The meeting ended. We'd done it. Presented our case. Got approval for surveillance. Now we just had to wait for Jake to make his move.
As we left Sandro's office, Elio took my hand. "You did great. That presentation was perfect. Clear. Compelling. Professional."
"We did great. Partners, remember?"
"Partners," he agreed. "Always."
We walked through Inferno together. Past employees we were protecting. Past businesses we were building. Past the life we'd chosen.
I was happy. Truly happy. For the first time in my life, I was exactly where I wanted to be. With exactly who I wanted to be with. Doing work that mattered. Building something real.
The danger was still there. The threats were still real. The FBI was still investigating. Dante was still watching. Winston was still bitter and vengeful.
But I wasn't afraid.
Because I had Elio. I had the partners. I had this chosen family who saw me as valuable and dangerous and worth protecting.
I had a future worth fighting for.
CHAPTER 16: ELIO
THE EVENING BUSINESSmeeting was going well.
Too well, actually. The investors were impressed with our legitimate operations. Our restaurant portfolio. Our real estate holdings. Our carefully curated financial records that showed clean revenue streams and legal business practices.
Julian sat beside me, presenting analysis that made us look like exactly what we claimed to be: a successful entertainment and hospitality company with diversified holdings.
But I wasn't fully focused on the meeting. I was watching the monitor feeds discreetly positioned on my tablet. Security showing different areas of Inferno.
Including Jake Byrne's office.
The meeting was deliberate bait. We'd leaked information about these investors through channels Jake could access. Made it seem critical. Time-sensitive. The kind of information the FBI would want before the deal closed.
If Jake was still actively feeding intelligence, he'd move during this meeting. While everyone's attention was on the investors. While the partners were occupied.
On my tablet screen, I watched Jake enter his office. Sit at his desk. Look around to confirm he was alone.
Then he opened his computer and started accessing files.
Not the files he needed for his actual job. The restricted files. Security protocols. Partner meeting schedules. Financial structures Stefan had carefully compartmentalized.
I'd set up the system to alert my phone the moment he accessed anything outside his authorized clearance.
It buzzed in my pocket.
I glanced at the screen under the table. Saw the access log. Jake was in deep. Downloading files. Taking screenshots. Collecting intelligence.
I caught the eye of my head of security standing by the door. Gave him a subtle nod.
He left quietly. Two more security team members followed.
"Excuse me," I said to the investors. "I need to take a call. Julian and Sandro will continue the presentation. I'll be back shortly."
I left the conference room. Walked calmly down the hallway. Pulled up the security feed on my phone.
Watched my team enter Jake's office. Watched Jake's expression shift from focused to panicked. Watched him try to close files, try to delete logs, try to pretend he wasn't doing exactly what we'd caught him doing.
My security chief's voice came through my earpiece. "We've got him. He's secured. Where do you want him?"
