DANTEFlora’s body went still after the voice spoke over the phone. I swung off the bed and walked across the room to stand beside her before she could hang up in shock. She didn’t even need to tell me who it was. I knew that voice as much as I knew my own.“Put it on speaker,” I told her, and she did.“Dante,” Lorenzo said calmly. There was no greeting and no buildup. Just my name.“I’m here,” I replied. “I’m listening.”Flora was right beside me. Her eyes were fixed on the phone like she was trying to see him through it.“I found the last piece of the puzzle,” Lorenzo continued. “The Architect wasn’t Gianni Bianchi. It’s someone else entirely.”I gripped the edge of the vanity, waiting to hear a name I knew. It was probably someone from the list of enemies branded into my memory throughout the years. But when he spoke again, it wasn’t what I expected.“It’s a woman,” he added.Flora raised her eyebrows immediately. Before I knew what was happening, my mind started sorting through m
FLORAThe first light of the morning washed over the quiet hills of Sardinia. The warm gold light spread over every edge of the new villa Dante had bought for us. The place didn’t feel like the other houses we’d ever stayed in. This one wasn’t a fortress with guards stationed at every corner. It was just… a home. A peaceful one at that.I sat on the long cream sofa by the wide open windows, holding two tiny bundles of joy against my chest. The babies were finally asleep, breathing softly, though their tiny hands were twitching every now and then. I assumed they were probably dreaming.I couldn’t stop staring at them. Maybe because, for the first time in a while, there was nothing to take them from me. No one to hurt us. And no threats either.The air smelled faintly of the ocean and something else: garlic, onions, and olive oil. My stomach growled, and I turned my head to gaze over at Dante at the stove. He was barefoot and shirtless, wearing only sweatpants that were hung low on h
MARCUSThe night air was so cold but strangely enough, the city felt too quiet. Too quiet for what had just gone down, was what I meant. I just leaned against the hood of my car outside the safehouse, staring at nothing for a while. Gianni was dead. Lorenzo was gone. Dalia… Only God knew where she was.I didn’t know if the emotion I was feet inside me was peace or just shock at the absence of gunfire.Flora and Dante had left just before sunrise. I watched them go without a word. She’d pressed her hand to my arm for a moment, giving me a look that said everything—thank you, goodbye, take care of Sofia—before she walked away. Dante didn’t look back, but then, I didn’t expect him to.Now it was on me to clean up what was left.The first call I made was to Agent Harrison. When he answered on the second ring, his voice sounded rough like he hadn’t slept in days.“It’s done,” I said.He exhaled like he’d been holding that breath for months. “We’ve already started the process. Dante Romano
FLORADante didn’t move. He just kept staring at me like his body had been frozen in place. The gun in my hand felt heavier than it should have, and I felt like it was dragging my arm down.I didn’t say a single word at first.My fingers slowly loosened around the gun until it slipped from my hand and hit the ground with a small sound. Dante was still on the floor, silently leaning against a tree like all his strength had been ripped out of him. His hands were trembling so badly that they had turned into fists all around the dirt.I wanted to go to him and comfort him. I wanted to tell him it was okay, that we’d won, and that Gianni couldn’t hurt us anymore. But I couldn’t. Not until I’d told him the truth at least.“What he said was a lie,” I finally said. My voice was soft. “All of it.”He lifted his head just enough for me to see his eyes. They weren’t angry. They weren’t even questioning. They looked so broken.“Flora…” he breathed out. His voice was hoarse, and it felt like it t
DANTEThe moment those words left Gianni’s mouth, something in me snapped. He wasn’t going to stand here, within sight of my kids, and spit threats like that. I wouldn’t give him the chance.“Walk,” I said. My voice was low but sharp enough to make him surprised by my sudden change in tone.His smirk remained, but I saw something different in his eyes now. Probably curiosity, or maybe even amusement. He slid his hands deeper into his pockets and raised a brow. “Walk where?”“Away from here,” I growled. “You want me? Fine. But we have to do this away from the house. I don’t want Flora or the kids seeing or hearing any of this.”He studied me for a long while, then nodded slowly, almost like he was just humoring me. “Lead the way, figlio.”I didn’t like the way he said that. Figlio meant son in Italian.My gun remained where it was though. If he had backup hiding nearby, I needed to keep him moving. I didn’t want him giving someone the signal to take a shot at me. I turned and started
DANTEThe blast from The Blues hotel lit up the Miami skyline like bright sunlight. The force of the explosion pushed through the air, rattling the windows of the car I was sitting in. Flames erupted from the penthouse level of the hotel, already spreading down the side of the building. I didn’t breathe.My hands were gripping the steering wheel so tightly that my knuckles had already turned white.“Flora?” My voice came out sharper than I intended as I pressed the phone to my mouth. “Flora, where are you? Are you there?”Only static answered me.“Flora!” I yelled again, leaning forward like doing that would somehow push my voice through faster. But there was still nothing. My heart was pounding hard in my ears now. She had gone in there alone. And our daughter was there too. Dalia was supposed to die in that explosion, not them.“Come on,” I muttered. I shifted the car into gear and drove away. Every second that passed made my nervousness increase. My brain kept replaying the imag