The line didn’t ring long. It connected on the first buzz.
Silence stretched, heavy and deliberate, before that smooth, venom-laced voice filled my ear.
"Don Romano," Massimo drawled, drawing out the syllables like he had all the ti in the world. "I hear possible congratulations are in order. A wife... and a weakness."
My grip tightened around the phone until my knuckles ached. I hated his voice. Too calm, too smug, like a man who thought he’d already won.
"What the fuck do you want?" I rasped, forcing each word through gritted teeth.
A low chuckle slid through the receiver. It was the kind of laugh that made n itch to spill blood. "Always impatient. Always sharp around the edges. But I’m calling because you and I...we have unfinished business."
I stepped toward the glass wall of the suite, the city glittering far below. My reflection stared back at , jaw locked, eyes dark, the weight of the world pressing down. Behind , Mira shifted slightly on the couch, oblivious.
"Get to the point," I snapped.
Massimo’s voice lowered, turning darker. "The ga has changed. You’ve grown soft, Romano. Marriage? Dostic bliss? It’s almost sweet. But sweetness is rot in our world. It makes n weak."
A muscle twitched in my cheek. "Careful."
"You can’t protect her every second," he went on smoothly, ignoring my warning. "The mont you slip, and you will - I’ll be there. I’ll be watching. I’ll put a bullet where you’ll feel it most."
Rage flared with . It hot and blinding. I wanted to reach through the phone, crush his throat with my bare hands. Instead, I forced the words out like steel. "Say her na again, and I’ll feed you to the dogs while you’re still breathing."
His laugh returned, colder this ti. "So protective. So predictable. You see, that’s your weakness, Don. Love makes n predictable. And predictable n... are easy to kill. That docunt, those diamonds are going to belong to ."
The line went dead before I could respond.
I stared at the screen, my reflection distorted in the black glass. My chest heaved with uneven breaths, fury clawing at my insides. He wanted rattled. He wanted reckless. But all he’d done was ignite sothing far more dangerous.
I turned, and Mira was standing at the doorway, her eyes wide and uncertain. "Jace?" she whispered, voice soft, hesitant.
I shoved the phone into my pocket, locking the fury down tight. She couldn’t see it. She couldn’t know how close she was to being used as bait in a war she never asked for.
"I’m fine," I lied.
Her gaze searched mine, not buying it for a second. She ca closer, bare feet padding across the rug, her nightgown brushing her knees. "You’re not fine. Sothing happened. Was that Massimo?"
My throat tightened. She was too intuitive, too perceptive. It was both her gift and my curse.
I reached for her before I could stop myself, wrapping my arms around her waist, pressing her flush against . I buried my face in her hair, inhaling her scent like it could drown out the poison Massimo had poured into my ear.
She gasped softly but didn’t pull away. Instead, she whispered against my chest, "What did he say? What does he want? Was he behind the attack on your mother?"
Mira asked so many questions at once, I didn’t even know what to say.
But I couldn’t tell her anything. Not yet. Not until I had figured it out. Harming my mom and trying to kill her yet again was sothing I didn’t anticipate. I thought of the possibility but I stupidly believed he knew better. He obviously didn’t.
"It’s nothing you need to worry about," I muttered, pressing a kiss into her hair. My voice was rough, unconvincing even to my own ears.
She leaned back to look at , her hands resting against my chest. "Don’t shut out, Jace. If we’re in this together, then we’re in it together. No secrets."
Her words cut through sharper than Massimo’s threats. I wanted to tell her everything. How he’d promised to use her against , how he’d made her the centerpiece of his war but the thought of seeing fear cloud her eyes was unbearable.
Instead, I kissed her. It was hard, desperate, possessive. My lips crashed against hers, swallowing the tremble in her breath. She clung to like she felt the storm raging inside .
But even as her warmth soothed , my mind burned with Massimo’s voice. You can’t protect her every second.
Fuck him. I’d prove him wrong.
The rest of the day went by in a blur. I worked from the suite because I did not want to leave Mira’s side even once. Massimo was proving to be more of a problem than I anticipated. He knew my wife was my weakness and if anything happened to her, I would completely lose my mind.
Mira tried to distract . I forced smiles and grins at her but in my mind there was a storm that was not going to settle anyti soon.
~
The next morning, the world didn’t feel lighter. If anything, the air was thicker.
I hadn’t slept. Not really. Mira had curled into , peaceful as always. Her head rested on my chest, but my eyes had stayed open, staring into the dark. My arm had been around her the entire night, as if loosening it would sohow invite danger.
When dawn broke, I slipped out of bed, careful not to wake her. I stood at the window, watching the city stir to life, phone clutched in my hand.
Tomas’s na lit the screen before I even called him.
"Boss," he greeted. His tone was clipped, urgent. "You were right. Ricardo and Giulietta—they’re at each other’s throar. But..." He hesitated. "Massimo is circling. Word on the street is that he bought their compliance with so heavy cheques."
My jaw clenched. So Massimo thought he could build his empire on my ruins? Over my dead body.
Ricardo proved to be a swine. He had just lost his son and he had to be bought to take revenge. It was disgraceful.
"Keep feeding the fire between Ricardo and Giulietta," I ordered. "Make sure neither of them trusts the other long enough to look at ."
Tomas exhaled sharply. "Understood."
I ended the call and turned back to the bed. Mira had shifted in her sleep, her face half-buried in the pillow, her arm stretched across the empty space where I’d been. She looked fragile in that mont, too fragile for the life I’d dragged her into.
Massimo’s threat echoed again. The mont you slip, and you will - I’ll be there.
No. I wouldn’t slip. Not with her life hanging in the balance.
I walked back to her, brushing a strand of hair off her cheek. She stirred faintly, her lips parting. Even in sleep, she whispered my na.
My chest tightened.
She was my greatest weakness. But she was also my greatest reason to survive.
And God help Massimo because if he touched her, there wouldn’t be enough left of him to bury.
Just as I was about to tuck my phone away, it buzzed again. This ti, it wasn’t Tomas.
The caller ID made my chest seize. It was the hospital.
I swiped instantly. "Romano."
"’Sir," the doctor’s voice ca through, rushed but steady. "Your mother, she’s awake. She regained consciousness twenty minutes ago. We’ve stabilized her condition."
For a mont, I didn’t breathe. My hand clenched around the phone, and a hundred emotions surged all at once. There was relief, disbelief, rage at whoever had dared put her in that bed in the first place.
"She spoke?" I demanded.
"Yes. Weak, but coherent. She’s asking for you."
My throat tightened. I dragged a hand over my jaw, trying to process it. I had been preparing myself for the worst every single day since the attack. It had only been a few days but the possibility of losing her had been a shadow I couldn’t shake. And now, against every odd, she had clawed her way back.
"Keep her under guard. No one. And I an no one gets near her without my say-so," I said firmly.
"Yes, sir."
When I ended the call, I turned and found Mira awake, blinking up at sleepily from the bed. "What is it?" she whispered.
I exhaled slowly, the weight pressing on shifting just enough for my chest to expand. "My mother. She’s awake."
Mira’s eyes widened, tears springing instantly. She scrambled upright, clutching the sheets to her chest. "Oh my God, Jace that’s incredible!"
I nodded, jaw tight. "It is. But it changes everything."
Because now I needed answers. Her perspective wold be different from anyone else. Massimo didn’t send his n, that I knew. He must have partnered with soone else. My mother would have nas.
And when she gave them to , the bloodbath that followed would be biblical.
Reviews
All reviews (0)