"I'll take my chances."
"This is suicide, Luca." He grabs my arm. "Think about Katerina and Enzo. What happens to them when you're dead?"
"That's why I'm doing this!" I wrench free of his grip. "Every second we wait is another second they're in danger."
Alessandro's eyes narrow. "You're not thinking clearly."
"No, I'm thinking like a father. Like a man who can't lose the woman he loves again."
"And what would you have me tell that woman when you don't come back?"
For a moment, doubt creeps in, but I push it away. "Tell her I did what I had to do. And Alessandro? If I don't make it back, you protect them. With everything you have. Promise me."
"You always were the most stubborn of us," he says, not giving me the promise I need. "Go out that door alone, and you're walking into certain death. Is that what you want your son to remember? That his father rushed headlong into a fight he couldn't win?"
I meet his gaze. "What I want is for him to grow up without looking over his shoulder. Without wondering if today's the day the Bratva decides to finish what they started."
I stare at my brother's face. How many times had I dreamed of smashing his features with my fists during my exile? Yet now, I need him.
"Look at me. Really look at me, Alessandro. What do you see?"
He hesitates, confusion flashing across his face.
"You see a Dante. A man with our father's blood, our father's curse." I step closer. "For seven years, I pretended I could escape that. Built my own life. Lived by my own rules. But the second I walked through those doors, I knew the truth."
I press my palm against my chest. "This blood isn’t just mine anymore. It's in my son. My son, Alessandro. Every time I look at Enzo, I see our legacy staring back at me."
Something shifts in my brother's expression. I’m not sure if it’s sympathy or maybe recognition that I’m right.
"I never wanted to be a Dante again," I admit. "But Enzo deserves to know who he is. Where he comes from. And he deserves to live long enough to decide what that means to him."
Alessandro's shoulders drop slightly. “No one has forgotten that you’re a Dante.”
I shrug with indifference, because my place in the family doesn’t matter anymore.
Only Enzo’s place. "I need you to promise me that if something happens to me, you shield Katerina from harm. Not as a favor to me, but because she's family now. Because she's Enzo's mother."
For a long moment, Alessandro says nothing.
“Dad always looked out for her and Enzo,” Adriano says, like he’s offended I’d suggest they wouldn’t protect her.
But a few minutes ago, Alessandro questioned her loyalty, so I need his promise.
“He knew, didn’t he?” I ask. “About Enzo?”
Alessandro shakes his head. “I don’t know. If he did, he never said anything.” He extends his hand. “But I promise, no harm will come to her or Enzo while I draw breath."
The intensity of relief that washes through me is unexpected. "Thank you," I say with gratitude.
“So, what are your plans?” Adriano asks.
“I’m storming those assholes.”
We talk a bit longer, but it’s clear they want to wait while I need this retaliation to happen before the Bratva has time to take a breath.
I leave Alessandro’s office committed to one goal—annihilate the Bratva ASAP.
I move into the hallways, my mind racing.
