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“Because I’ve become what?” She peers up at me, and I can see the gold flecks in her irises.

“My world.” The admission escapes me. “You’ve become my reason for getting out of bed. My reason for breathing. You mean everything to me, Lucia. And I can’t…I won’t let you jump into danger again.”

She kisses me, and when she pulls back, her eyes are wet.

“Then don’t go alone. Figure out another way. Please.”

“I can’t let him hurt you.”

“I can’t let you die.” Her voice breaks. “Don’t you get it? I came here needing a weapon to avenge Matteo, but from the moment you kissed me in that parking garage, I haven’t been able to breathe without thinking about you. I stayed because every day with you fills me with desires I didn’t think myself capable of.” She swallows. “I want to be with you.”

I want to be with you.

My brain short-circuits as she grabs my face in both hands. “If you walk into that trap alone, you’ll confirm every fear I have. I really, really care about you, Marco Santori, and I can’t lose you.”

I haven’t heard those words since my father died. I’ve spent my whole life being a useful, valuable weapon, but I’ve never been cared for like this.

My hands hang at my sides, opening and closing on nothing. The fighter in me grapples for a response that my body knows but my mouth doesn’t. “What do you want me to say? I don’t know how to do…this.” The truth drags itself out of some deep place I’ve kept locked up for years. “I don’t know how to be anything except a fighter and a killer. You’ve given your heart to someone who’s never learned how to reciprocate tender feelings.”

“Then learn.” Her thumbs trace my cheekbones. “Learn with me.”

I kiss her like she’s the only force keeping me tethered to the earth. When we break apart, her forehead presses to mine, and I reach a decision.

“I’ll talk to Enzo and find a way out of this mess. But you have to promise me…”

“Anything.”

“If it comes down to it, and the only way to save your life is to let me go, we put your survival first. Promise me.”

Her eyes flash. “I’m not promising that. You’ve already taken a bullet for me. How many times can I ask you to step into harm’s way as my shield?”

“Lucia—”

“No.” She rears back and crosses her arms over her chest. “You don’t get to ask that or play the noble, sacrificial hero while I’m left behind to pick up the pieces. I’m not letting you go. End of discussion.”

Before I can argue, Nico waves at me from the end of the hall. It must be time for another strategy meeting.

“I’ve got to go.” I glance at Lucia, and her expression softens.

“Go. We’ll talk more tonight.” She presses a kiss to my jaw.

With the threat hanging over our heads, I join Enzo, Nico, and the senior capos around the table.

Enzo lays out the terms in his usual blunt way. Bruno has made a demand. Me in exchange for Lucia’s safety. Enzo adds that we aren’t negotiating. The plan is to cut out Bruno’s ability to threaten us.

The operation has three phases. First, Nico’s team will intercept the Volkov courier network that funds Bruno’s operations and hit the money pipeline at its transfer point in the Red Hook shipping district. No cash flow means no men on Bruno’s payroll.

Second, a strike team will raid Bruno’s organ supply chain through a warehouse in the Bronx that Billy traced through the Clinica Caritas financial records. We’ll seize the product, arrest or neutralize his local crew, and burn his infrastructure to the ground.

I’m responsible for the third part of the plan. Intelligence suggests that Bruno will be in New York within days, likely working out of a location in the Washington Heights medical district, which is blocks from Lucia’s hospital. If he surfaces, I’ll lead a team to take him. Not kill him. Take him. Enzo wants Bruno alive long enough to answer for the trafficking, Matteo Romano, and the doping scandal.

“You’re leading the third team, yes.” Enzo meets my eyes from across the table. “But you will follow the instructions, Marco. No detours. No addressing personal vendettas until we have him secured.”

I nod, though we both know that if I find myself face-to-face with Bruno Caruso, the plan may not survive the encounter.

Throughout the meeting, the memory of Lucia’s voice circles in my mind, drowning out the chatter.

I really, really care about you, Marco Santori, and I can’t lose you.