ログインLenny's Pov
The morning came in slowly.Light pushed through the curtains in thin strips. Shadow was stretched out at the foot of the couch, breathing heavy the way he did when he was completely out.David's arm was around my waist. His chest rose and fell against my back, steady and even, like nothing outside this apartment had any claim on either of us.I lay there and didn't move.My brain was already running. I could feel it firingLenny's POVI felt the weight of the private pre-meeting request right away. It sat heavy on me all morning and would not leave my mind. I walked into the bedroom and looked at Vincenzo, who was sitting up in the bed. "It could be a setup," I said. "You are still healing, and this feels too risky right now for you to go alone."Vincenzo sat up straighter and shook his head. "I have to go if it secures more allies," he said. "We need every vote we can get on the Commission, or they might turn against us."I crossed my arms and kept arguing with him. "But what if they use it against you?" I asked. "You are not at full strength yet, and one wrong move could end everything we have worked for."He reached for my hand and held it. "This is how the game works, Lenny," he said. "I cannot say no without looking weak in front of them. You are my sounding board now, so tell me what you really think we should do."I sat down on
Vincenzo's POVI gritted my teeth through the sharp pain after I overexerted myself walking too much. Blood seeped through the fresh bandages, and I felt it warm on my skin right away. Lenny rushed to help me back to the bed, and she put her arm under me to support my weight. "Easy," she said. "Lie down slow.""The doctor is coming now," she told me. "Stay still until he gets here so it does not get worse."The doctor arrived soon after and checked the wound carefully. He changed the bandages and looked at me seriously. "You are lucky it is minor," the doctor warned. "But another stunt like this and you will not make the sit-down. Your body needs the full two weeks to heal right, or the damage could be permanent."I nodded at him, but inside I felt mad at myself for pushing so hard. After the doctor left the room, I stayed in bed and my frustration boiled over in private. I slammed a fist against the mat
Lenny's POVThe new arrival raised immediate suspicion in me right away. He stood in the doorway with Bressi and looked nervous, like he did not want to be there at all. I felt the paranoia affecting everyone in the safe house now. Every new person made me wonder if they were the mole working against us. I watched him closely while he talked to Giovanni on the phone and reported in about the Commission plans.Francesca came early the next morning like always. "We are doing knife work today," she said. "You need to learn quick escapes too in case things go bad at the meeting or after."I trained harder with her in the back room of the safe house. She handed me the knife and showed me how to hold it right in my hand. "Slice up, not down," she said. "And always go for the weak spots on the body."I practiced the moves over and over again. "Like this," I asked and did the motion she showed me with the knife.
Vincenzo's POVI felt the walls closing in more every day. The Commission meeting was getting closer, and I knew I had to be ready no matter what. Giovanni came to the safe house in person that afternoon. He walked into the room and sat down in the chair by the bed. Bressi stayed outside the door and kept watch."Some commissioners are pushing for additional loyalty tests," Giovanni said right away. "Your bloodline is still an issue for the purists on the commission. They want to make sure you are not hiding anything from them at all."I sat up straighter in the bed and looked at him straight. "I will do whatever tests they want," I said. "I have nothing to hide from them. Dante is dead, and I took him out because he betrayed the family and tried to take everything down with him."Giovanni nodded, but his face stayed serious the whole time. "Good. Now rehearse your testimony with me. Start from the beginning and show no weaknes
Lenny's POVThe basement air clung to my skin like a second layer of dread, cold, damp, and suffocating. I stood just outside the harsh circle of light, arms wrapped tightly around myself, heart hammering as I watched Vincenzo and Luca press the guard for more answers. Every broken word the man choked out sent fresh chills racing down my spine, raising goosebumps along my arms.“More names… they wanted routes, schedules, anyone vulnerable in the Commission,” he gasped, tears mixing with the blood on his swollen, bruised face. “Blackmail, threats against my family. I swear that’s all I know. Please, I’m begging you…”Vincenzo’s presence filled the entire room even when he remained mostly silent. It was controlled, dangerous, lethal. I saw the enforcer side of him tonight, the one he usually tried to shield me from. It terrified me on a deep, primal level, but it also made something fierce tighten in my chest with twisted respec
Vincenzo POV I stood in the dim room with Luca beside me and the captured guard tied to the chair in front of us. The man looked scared, but he still tried to act tough at first. I looked him in the eyes and said Tell us what you know about the blackmail. He stayed quiet for a minute, so Luca stepped forward and asked again. The guard finally broke after we kept pushing. He said someone paid him to leak information, and it was blackmail, but he did not know the full chain behind it. He kept saying he only took the money and passed messages, but he never met the top person. I asked him who gave him the orders, and he gave us a name, but it was just a middle guy. Luca pressed him harder, and the guard repeated the same story over and over. Luca looked at me and said he was telling the truth, boss. I nodded and said we would keep him here for now until we check his story. I turned to
Lenny’s POVGradually, the darkness that had swallowed me finally began to spit me out, taking off its tendrils as I heard sounds muddled in my ear. Soon, the fluorescent lights above me flooded my vision. After taking a minute to adjust, I swept my head from one side to another."You're alive," a
Vincenzo’s POV"I swear I'll get you the money! I wasn't running... I wouldn't dare...!"Behind the pathetic pleading filling my ears, my 8 o’clock class loomed in my mind...I have an essay I've been putting aside. The professor was a pain, but he had a backbone unlike the others in my department,
Lenny's POV"Explain?!" I spat out, throwing my plastic bag at him. "How the heck are you going to explain this?"He dodged—he always had surprisingly fast reflexes—and groaned, pulling up his pants and buckling swiftly."Sofia is a friend,""I'm sure she is," I seethed as he approached me. He had
Lenny's pov"I’d better not see you around here again," the warden scoffed, handing me a plastic bag containing my mortal belongings. "Won't you miss me?" I teased lightlyWrinkles lined her face, "I mean it, Willow. Keep your head down and stay away from the reason you got sent to this hole in the







