Chapter 53 Salvatore

The warehouse always smelled like metal and diesel, but today it carried something else too, tension. The kind that settled in your bones and made every sound feel sharper. Roc walked beside me, clipboard in hand, double‑checking the crates before the run. Wolf was on the other side of the loading bay, talking to his men, his voice low and clipped. They were all on edge. We had reason to be.

Rumors about Juan had been circling for days, whispers about him trying to intercept shipments, steal product, test boundaries. He was getting bold. Too bold. And bold men made stupid choices.

I scanned the bay again, watching Wolf’s men load the last pallet into the truck. “Everything tight?” I asked.

Wolf nodded once. “My guys are ready. No one’s getting near this run.”

Roc added, “We doubled the escorts. If Juan tries anything, he’ll regret it.”

I grunted in agreement, but my mind wasn’t fully here. Not today. Not with Sara on my mind. Not with that uneasy feeling I couldn’t shake. My phone buzzed in my pocket. Matteo.

I stepped away from the noise, answering with a steady voice. “Yeah.”

“You set for the run?” Matteo asked. His tone was all business, clipped, focused, the way he got when he was preparing for something big.

“Everything’s in motion,” I said. “Wolf’s men are ready. Roc double‑checked the manifests.”

“Good,” Matteo said. “I want this clean. No surprises.”

“Same here.” There was a pause, the kind that usually meant he was about to ask something personal. Something about me. About my life. But I didn’t give him the chance. “Anything else?” I asked, keeping my tone neutral.

Another pause. Then: “No. That’s it. Call me when the trucks are out.”

“Will do.”

I hung up before he could ask how I was. Before he could ask if I was seeing someone. Before he could ask why I sounded different. I wasn’t ready. Not to tell him about Sara. Not to tell him about Gabe. Not to tell him that I’d found something, someone, that made me want a life outside all this. If I told Matteo, the rest of the family would know within hours. They’d come. They’d crowd. They’d pry. They’d want to meet her, judge her, test her. And I wasn’t letting anyone near her yet.

Not until the danger passed. Not until Juan was dealt with. Not until I could protect her without splitting my attention. Keeping her secret wasn’t selfish It was the most selfless thing I’d ever done.

Roc walked over, breaking my thoughts. “Matteo checking in?”

“Yeah.”

“He still doesn’t know?”

“No,” I said quietly.

Roc didn’t push. He never did. He just nodded, understanding more than he said.

Wolf approached next, wiping his hands on a rag. “We’re ready to roll.”

I straightened, slipping back into the role everyone expected from me. “Good. Let’s move.”

But even as the trucks pulled out, engines rumbling, men shouting orders...my mind drifted back to Sara.

To the quiet house. To the feeling that something was off. To the promise I made myself the moment I met her:

Keep her safe. At any cost. And today, that promise felt heavier than ever.

I wasn’t supposed to be here. Wolf had the run handled. Roc had double‑checked every crate, every manifest, every route. My men were already on high alert because of the rumors about Juan sniffing around our shipments. But something in my chest wouldn’t settle. A pull. A warning. A feeling I couldn’t ignore. So I climbed into the lead SUV anyway. Wolf glanced at me from the driver’s seat, brow raised. “Didn’t think you were coming.”

“I changed my mind,” I said.

He didn’t buy it. Wolf never bought anything at face value. He’d known me too long, married my sister, watched me grow into the role I never asked for. He could read me better than most. We rolled out of the warehouse yard, engines humming low, the convoy falling into formation behind us. Roc was in the second SUV, already on the radio, giving orders like he was born for it. Wolf kept his eyes on the road, but his voice was quiet. “You’re here, but your head isn’t.” I didn’t answer. He tried again. “Everything alright?”

I wanted to tell him. I really did. Wolf was loyal. Steady. The kind of man you trusted with your life. But he was also married to my sister and Kat had a mouth that ran straight to my mother, who ran straight to Matteo, who ran straight to the rest of the family. And I wasn’t ready for that. So I shook my head. “Just thinking.”

“About what?”

“Work.”

Wolf snorted. “Liar.” I didn’t deny it. He waited a beat, then sighed. “Look, whatever’s going on… you know you can talk to me.”

I stared out the window, watching the city blur past. “Not this.”

“Why not?”

“Because you’ll tell Kat,” I said simply.

Wolf didn’t argue. He just huffed a laugh. “Fair.”

Silence settled between us, thick but not uncomfortable. He knew better than to push. I knew better than to open my mouth.

So I changed the subject. “Any word on Juan?”

Wolf’s jaw tightened. “Nothing solid. Just whispers. But he’s moving. I can feel it.”

“Me too.”

He glanced at me again. “That why you’re here?”

“Part of it.”

He didn’t ask about the other part, the part sitting in my chest like a stone, the part shaped like Sara’s face when she’s worried, like Gabe’s smile when he leaves for school, like the life I’m trying to build in the shadows of a world that doesn’t forgive softness.

Wolf nodded toward the convoy behind us. “We’ll keep it clean. No surprises.”

I forced myself to focus, to push everything else down. “Good. That’s what I want.”