Chapter 30 Cristian
CRISTIAN
I don't want to release her.
Not now, not ever.
But the clock is ticking, and in minutes, I'll be expected to disappear from New York forever, leaving behind the only woman I've ever truly loved and our unborn child.
I wonder if this is my punishment for the ugly, violent life I’ve chosen to lead.
"I can't just walk away.” I rest my forehead against hers. "Knowing what he is, what he'll do to you…"
She hugs me tight. "You have to. For all of us."
But the thought of Maksim touching her, claiming what's mine, ignites something primal and dangerous within me.
The soldier in me calculates how easily I could end this problem.
One bullet, one knife, one well-executed plan.
I've killed men before. What's one more?
"Don't," she says, reading my thoughts. "Whatever you're planning… don't."
That's my Valentina. Fierce and protective. The same fire that drew me to her now burns in her eyes as she makes me promise not to sacrifice myself.
But how can I honor that promise when every instinct screams to protect what's mine?
Alessandro's inaction infuriates me.
He calls himself the Don, yet he sells his sister to that fucker Maksim to avoid conflict.
Where's the honor in that? Where's the strength?
If he won't protect his family, someone has to.
My mind turns to Luca, the only Dante with balls enough to stand up to Maksim.
He's in Chicago now, building a new life.
Would he let his sister walk this path if he knew the truth?
Contacting him will be risky.
Alessandro would see it as a betrayal, a power play.
But Luca might be our only hope and Alessandro has already forsaken us both.
I pull Valentina close one last time, breathing her in.
I'll leave New York as ordered, but I won't abandon her to this fate.
There has to be another way. And I intend to find it.
It takes every bit of strength I have to leave Valentina.
The belief that I need to live to find a way to save her is all that keeps me following Alessandro’s orders.
I return to my tiny apartment, packing what little I have and tossing it in my old Pontiac, not sure it will be able to make the trip.
Flying is faster, but I can’t take my weapons on a flight.
So driving it is.
As I head out of Great Neck, I decide to take a detour, driving to the edge of Maksim’s property, an arsenal by my side.
One clean shot. That's all it would take.
Even if I succeeded in putting a bullet in Maksim's skull before his men filled me with lead, what then?
Alessandro would know it was me.
The tenuous peace would shatter. Valentina would be caught in the crossfire.
I picture Valentina's face, her eyes when she begged me to live. For her. For our child.
"Fuck," I growl.
I turn the car around. I’m doing what she asked, not Alessandro. I’m living to fight for her another day. I won’t fail her or our child.
The engine coughs and sputters as I drive Cross Island Parkway to I-295 and head west.
A car built to last, but with enough miles on it that the Chicago trip will be a gamble.
Fourteen hours on the road hoping this temperamental beast doesn't leave me stranded in the middle of nowhere.
Doesn't matter. I'll walk if I have to.
I pull onto the interstate heading west, putting New York in my rearview.
The city lights fade as darkness envelops the road ahead, a perfect match for my mood.
Every mile takes me further from Valentina. I just have to hope that Luca will find a way to help.
The hours blur together.
Pennsylvania's woods give way to Ohio's flat expanse.
My eyes burn from staring at the hypnotic highway lines, and my back aches from sitting too long in the driver's seat.
I stop only when necessary, gas, piss, coffee.
No time for sleep.
Somewhere in Indiana, as dawn breaks across farmland, my resolve wavers.
The fatigue nearly stops me.
I consider pulling into a rest stop to sleep, but Valentina’s lovely face filters into my mind.
I remember how she looked at me the first time we made love, so beautiful, vulnerable, trusting.
Or the way she smirks when she thinks she’s gotten away with something.
The fierce determination in her eyes when she decided to sacrifice herself for the family.
I’m filled with pain and pride.
She’s an amazing woman, the only one who’s ever made me feel anything beyond duty and loyalty.
I’m now awake, filled with purpose and determination.
It doesn’t escape me that love has made me weak in some ways.
And yet, in others, it’s made me more powerful.
I’m told Luca is one hundred percent in love with his wife.
Will he understand how I feel when I beg him to help Valentina?
Not that he’ll care about my feelings, but surely, he’ll care about Valentina’s safety.
Several hours later, I enter Chicago.
I’m dead on my feet.
I find a cheap hotel efficiency, giving a fake name and paying with cash.
