Mackie ignored her brother and gave Gage the information. Gage nodded. “Hey, hon, how are you feeling?” he said into his phone. “Good, I’m glad to hear you are getting some rest. I hate to ask, but can you do something for me?” He filled her in on the details. “Think you can erase the video and make it like it didn’t happen?” He grinned. “Sorry, didn’t mean to imply you couldn’t. Let me know when it’s done.”
He got off the call. “My fiancée will take care of it.”
“Just like that?” Callum asked.
“Yes,” Gage said with pride. “She’s one of the top hackers in the world. If it can be done, it will be.”
“But Vitale still has the video,” Mackie pointed out.
Logan smiled. “Yes, but if it doesn’t show on the original, then who’s to say he didn’t create that video with AI? It’s a deep fake. That’s your story, and you have to stick to it. Whoever knows about it at the museum won’t open their mouth; otherwise, they’ll be pegged for knowing something was stolen and not blowing the whistle. They won’t want to go down for it. You will be in the clear.”
“Enough!” Enzo growled. “I have to head to Mallorca, and now Vitale knows I’m coming. He must know you are all here as well. Mitch, Gage, what do you think?” Enzo knew what he wanted to do, but honestly, the Callahans had been helpful to this point, so he figured they might offer something he hadn’t thought of.
“I think,” Mitch began, “that you should go with Griffin and maybe Callum. Gage and I will follow separately. Logan, do youmind staying here with Kathleen until we get it all sorted? I’ll call and see if Dragan is finished and can join us.”
“That works,” Logan agreed. “MacKenzie, you are welcome to stay with us if you like.”
“Mackie,” she corrected, then looked at her brothers.
Enzo wanted to argue. He hated the thought of Dragan being anywhere near Kathleen, but it wasn’t up to him, and it was the most sensible option. “Maybe you and Kathleen can head back to New York. I’m sure you have some security that could join you.”
“I was thinking along those lines, but it might take a day or two,” Logan said. “We should be fine at the hotel. It’s a Jasmine Door, so Drake will make sure we’re safe.”
Enzo didn’t bother to point out that Callum had broken into the Jasmine Door in Lake Lugano. Whatever the weakness had been, he’d lay odds that Jamie had it fixed already.
“Good. Does everyone agree with this?”
Kathleen leaned against a tree. “What happens in Mallorca? Won’t Vitale be angry I’m not with you?”
“The game’s changed,” Enzo said quietly. “I know his weakness now. You’re safer here.”
He didn’t add that if Vitale was dead, there was no threat at all. That option was looking better by the second.
“So,” Enzo said, voice steady, resolve set, “are we good?”
Everyone nodded.
And Enzo knew the next move was his.
CHAPTER FORTY
Kathleen forced herself to breathe.
This, him, was a mistake. A beautiful, dangerous one, but a mistake all the same. Enzo wasn’t some complicated hero caught in bad circumstances. He was a mobster, retired or not. That fact wasn’t going to change tomorrow or next year or ever.
She’d fallen for a man like that once before. It had cost her everything.
Everything except Connor. He’d been the only good thing to come out of it.
That truth settled her, grounding her in a way nothing else could. No matter how intoxicating Enzo was, his confidence, his intelligence, the way danger seemed to sharpen around him, this path ended the same way it always did. With blood. With fear. With her son paying the price for the choices she made and couldn’t undo.
Enzo turned toward her, clearly expecting something more. Words. Emotion. Something she wasn’t willing to give.
He was a fantasy. A vivid one. One that triggered emotions she was afraid to explore. The kind that made her feel alive in away she hadn’t in years. She liked that for herself, liked the thrill, the chase, the way chaos made her feel sharp instead of careful.
That was the problem.
She’d indulged that side of herself once before, a lifetime ago, and it had almost cost her life. She didn’t get to pretend she was that woman anymore. Connor deserved better than a mother who chased danger because it made her feel young.
