No one moves.
“Good.” I straighten my tie, suddenly exhausted. “Viktor, you’ll work with Tony on the transition. I want a full security review by the end of the week. Dmitri, handle the shipment schedules. And someone find out who’s been spreading rumors about our operations to the Castellanos.”
The meeting drags on for another hour.
Supply chain issues.
Territory disputes.
Money laundering concerns.
All the problems of rebuilding what I had after I walked away, to ensure our safety and the legitimate businesses thrive.
My mind keeps drifting to Sophia, alone in our fortress of a compound, probably pacing the bedroom or staring out the window with that look of quiet desperation she thinks I don’t notice.
I’ve been an ass. I know it.
The pregnancy complications terrified me so completely that I’ve surrounded her in bubble wrap and locked her away from the world. From me.
Tonight, I’ll make it right.
I’ll go home, hold her, remind her why we fell in love in the first place.
Tomorrow I can worry about the empire.
Tonight belongs to us.
Finally, mercifully, the meeting ends. I dismiss them with a wave and catch Tony’s arm as he stands to leave.
“Walk with me,” I say.
We move through the building in silence, past the legitimate business fronts and into the private areas where real work happens.
Tony’s recovered well from his gunshot wound, though I notice he still favors his left side slightly.
“You understand what this position means?” I ask as we reach my office.
“I understand you’re trusting me with your life.” Tony’s green eyes—so like Sophia’s in every other way than color—meet mine steadily. “And my sister’s life. I won’t let you down.”
“It’s more than that.” I pour two glasses of whiskey and hand him one. “As my enforcer, you’ll see things. Do things. There’s no going back from some of the choices you’ll have to make.”
He takes a long drink. “I’ve already made my choice. When Lorenzo had me, when he filled my head with lies about you killing my father, I thought I knew who the enemy was. But Sophia never gave up on me. She risked everything to bring me back. And you—” He pauses, choosing his words carefully. “You could have killed me. Should have killed me. But you gave me a chance to remember who I really am.”
“Sophia would never have forgiven me if I’d killed you.”
“Maybe.” A ghost of a smile crosses his face. “But you didn’t do it for her. You did it because you saw something in me worth saving. That’s the kind of leader I want to follow.”
The words settle something in my chest I didn’t know was unsettled. “Your sister is the best thing that ever happened to me. Even when I was at my worst, when I kidnapped her and forced her into this life, she saw something in me worth saving too.”
“She has a gift for that.” Tony finishes his drink. “Seeing the good in broken things.”
“I need to get home to her.” I check my watch. Nearly eleven o’clock. “She’s been alone too much lately.”
“Go.” Tony sets down his glass. “I’ll handle things here.”
The drive to the compound feels endless.
My fingers drum against the steering wheel as I navigate the city streets, my mind already racing ahead.
