He kissed me thoroughly. "You're not losing your career, Emilio. You're just changing firms. It's not the same thing."
"It feels like losing everything I've built."
"Then we'll build something better. Together." He rested his forehead against mine. "I told you I'd take care of you. Did you think I was lying?"
"No. I just didn't realize it would involve completely restructuring my career."
"That's what happens when you choose me. Your whole life gets restructured." His smile was dark. Satisfied. "But at least it's interesting."
"Interesting. That's one word for it." I kissed him again because I could. Because I'd chosen him and he'd chosen me and somehow we'd found a path that didn't require sacrificing everything. "Thank you. For finding a solution. For not letting me throw away my career."
"Thank me by staying. By choosing this every day even when it's hard." His hands slid under my shirt. "Now let me remind you why that choice is worth it."
We made it to the bedroom. Barely. But this time felt different. Not desperate or frantic. Just honest. Real. Two people who'd chosen each other against all logic and were celebrating that choice the only way that made sense.
Tomorrow I'd resign from Sterling. Meet with Diana. Start rebuilding my career from scratch. Face the gossip and judgment and whispers about the attorney who quit to stay with his mob boss boyfriend.
But tonight I was exactly where I wanted to be.
In Sandro's arms. In Sandro's bed. In Sandro's life.
Completely. Irrevocably. His.
And I wouldn't have it any other way.
CHAPTER 18: SANDRO
DIANA MARTINEZ WAScompetent. Professional. Experienced in criminal defense with an impressive track record of victories. She'd been practicing for fifteen years, knew the judges, understood the system.
She was also completely boring.
I sat in her office listening to her outline trial strategy and wanted to throw something. Not because she was wrong—her approach was solid, defensible, exactly what any reasonable attorney would recommend. But because it lacked the fire, the brilliance, the sharp-edged fury that Emilio brought to every argument.
"The prosecution's timeline doesn't hold up under scrutiny," Diana said, pointing to her notes. "We can establish reasonable doubt by showing the inconsistencies in witness testimony."
"Emilio already identified seventeen specific contradictions in their statements," I said before I could stop myself. "Cross-referenced with security footage timestamps and physical evidence. He built a matrix showing exactly where each witness's story falls apart."
Diana looked up. "That's good work. Do you have his notes?"
"He sent them over when he withdrew from the case." I pulled up the files on my phone. Emilio's meticulous preparation. Hundreds of hours of work distilled into brilliant strategy. "He also suggested we depose the Costello family accountant. There's evidence they paid the witnesses to lie."
"That's aggressive. But it could work." She made notes. "Your previous counsel was very thorough."
"My previous counsel was extraordinary." I pocketed my phone. "But he's not my counsel anymore. So we work with what we have."
The dismissal was clear. Diana accepted it gracefully and moved on to discussing jury selection. I listened with half my attention while the other half cataloged everything she wasn't doing that Emilio would have.
Emilio would have challenged my assumptions. Would have argued with me about strategy until we'd refined it to perfection. Would have brought passion and ethics and genuine belief in the arguments he was making.
Diana brought competence and professional distance. Important qualities. Just not the ones I'd gotten addicted to.
After the meeting, I returned to Inferno and found my partners waiting in the VIP room. Matteo looked agitated. Elio looked concerned. Luca looked amused by whatever drama was unfolding.
"We have confirmation," Elio said without preamble. "Vincent Paglia is definitely the embezzler. He's been funneling money to the Costello family for eight months. Fifty thousand initially. The amounts have increased recently."
I sat down heavily. Vincent had been with us for years. Handled all our financial records. Had access to everything. The betrayal cut deep.
