A profound silence settles over the line. Twenty years of misplaced guilt, borrowed trauma, and tactical detachment dissolve into the ether. The Costa brothers, bound by blood and tragedy, finally acknowledging the true shape of the scars.
"Turi is here," Matteo says quietly, clearing his throat. "He's coordinating the sweep. He says the extraction team is three minutes out. Two black armored sedans. They'll breach the loading dock alleyway."
Turi. The elder. The man who practically raised us after the massacre. The steady hand on our shoulders.
"Tell Turi I'll be ready," I say.
"Are you bringing the witness to the compound?" Matteo asks.
The word grates again. I set my jaw.
This is the moment. The line in the sand.
"I'm not the guard dog anymore, Teo."
"I'm listening."
"I'm a man. And I'm bringing my woman home."
Matteo absorbs the statement. He knows my reputation. He knows my tactical isolation. I do not bring women to the compound. I do not claim things.
"Your woman."
"Mine," I growl. The feral possession clawing at my ribs demands to be heard. "She is untouchable. She steps onto Costa territory as mine. Anyone looks at her sideways, I take their eyes."
A low chuckle rumbles through the phone. It's a rare sound. Matteo Costa laughing in the middle of a war zone.
"Understood, Dante. The compound is ready for her. Bring her home."
"Three minutes," I say, and cut the call.
I slide the burner back into my pocket.
The loading dock is quiet again. The wind howls outside the steel doors.
I turn to Gemma. I grab both her shoulders. I pull her squarely in front of me.
I am broad. Covered in tattoos and blood. My beard is a mess. The scar on my chest throbs from the adrenaline.
She tilts her head back to look at me. The curvy food truck owner from the South Side. The woman who lost her livelihood tonight because she was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
The woman who saved my fucking soul.
"What did he say?" she asks.
"Extraction is coming. Two armored cars. We're going to the compound."
She swallows hard. "The Costa compound."
"Yes."
"A fortress."
"Yes."
"With your family."
"Yes."
