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Aries slowly sits back into his seat. “Good. So what’s our in?”
“Nate’s going to walk us in a few hours after it starts, right before the ring opens. The less opportunity for one of Santorini’s guys—or worse, fucking Mario Amaro—to spot us, the better. He’ll stay and help run recon with a few of his trusted friends. He vouches for them, and I trust his judgement.”
“This plan feels hasty, and there are too many opportunities for error. And this time, an error could result in death—or worse.” Matteo’s voice seems to hang in the air between the four of us, suspended despite the weighted dread attached to them. I can only hope that fate hasn’t decided to intervene.
Threads of a plan twirl together, forming into something that I think could work. It’d be a risk, but not insurmountable.
“Have you ever been to Carnival? Or Revelry?” I direct my question to Dante, since he seems to have most of the information.
He shakes his head as he looks at me. “No, but Nate’s shared some layout information with me, as well as all the other details. I trust him.”
“Okay. Well, wouldn’t it be better for one of us to go in early and scout the area?” I spin the cap around on the table, keeping my index finger in the middle as it twirls around and around.
“If they make us before we get to Leo, we’re fucked, Cherry.”
The threads of possibility and planning tighten as they spin around one another, solidifying the idea in my mind. I know they’re going to push back, and even though I understand that they’re trying to keep me safe, it doesn’t mean that I’m going to just sit back. Especially when I can help. I take a deep breath and focus on Matteo first, he’ll be my biggest hurdle.
“Maybe you’ll get recognized, but I won’t. I'm nobody in this world.”
There’s a beat before anyone says anything, then the air around us heats up, swirling around their displeasure and disagreement.
“Absolutely not. You’re a fucking knockout, there’s no way you go unnoticed. Those motherfuckers would eat you alive. If you think I’m gonna send you into Carnival alone, you don’t know me at all. It’d be like sending you into a wolf’s den, Cherry.” Matteo’s breathing heavy by the last word.
I stare at him for a moment, distantly realizing that he’s not trying to control me, just the situation. He’s trying to protect me, but this isn’t what I want.
I slowly lean back into my chair, resting my head against the headrest as I look down toward my lap. I pull the inside of my cheek between my clenched molars and think about how I want to phrase my next statement.
“If you think you can control me like some sort of puppet,” I pause and look up at him from underneath my lashes. “Then you don't know me as well as I thought you did, Matteo Rossi.”
“And what about Mario Amaro, Charles's uncle? He’d recognize you for sure.” Matteo’s argument is weak and judging by the way he grips the armrests in fists, he knows it.
I lift a shoulder, ignoring the metaphor. “He might, but that's assuming he goes to Carnival. And you said it yourself: that Santorini guy stopped going, so it’s possible Mario wouldn’t either.”
Dante reaches over the table and covers my hand with his, stilling my fingers fluttering against the wood and pulling my attention toward him. “It's not about knowing you, Maddie. It’s about knowing the type of men Santorini has. They’re not good people.”
“But you guys will be there and so will your cousin. The warning of a potential ambush far outweighs the small risk of me going early,” I counter, my voice firm. I pause and school my face before I deliver the gauntlet. “And don’t mistake this conversation as me seeking permission, because it’s not. I’m simply advising you of my plans.” I level each of them with a look, a single brow raised, giving them a moment to prepare themselves for the next blow I’m about to deliver. “Because we’re partners. Aren’t we?”
I’ve backed them into a corner, and they all know it. If we’re partners—and I think we are—then they have to trust me. And if they don’t trust me, then they don’t view me as a partner. In which case, what the hell are we doing here?
A low chuckle rumbles through the air, and I’m not surprised to find mirth dancing on Aries’s face.
I’m not sure if I should feel proud that I backed them into a corner, but I kind of do. I have a feeling Lainey would be proud of me too. It’s less of backing them into a corner as it is standing my ground. I’m not naïve enough to think I can handle a room full of men like Charles Pinkerton’s uncle and his bodyguards, but I can use my excellent observation skills to scout the place.
Aries tips his chin up and looks at me. “It’s a good point. Scouting the area before the fight makes sense, it’s what either of you would do if you weren’t such well-known enemies. But I’m not. To most people I’m Rafe Rhodes, not Rafael Rossi. And that works in our favor.”
“Twenty minutes, and no more. Then Matteo and I are in, and you find us by the ring. We get Leo together.”
I bite the inside of my cheek and scan Dante’s face. He looks different somehow, or maybe it’s me. Maybe I’m different.
Something changed between us in the terminal a few hours ago, and I can’t tell how that’s going to affect us, but I feel the change on the horizon. It’s coming, and for once, I’m not afraid.
“Twenty minutes, and then Leo,” I say with a nod.
Aries claps his hands once. “Now that’s settled, I never did get the story of how you two knew each other.” He motions between Matteo and me with his index finger.
I roll my head along the headrest to look at him with a raised brow. “There’s nothing really to tell. We dated a couple years ago, back when we were kids.” I lift a shoulder in a half shrug. “Then he stood me up for a dance and started messing around with someone else. That was it.”
Matteo clears his throat and tugs on his collar with his index finger, a reflexive, nervous gesture that I haven’t seen from him before. “That’s not . . . entirely true.”
