Page 29 of The Mafioso’s Bride

“We follow the driver,” Dario says. “If Antonio sends him to the gala, he leads us to the contact. If Antonio attends, I take him there.”

“Not inside the ballroom,” Dante says.

Dario gives one nod. “Garage or service hall.”

“Alive,” I add.

His stare meets mine. “If he cooperates.”

“Alive,” Dante repeats.

Dario nods again.

We spend another twenty minutes assigning men, entrances, and vehicles. Mattia will coordinate our men and monitor the venue feeds from the security office. Dario will lead the capture team. I will remain with Dante in the ballroom and identify which families meet with the hosts.

The plan is sound. I want the meeting over.

Mattia gathers his files. His attention lands on my lapel once more, but self-preservation wins. Dario follows him into the corridor and shuts the door.

Dante waits until their footsteps fade.

“You’re different,” he says.

“I’m wearing a pin.”

Dante points at my lapel. “You’re wearing a bug on a three-piece suit.”

“It’s an animal with its own phylum.”

He picks up his coffee. “What the fuck is a tardigrade?”

“A microscopic creature that can survive extreme conditions. Giada says people exaggerate what they can endure, since exposure time and temperature matter.”

Dante leans against his desk. “You remembered all that.”

“She explains things well.”

“She reads financial records, lectures you about tiny creatures, and buys you jewelry shaped like one. Does she grasp what those records mean? The risk they create for her?”

“Yes.” My palm strikes the table. “She grasps the information, the risk, and the business. She chose to look at those records. She chose to help. And she’s brilliant.”

My palm remains flat against the table. Dante’s eyebrows rise. No one speaks to my Don that way, least of all me. He looks far more entertained than offended.

Dante straightens. “I didn’t say she wasn’t.”

“Then choose the question better.”

He smiles. “I’ve never seen you like this.”

“Like what?”

“You’re wearing her pin. Defending her. Counting the minutes until you can go home.”

I close the financial summary. “We have a gala to plan.”

“That isn’t a denial.”

I slide the papers into my case. “It isn’t a discussion.”