The question catches me off guard. “What do you think?”
“I think you’re scary to bad people. But not to me.”
Something in my chest tightens painfully. “Good. I never want to be scary to you, buddy.”
“You promise?”
“I promise.”
He seems satisfied with this and snuggles deeper into my lap while I finish the story. And I realize this is the part I don’t know how to navigate. The gentleness. The patience. The being present when every fiber of my being is trained for violence and control.
I’m trying. God, I’m trying. But it feels like learning a new language when you’re already fluent in death.
Later that afternoon, I’m reviewing shipment manifests when Viktor calls.
“Boss, we have a situation with the Brooklyn territory. The Russians are pushing boundaries again.”
“How aggressive?”
“They hit one of our collection points. Sent a message that they want to renegotiate our arrangement.”
My jaw clenches. “Set up a meeting. I’ll handle it personally.”
“When?”
“Tonight. The usual place.”
I hang up and find Scarlett in the kitchen, writing what looks like a shopping list.
She’s wearing jeans and a sweater that somehow makes her look both casual and impossibly beautiful. Her hair is pulled back in a ponytail and she’s barefoot, completely at ease in my space.
Our space, I correct myself.
“What are you doing?” I ask.
She doesn’t look up. “Making a list. We’re out of half the things Luca likes and I need to pick up groceries.”
“Rosa handles the groceries.”
“I know. But I want to do it myself. It’s a normal thing, Dante. People go grocery shopping.”
“Not you. Not right now.”
Now she looks up, and I can see the defiance already building in her eyes. “Excuse me?”
“It’s not safe for you to leave the estate. You know this.”
“For a quick trip to the grocery store? Really?”
“Yes, really. There are people actively hunting you. Professional killers who would love nothing more than to catch you alone in a parking lot.”
She sets down her pen with deliberate slowness. “So what, I’m just supposed to stay locked up here forever? Never leave? Never do anything normal?”
“Until the threat is neutralized, yes.”
“That’s not reasonable.”
“It’s reality.”
