Page 119 of Accidental Alliance

The north gate is not the weakest point in the obvious sense, but the road leading from it bends through dense trees before opening into sight of the cameras.

It creates a blind pocket just long enough for a strike team to get close enough before the system fully catches them.

I know because I would have chosen to exploit it too.

The alarm screams again, then comes the first deep thud, though not from gunfire, from an explosion. The walls tremble from the shockwave hard enough to cause the monitors on the security desk to flicker.

Somewhere nearby, a window shatters, the sound loud as glass rains onto the marble floor. One of Davide’s men curses under his breath nearby while another tightens the grip on his rifle, eyes trained on the feeds in front of him.

I close my eyes for a brief second.

I know the way my family begins a breach. It’s never with chaos, not in a true sense.

That is what they want their enemies to see. Beneath it, there is order, cold and calculated.

They have brought charges, not enough to flatten the grounds entirely—not unless my father has lost his mind completely—but enough to cripple one section and force Davide’s men to redirect soldiers there.

When I open my eyes again, I look toward the security feeds. Next to me, Davide stands at the central console, one hand planted on the table while the other grips a radio so tightly, his knuckles have gone pale, though his face gives nothing away.

I see the tension beneath his stillness, the calculation working behind his eyes as his men move across the screens in tight formations as they shift toward the front of the estate. He is a good commander, better than most.

That might be the only reason this house is still standing.

Next to him, Isabella remains tight-lipped and focused on the tablet in front of her.

Her hair is pulled back from her face. A few strands of it have slipped loose around her temples.

Her mouth is set in a hard line. Her eyes move from the tablet to the monitors and back again, focused as a headset is pressed to one ear and a radio in her other hand. Her finger hovers over the button, ready to redirect forces where necessary.

In any other situation, the sight would fill my chest with pride.

She should not be here, standing in the heart of a besieged Mafia estate and commanding soldiers through a breach my family has brought to her doorstep once again.

She should not have to think three moves ahead while the walls tremble around her, doing everything she can to protect everyone behind these walls.

Especially our son.

My eyes flick toward the lower corner monitor, the one showing the basement corridor outside the panic room. Two of Bianchi’s men stand guard outside, rifles ready to light up anyone who dares to wander down there.

Another camera inside the outer vestibule shows nothing but reinforced steel and the faint glow of a keypad.

Matteo is behind that door.

Safe, for now.

Isabella had not hesitated. The moment the first warning shrieked through the house, she had taken him down there and locked him safely behind that door.

I cannot imagine the strength it took to watch that door close, knowing there was a strong possibility that could be the last time ever laying eyes on him again if things did not go according to plan.

Isabella’s voice breaks through the quiet. “Alessio spotted.”

My eyes snap to the tablet in front of her. I step closer before anyone can stop me.

One of Davide’s guards shifts, rifle rising a fraction in my direction, but Davide lifts two fingers without looking at him.

I barely notice.

Isabella angles the tablet slightly so we can see, but I am already looking over her shoulder.