He was quiet for a while as he stared at me with a bored look, as if he wasn’t sure if he should even bother responding to my question. “I’ve met someone.”
I smirked. “I know how that goes ...”
“Yeah,” he said as he looked off again. “My men have started to round up the gangs. Those who resist will be hand-delivered to you before we depart so you can choose how you want to handle it.”
“Thank you,” I said. “And even though you’re here to pay a debt, the Roman Republic will always come to your aid if you need it.” Luca and his men had been critical to this movement, and now that the criminals I policed knew my power reached beyond our borders, there was far less chance there would be another pushback. Even if the Republic was compromised, they would hold their breath and wait. I needed to know that power was in my back pocket, and the best way to do that was to extend an olive branch to Luca—the most powerful ally I could have.
He stared at me for several heartbeats before he barely gave me a nod ... and walked off.
I didn’t have time to call Aurelia, but I sent her a text.I took care of Darius and his men. Rocco and I are fine. Call you when I can.
Her reply was immediate, like she’d been sitting on the couch with Medusa, the phone gripped in her hand.Thank god.
I pocketed my phone and returned to where the cars were parked in the street. The police and the military had arrived, but there was nothing for them to do except help with the bodies.
President Barsetti’s suit was covered in dirt and grime, but he looked unharmed otherwise. When he spotted me, he cut short hisconversation with one of his military sergeants and hurried over. “You all right?”
I nodded, the wound stitched and wrapped tightly in gauze. It was the same place where I’d been shot for Medusa, and I knew this recovery would be a lot worse since it was the second time. “You?”
“I’m fine,” he said like he couldn’t care less how he was doing. “You came back.”
“Yeah. I did.”
He stared at me for a while, as if processing his resentment in order to release it. “Good. Rome needs its emperor.”
My decision had been made without needing the time to consider it. It was instinct, something I just knew. “It’ll take me some time to get Rome back in order, to put the gangs back on their schedules, and to make sure the Skull Kings are permanently dismantled, but once that’s done, I’m done.”
Both of his eyebrows rose. “Why?”
Because I’d found my place—finally. It wasn’t in the streets of Rome. It wasn’t upon an iron throne. It was in Taormina, in the sunshine that reflected off the water, in the small village with everyone I’d known since I was a kid. It was in the glow of my mother’s love, in my sister’s smile ... with the woman who would be my wife. “I did what I set out to do—and now it’s time to move on.”
“You know Rome will collapse again the second you’re gone—”
“I know the exact person who should take my place. A far better choice, if you ask me.”
I sat with Tommaso on the patio of the restaurant, both of us ordering drinks that we didn’t touch. Rocco had checked himself back in to the hospital because he was in no shape to do anything else but recover. I’d been working the whole time, putting the city back in order, removing the graffiti that marked the buildings.
And killing everyone who had become a traitor to their own empire.
“What’s next for you, Constantine?” Tommaso suddenly asked.
“Time to settle down in Taormina.”
He gave a nod like he’d expected that answer. “You ready for that?”
“Never thought I’d be excited for something so simple.” A grin stretched across my face. “But I am. And now that Rome will be in safe hands, I can really enjoy it. Move on and not look back.”
He watched the people pass on the sidewalk for a long time. Without looking at me, he said, “And Edric?”
“I haven’t gone by the house and grabbed him yet. But I will.”
“I can go with you if you’d like.” His eyes came back to me. “I dreamed of having you as a son-in-law, but that doesn’t mean I don’t still care for you like my own.”
My eyes dropped at his unexpected affection. “That means a lot to me, Tommaso.”
He looked away again.
“And it’d mean a lot if you came with me.”
