Later that week was the Port Authority Summit The summit was held in the hollowed-out shell of an abandoned customs building at the edge of Palermo’s port, a space once used to weigh cargo and break smugglers, now transformed into a gilded lion’s den.Columns cracked by time loomed overhead. Strings of dim gold lights snaked across the rafters, casting long, uneasy shadows. Old marble tables were reassembled into a central council, surrounded by armed guards from every faction. Rust still stained the walls. The scent of salt and steel lingered in the air.Talana stood near the head of the table in a crimson floor-length gown slit at the thigh, her dark hair swept back in a crown braid, the curve of a pistol holstered elegantly beneath her belt. She was calm, poised, but behind her stillness, her body was a wire stretched tight.Beside her, Massimo wore his control like armor, dark suit, clean lines, and the cold weight of decades of command behind his eyes.Around the room sat the re
The sky over Palermo was veined with stormlight. Grey clouds rolled in above the villa like quiet threats, cloaking the marble in muted gold. Inside, tension coiled behind every doorframe and shadow. Talana could feel it in her bones, that low thrum of approaching war, like the city itself was holding its breath.She stood before the glass war table, hands braced on either side, studying the map for the hundredth time. The port. The summit building. The underground tunnels. Every route marked. Every risk calculated. And yet, something still felt wrong. Off. Not with the plan, but with the silence that followed Isla’s arrival.Gianna walked in, barefoot, her hair loose from its braid for the first time in days. She placed two steaming cups of espresso on the table.“I’ve seen cats with less attitude than our guest,” she muttered.Talana smirked faintly. “That’s because Isla is a cat, elegant, self-interested, and sharp when cornered.”“She’s also watching you,” Gianna said quietly. “No
They all arrived in Palermo, Sicily around midnight.The car rolled through Palermo like a funeral procession draped in shadows. Sleek, black, and unmarked, it moved beneath the glow of amber streetlamps and baroque balconies, past sleeping vendors and ancient churches that had forgotten how to pray. The city pulsed with something old and wicked, vengeance. Blood. Memory.Inside the vehicle, Talana sat silent, her gaze locked on the crumbling skyline. The port was just visible beyond the rooftops, cranes outlined like skeletons in the moonlight.Massimo sat beside her, sharp in a dark suit, the weight of leadership settled across his shoulders like a tailored curse.“We’re being watched,” he murmured, not looking her way.“Let them,” Talana said coolly. “They need to know the lioness has arrived.”The convoy split at a fork near the Teatro Massimo, Matteo and Mariano peeling off to secure the south tunnels. The primary safehouse, a restored villa once belonging to a noble family now l
Reggio Calabria – MidnightThe villa had quieted, but it didn’t sleep. In these walls, rest was a myth. The kind of peace they were chasing didn’t leave room for it.Talana moved through the kitchen in silence, a pot of broth simmering low on the stove. She wasn’t cooking to comfort anyone, it was about function, preservation and duty. Lorenzo would need it when he came back to himself.Massimo stepped into the doorway, hands in the pockets of his black slacks. He didn’t speak at first, just watched her as she maneuvered around the kitchen.“You should rest,” he said eventually, closing the gap between them and pulling her back into his chest.She stirred once more before turning to face him. “I’ll rest when he’s walking again, and when Palermo is behind us.”Massimo's gaze was calm, but there was something burning behind it. Not rage, but resolve. “You’ve barely sat down since we got back.” He uttered breathing in her scent against her neck.“I can’t afford to,” she answered. “Donate
Reggio Calabria, Italy – Four Days LaterThe Sanchiano estate slept beneath a bruised sky, caught between sea and storm, mourning and vengeance. The wind off the cliffs carried salt and stillness, but inside the old villa, silence had turned into something else entirely, waiting.Lorenzo lay unconscious in the private medical wing, his body still bearing the brutality of Morocco’s horrors. Stiff white bandages wrapped around his ribs like a corset of pain. His lip remained split, his face a roadmap of bruises and exhaustion. He looked both like a fallen warrior and a sleeping ghost.Talana stood beside him, unmoving, her arms crossed tightly across her chest. She had barely changed since their return, her crimson coat still stained with blood at the cuff, her eyes red-rimmed but unbroken."He’s stable," Mariano said from the doorway, his voice rough with fatigue and dust. “The fever broke last night.”She nodded slightly, but her gaze remained locked on Lorenzo’s face. His hand had tw
Tangier, Morocco – 11:42 p.m.The desert wind breathed dust and secrets. From the outside, the private estate north of Tangier resembled a relic of colonial splendor, palatial columns, high walls, chandeliers visible through tall windows. But inside, it buzzed with something darker. The auction.Under cover of night, Talana and Massimo arrived in a matte black Rolls Royce, their identities draped in shadow. She wore a sculpted crimson gown with a high slit and dagger-fastened garter, while Massimo's tuxedo was tailored to mafia perfection. Their eyes told the story their words did not: cold, assessing, in full control."We move fast," she murmured to him as the car stopped. "We locate Lorenzo, confirm Donatello's presence, and get out. If the intel's wrong, we torch the place anyway."Massimo nodded once. "You're sure you're ready for this?"Her eyes flicked toward the entrance, where armed guards in tuxedos flanked marble pillars. Inside, men who sold flesh and weapons dressed like k