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“Vito De Luca," Bash began, his voice low and tense as he paced the room. "The man is a monster, more ruthless than any I've ever encountered. He's the head of the De Luca family, one of the most powerful criminal organizations in the world."
“Worse than your dad?” Hassan asked.
“My dad was a fucking pussycat compared to this man,” Bash replied.
“Even with all the raping and everything.”
I froze at Hassan's words, the crude reality of the situation hitting me like a ton of bricks. This was not a game. It wasn't just about protecting Sebastian from the clutches of the De Luca family; it was about saving him from a life of unimaginable horrors. My heart sank as I realized the depth of the darkness we were up against.
Bash stopped pacing. “You know better than anyone that my old man…and Jez…the things they did were unforgivable.”
Hassan held his gaze, saying nothing.
“But I don’t think we should underestimate Vito. I still don’t know what that means for us, but I’ll tell you that I’m worried what it could mean for Sebastian. Because Vito De Luca is something else.”
Hassan cocked his head, his expression softening slightly. “And you’re worried about your son.”
Bash's face tightened with anger, his knuckles turning white as he clenched his fists. "Not just him. I’m scared for all of us," he replied. "Vito De Luca is a sadistic monster who revels in his power and inflicts pain on anyone who crosses his path."
Zane cleared his throat. “Jez was brutal, but Vito...he's homicidal. He likes taking his enemies out personally–and through very slow, very painful means. We don’t want to cross paths with him if at all possible."
“Wait a fucking second,” Skylar said, and we all looked over to see what he had to contribute. “Alicia’s Italian?”
“That’s what you’re thinking about right now?” Zane said, trying to hold back a smile.
I laughed, appreciating the much-needed levity in the tense atmosphere. I gave him a small smile before turning my attention back to Bash. "Okay, so we know that he's a dangerous man. But what's the plan? How do we stop him from taking Sebastian?"
"Vito is calculating, cold, and completely without mercy," Bash continued, his jaw clenched. "He won't hesitate to take out anyone who stands in his way, and that includes us."
"Then we'll have to be smarter," I said. "We can't let them get their hands on Sebastian. We have to fight, whatever the cost."
"Agreed," Bash said firmly, his eyes meeting mine. "I don't care what it takes; we're not handing over Sebastian to those monsters."
The rest of the Knives nodded and muttered in agreement.
"So here’s the plan," Bash said, determination etched on his face. "We need to gather as much information as possible about the De Luca family and their operations. We need to know everything they're capable of so we can stay one step ahead in this battle."
"Already on it," Hassan replied, pulling out his laptop from the bottom of the coffee table. He started to type furiously as the rest of us continued talking.
“Sebastian can’t ever know about this,” I said.
“He wouldn’t understand,” Bash countered.
“Right. He wouldn’t understand now. He’s all of two years old,” I said. “He will be able to understand eventually. Sebastian cannot know about his parents and he absolutely cannot know about his grandparents.”
Bash nodded in agreement. "We have to protect him from the truth, at least until he's old enough to handle it. It would only bring pain and confusion if he were to learn about his parents and the De Luca family at such a young age."
Skylar interjected. "They're coming after us, though, aren't they?" he said with a smirk.
Bash's expression hardened. "We'll be ready for them. We won't give them the satisfaction of taking Sebastian away. We'll do whatever it takes to keep him safe."
“Good,” I said. “Because if anyone tries to touch our baby, I’ll kill them myself.”
Chapter Two: Skylar
Lately I’d been thinking about the past…and I didn’t fucking like it.
Before I had to move to my grandparents' village, I grew up in the dark corners of a London council estate, where the smell of damp concrete and the sound of sirens were constant companions. And here–the docks where our most dangerous deals go down–has always reminded me of that stench. It isn’t the same…not exactly…but it gets to me just as much.
