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“I know how to vanish.”
She shook her head. “You know how to abandon people. That’s not the same skill.”
Archie reached for her arm, but she stepped beyond him.
“I’m just trying to remove the threat,” I explained.
“No. You’re running again.”
“I’m trying to protect you.” My hands closed at my sides. “This family has lost enough because of me.”
“And you think leaving again restores what we lost? That it somehow balances the scales?”
“It keeps you all alive. That’s all I care about.”
“Stop deciding what survival looks like for everyone else,” Tone argued.
Archie moved beside her. “For once, I agree with my wife.”
Tone shot him a look. “For once?”
“That argument can wait until after I murder your brother.”
Raze stood and looked directly at me.
“You’re not disappearing on us again.”
“I’m not asking permission, brother.”
“You didn’t ask the last time, either.” Raze stepped around the table. “You will not walk out those gates and tear this family apart a second time. If I have to break both your legs and lock you in the cellar, I will fucking do it, Demi.”
I met him halfway around the table.
“You can try.”
Atlas rose. The scrape of his chair brought every man’s attention to him. “If either of you draws blood in this room, I will shoot you both and refuse to carry your coffins.”
Gianni muttered a curse.
“This is madness.” Marcello slammed his palm against the table. “Family does not mean throwing our children into every fire someone carries through our door.”
“No,” Tone replied. “It means deciding which fires we can live with ignoring.”
The room turned toward her. She placed one hand over her stomach.
Archie’s gaze dropped to the movement, and the rage in his face cracked enough to reveal the fear beneath it.
Tone looked at Marcello first. “You’re right about the risk.” He seemed almost surprised that she was agreeing with him. “So is Gianni,” she continued. “The Coccicos may strike our homes, our businesses and our children. Their reach extends through ports, police stations and churches. We can’t know where the next attack will come from.”
Archie moved closer until his arm touched hers. This time, she allowed it.
“But we know what they do,” Tone’s voice cracked. “We saw the names. We saw the ages. What if these were our girls?” No one interrupted. “If we send Adriana away because her presence has become dangerous, we are no different from every official who accepted money and looked the other way.”
“It’s not that simple,” Marcello argued.
“It is to me.” Tone’s gaze moved around the table. “I don’t care whether Adriana carries Cavalho blood. Demitri brought her through our gates. She slept beneath our roof. She trusted us with the last thing her father left her, even though every instinct told her not to trust anyone.” Her voice shook, but her shoulders remained squared. “We don’t get to call ourselves a family only when loyalty is convenient.”
Archie closed his eyes. He knew what she was going to say. So did I.