In the room, I crash on the bed, giving myself an hour before resuming my quest.
I wake with a jolt, disoriented in the dim hotel room.
The cheap digital clock shows I've barely slept an hour.
My body aches for more, but I can’t wait any longer.
The lukewarm shower does little to wash away my exhaustion.
I dress quickly in a suit, to look the part of an enforcer.
I check my weapon and secure it at my back. Luca's territory is unfamiliar ground.
In New York, I knew every street, every player, every rule.
Here, I'm just another stranger without protection or standing.
I rehearse what to say during the drive to his office.
I’m nobody to him, so I need to focus on Valentina and hope that the closeness I saw between him and Valentina months back is real.
The building looks unassuming, a renovated warehouse in an industrial district.
Smart. Inconspicuous, yet easily defensible.
I spot at least four men on perimeter duty before I even park.
My palms sweat as I approach the entrance, which is unusual.
I’m not a man prone to nerves.
But everything is riding on this.
This is it.
My last chance.
"I need to see Luca Dante," I tell the guard at the door. "Cristian Bonetti from New York."
The man's expression doesn't change. "Mr. Dante isn't expecting you."
"It's about his sister."
His eyes narrow. "Wait here."
I stand in the entryway for fifteen minutes. It’s not long but it feels like forever.
When a second guard appears, I take a step forward, only to be blocked.
"Mr. Dante isn't available."
"Bullshit," I growl. "Tell him it's about Valentina. Tell him she's in danger."
The guard shoves me back. "You need to leave. Now."
My fist clenches, rage and fear building. I didn't drive fourteen hours to be turned away by some fucking doorman.
"You have thirty seconds to convince me not to break your neck," a voice says from behind me.
I turn to find Luca Dante.
He’s younger than Alessandro, but in some ways he seems older, harder, darker.
The man has a reputation for unpredictable violence.
If I play it wrong, I’m dead.
Valentina said she’d reach out to him, but it appears she wasn’t able to.
So I need to tread carefully or I’ll die right here, right now.
“Valentina is being forced to marry Maksim Vasiliev in a matter of days.”
A muscle twitches in Luca's jaw, but otherwise, his expression remains impassive. “I’m aware of my sister’s situation.”
“Then why aren’t you stopping it? I’m told you care for her? She believes you care for her.”
One brow arches and several of his men step back. “Who are you to tell me about my sister?”
“Maksim will kill her. You have to know that.”
He sucks in a breath and then nods toward a door. "Inside."
His office is spartanly decorated, function over form, which is different from New York. Lorenzo, Luca and Alessandro’s father, liked surrounding himself with signs of money, gold, art.
He leans against his desk, arms crossed. "I spoke to Valentina yesterday. She said nothing about being in danger."
"You know Maksim," I counter, desperation growing in my voice. "You've seen what he does to people who cross him. Now imagine what he'll do to a wife who is the sister of his nemesis.”
“Bonetti, right?”
I nod. “Yes, sir.”
Luca studies me, eyes narrowing. "My sister made a plea for me to take you in. Said you'd been exiled for protecting her honor."
I nod again, not wanting to say more than whatever Valentina wanted him to know, unless necessary to get Luca on board.
"She failed to mention you were fucking her." His voice drops dangerously low. "That complicates things."
"I take offense to that," I growl, stepping forward. "I didn't fuck your sister. I love her." It's the first time I've said it aloud to anyone but Valentina. I wonder if he’ll care.
Luca's expression doesn't soften. "If that's true, why are you here instead of helping her? Seems convenient that you've run to Chicago while she faces Maksim alone."
My temper flares.
After everything I've risked, after driving through the night, after putting my life on the line repeatedly, this arrogant bastard questions my commitment?
“Why aren’t you!” Okay, so now I’m a dead man, confronting a Don with a raised voice. “You know better than anyone that Alessandro is willing to sacrifice her. And you know how Maksim is.”
I step closer, too angry to care about the danger. "Valentina has no power in this. She's being forced to marry that psychopath, and when Alessandro discovered us together, the only reason I'm still breathing is because I agreed to leave New York forever. Your sister begged for my life."
Luca's jaw tightens.
"You think I wanted to leave her? I offered to kill Maksim, consequences be damned, but Alessandro doesn’t have the balls to go to war. I offered to take her away. But she refused, to protect me. I'm not here because I'm running. I'm here because you're our last hope. Her last hope."
