Damiano nods once. Serious now. No more joking. "I'll get us that bastard. I'll hand him to you gift wrapped with a bow and ribbons."
Massimo's expression darkens. "Just get that bastard alive; we all have a stake in this kill."
"One more thing," I stop the others before Massimo ends the meeting. "I'm going after Razor."
"Not before I find out what my mother has to do with the Black Canyon Reapers." Alessio pins me with a glare.
We stare at each other. Neither one of us moves. No give. Not a challenge,
worse. A line being drawn.
"You don't get to call that," I state evenly.
Alessio's gaze doesn't waver. "I just did."
The room tightens. Damiano shifts slightly, glancing between us like he's watching a match he didn't realize he'd be attending. Enzo stays still. Observing. Always observing.
"That man is mine," I continue, and my voice drops just enough to make the point. "He's connected to Audra. That makes him my problem."
Alessio rises out of his chair to meet me halfway. "Everything connected to the Black Canyon Reapers is my problem now," he states, just as quiet. "You don't get to run ahead on this." Something sharp flickers in his eyes. "You're too close to it."
"And you're not?" I counter.
The silence is growing tauter, more dangerous.
Massimo exhales once. Low. Controlled. "Enough."
The word cuts clean through both of us. Final. We don't look away from each other immediately. But the moment breaks. Because it has to. Massimo steps forward, inserting himself between the lines.
"Let's find out what the Black Canyon Reapers are up to," he decides in a calm voice that leaves no room for argument.
He looks at Alessio first. "You'll have your hands full figuring out where your mother fits into this." Then his gaze shifts to me. "And you—" I already know. "You'll be busy tracking Javier Salazar down."
My jaw shifts. Not disagreement. Not quite. Just… contained frustration.
Massimo turns back to Alessio. "You still have contact with the MC?"
Alessio nods; his posture relaxes just a bit. "Yeah. My old man's still with them."
His father was and always will be a low-level thug. But close enough to get us intel.
"Good," Massimo says. "Find out what you can." His attention shifts back to me. "Stay out of it for now."
There it is. I don't move. Don't respond. Because anything I say right now won't be what he wants to hear. His gaze hardens slightly. "Razor is off limits," he adds.
That one hits. Harder than it should. A muscle ticks in my jaw. I press the word out I need to say, but don't like. "Understood."
Lie. We all know it. Massimo holds my gaze for a second longer. Making sure I heard him. Making sure Iunderstandhim. He puts his arms around Alessio and me. "Good."
The decisions have been made. "Meeting's over."
Chairs shift. Glasses are set down. Movement resumes. But the tension doesn't go anywhere. As Alessio turns, our shoulders nearly brush. He pauses just long enough to murmur— "Don't make me choose between you and this." His voice is quiet, for me alone.
I lean in just enough that only he hears me, making sure he understands the consequences. "Then don't stand in my way. Because I won't stop."
His eyes flick to mine. A fire is burning in them that equals mine. Before either of us can say or do anything else, Damiano claps his hands once. He's wearing his brightest grin. The one he always sports just before shit hits the fan. I groan. Alessio snickers, and Enzo coughs. Massimo is the only one unfazed.
"Well," Damiano announces, showing off his pearly whites, "that was productive." Right before he flips the table. The crash explodes through the room. Glass shatters. Wood slams against marble. Chairs scrape violently as everything topples.
