Chapter 36 Salvatore

It had been a week since the Letta incident, and the house had finally settled again. The tension, the shouting, the slap, all of it had faded into something quieter. Something steadier. But the thing that surprised me most wasn’t the Letta melt down. It was Sara.

That night, after everything, she let me hold her until she fell asleep. No hesitation. No flinching. No walls. Just her body relaxing against mine, her breathing soft and even, her hand resting over my heart like it belonged there. And now she let me do it every night. I found myself rushing through work just to get home in time for dinner. To hear Gabe tell me about school. To watch Sara laugh with Abuela over the phone. To sit on the couch with them and feel… whole. I hadn’t realized how empty the house had been until they filled it.

It was Sunday, and we were getting ready to go to Abuela’s for dinner. Gabe was already dressed, bouncing around the living room like he’d had three espressos. Sara was upstairs finishing her hair. And I was in my office, going over the last of the shipment reports before we left. Roc knocked once and stepped inside.vHe looked better than he had last week, less tense, more himself, but there was still a shadow behind his eyes.

“Got updates,” he said, handing me a folder. “Shipments are clean. Clubs are running smooth. And Juan…” He paused. “He’s quiet. Too quiet. He stopped approaching the girls. Stopped showing up at the usual spots. I don’t like it.”

I flipped through the papers, scanning numbers, signatures, routes. Everything looked right. Which meant everything was wrong.

“He’s planning something,” I said.

Roc nodded. “Yeah. I’m watching him. I’ll keep digging.”

“Good.” I closed the folder. “Keep eyes on him and his men. I don’t want any surprises.”

Roc nodded again, but I could see the shift in his shoulders, the moment he went from my second‑in‑command to my friend. I leaned back in my chair. “Now that business is done… how are you?”

He blinked. “I’m fine.”

“Roc,” I said, giving him a look, “I asked how you are. Not how the clubs are.”

He hesitated. Then I smirked. “Did you finally take the jump and ask Marco out?”

His ears went red instantly. Before he could answer, Sara stepped into the doorway.

“Ready to...” She stopped, eyebrows lifting. “Marco?”

Roc froze like a deer in headlights. I almost laughed. Sara crossed her arms, smiling softly. “Roc… Marco thinks you’re hot. He’s been staring at you for months. You’d be a fool not to try.”

Roc’s mouth opened. Closed. Opened again. “I...uh...what?”

Sara stepped farther into the room. “You heard me. He likes you. And you deserve someone who looks at you the way you look at him.”

Roc looked at me like I’d betrayed him.

I shrugged. “Don’t look at me. She’s right.”

He groaned, dragging a hand over his face. “I hate both of you.”

Sara laughed. “You’ll thank us later.”

He muttered something under his breath, but there was a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth, the first real one I’d seen in days. I stood, grabbing my jacket. “Come on. Abuela’s waiting. And if we’re late, she’ll blame me.”

Sara slipped her hand into mine. Gabe ran ahead of us, shouting something about empanadas. And Roc followed behind, shaking his head but lighter than before. For the first time in a long time, everything felt right. Which meant something was about to go wrong. But for now, just for today, I let myself enjoy it.