“Those are strong words about my brother.”
“Tell me I’m wrong.” I work to rein in my temper since I’m still alive.
"I told him he was sending her to her death, but he wants peace and prosperity more than Valentina’s life.
She needs you, the one who stood up to Maksim before.
Help me save her, or I swear I'll go back and die trying to do it myself. "
Luca's eyebrows rise slightly. "Wait a minute. You openly confronted Alessandro?” He gives a low whistle. "I've never seen a soldier challenge him like that and live to talk about it."
I shrug. "Your sister was worth the risk.”
He studies me with new interest. "So you stood in his office, telling him he was wrong to his face? About a marriage alliance he orchestrated?"
I nod. "I told him that if you were there, Maksim would already be dead."
A surprised chuckle escapes Luca's lips. "And he didn't shoot you on the spot?"
"He pulled his gun," I admit.
“And Valentina saved you?”
“Not that time. She saved me when he discovered I was in love with her. He exiled me, something I know you understand.”
Luca's amusement fades. "What exactly do you expect me to do? Alessandro made this deal. If I interfere, I risk starting the war they're trying to prevent."
I step forward, desperation driving me. "Save her. Don’t tell me you’re afraid of war too? Are you really willing to let her die for this?”
“Many other lives—”
“All soldiers like me who signed up for this. For possible death. She didn’t. She’s worth more than all of them. You could have stopped this months ago by killing Maksim. You had him in your sights."
Luca's expression hardens. "I won’t deny that I regret not ending him, especially when Valentina said she was going to accept the deal to marry him, which is part of the problem, you realize, don’t you? She agreed to it.”
“She didn’t know what you and Alessandro do about Maksim. Now she does, and she’s terrified.”
“I won’t deny that I’d like to kill Maksim… kill them all. But that’s my brother’s territory. I can’t go rushing in. It will be disrespectful to him and start a war he’s trying to avoid. What I’m saying is I can’t initiate anything. I can only respond when Maksim makes a move.”
"So you'll just wait for him to hurt her?" I fight to keep my voice steady, though rage is burning a hole in my gut. "By the time Maksim makes a move that satisfies you, Valentina could already be—" I can't even finish the thought.
Luca pours himself a drink, not offering me one. "I have responsibilities here. People who depend on me. A wife, a son, a child on the way."
I study him. “Another brother abandons Valentina, and somehow, I’m the bad guy for loving her, for trying to save her.”
“Watch yourself.” His glass slams down.
“Why? Why won’t any of you save your sister?”
His eyes flash with danger. "Don't push me, Bonetti."
We stand in tense silence before he continues. "Maksim needs to make the first move. Only then can I justify entering my brother's territory."
He pours a new drink. “Besides, he won't kill her. Not until he has a son."
My son. But what if it’s a daughter?
I realize that if I want to save Valentina, I might have to do it alone.
Luca's expression hardens as he walks back to his desk. "I have a proposition for you, Bonetti. I need men I can trust, and anyone who's willing to stand up to Alessandro for what they believe in has a certain quality I respect."
I wait to hear what he has to say.
"I have a place for you in my organization." He looks up, eyes cold as steel. "But understand something. I'm not as lenient as my brother. You go against me, even once, and I'll put a bullet in your head myself. No second chances."
I nod stiffly. "I understand."
"Do you?" He narrows his eyes. "Because from where I'm standing, you've already proven yourself willing to betray one Dante brother. Why should I trust you won't do the same to me?"
“I wouldn’t betray him if he wasn’t betraying his sister. Everything I've done, everything I'm willing to do, is for her."
Something in Luca's expression shifts, softens momentarily before hardening again. "I'll keep in contact with Valentina. If anything changes, if Maksim makes a move that crosses the line, I'll know about it."
“And you’ll tell me?”
He’s noncommittal, but what choice do I have?
"For now, that's the best I can offer," Luca continues. "If you want to stay in Chicago, work for me, you'll have that connection. Otherwise…" He shrugs, the meaning clear.
I swallow my rage, my desperation. A good soldier knows when to retreat, when to regroup. When to wait for the perfect moment to strike.
"I accept your offer," I say, not at all sure that I shouldn’t just get in my car and drive back to New York and burn Maksim’s house to the ground.