And most importantly, someone who doesn’t fall in love.
“I’m supposed to just . . . what?” I ask. “Pick up a gun and join the cause?”
“We’ll train you,” Matteo says quickly, leaning forward like he’s afraid I’ll bolt. “No one’s expecting miracles. But you belong here. You’re family. And we protect our own.”
Family.
The word hits something in me I didn’t know survived the years of running. Years of hiding. Years of pretending I didn’t need anyone.
I look out the window.
The world blurs past. Forests and fences. Miles of private land. A security checkpoint with men with rifles standing at attention.
This is power.
The kind Victoria’s world only pretended to have.
“Still,” I say quietly, more to myself than to them, “fuck it, why not? She left anyway.”
Matteo glances at me, sympathy flickering across his features. “Victoria?”
I don’t answer. I don’t need to.
He seems to get it anyway. “She’s an idiot.”
My jaw clenches so hard I taste iron.
The car slows as we round a corner, and then I see it.
Massive steel gates rise ahead of us, taller than anything I’ve ever seen. Surveillance towers on either side. Armed guards are on patrol.
Where the fuck are we?
Is this how they live?
Past the gates, I see a sprawling estate.
Holy shit.
“Home sweet home,” Matteo says.
My uncle speaks without looking at me. “Welcome to your new life. The life you never should’ve left.”
The gates begin to open. I grip the edge of my seat as the SUV rolls forward. I’m not the same person I was this morning. That boy is gone, buried beneath betrayal.
Everything is about to change.
This is the beginning of something else.
Something darker.
THE MIDDLE
22
Lorenzo
The airinside the warehouse stinks of sweat and stale cigars.
