Chapter 26 Sandro #2
But even if it did, I had this. This moment. This love. This absolute certainty that choosing Emilio was the best decision I'd ever made.
We fell asleep tangled together. Both of us exhausted. Both of us at peace despite the chaos waiting for us.
I woke up the next morning with Emilio in my arms and thought about how much my life had changed in six months.
I went from viewing people as tools to caring about one person more than my entire empire. Emilio taught me that vulnerability isn't weakness and that love doesn't have to be a weapon.
The RICO charges were serious but we had a chance. Emilio's brilliant strategy was already poking holes in the prosecution's case. The illegal evidence would likely be suppressed. Vincent's credibility was questionable. We might actually win this.
But even if we didn't, I knew I'd made the right choice.
Choosing Emilio over everything else gave me something worth fighting for. I wasn't just protecting my empire anymore. I was protecting our future together.
My phone rang at 8 AM.
Matteo. Calling earlier than usual.
I extracted myself carefully from Emilio's arms and answered in the hallway.
"We've got a situation," Matteo said without preamble. "Stefan Romano infiltrated Inferno last night wearing a disguise and a wig. Security caught him on camera trying to access restricted areas. He was gathering intelligence before my men grabbed him."
I went very still. "Where is he now?"
"Locked in one of the upstairs rooms. Refusing to answer questions about who sent him or what he was looking for." Matteo paused. The silence was weighted. "What do you want me to do with him?"
"What do you want to do with him?" I asked carefully. I already knew the answer but I needed Matteo to say it.
"I haven't decided yet." Matteo's voice was controlled. Too controlled. "Could keep him as leverage against the Romano family. Could hand him back and demand compensation for the security breach. Or..."
"Or?"
"Or maybe just keep him." Matteo sounded almost angry about it.
I recognized that tone.
Matteo had already made his decision even if he didn't want to admit it yet.
"Don't do anything rash," I said. "I'll be there in an hour. We'll figure this out together."
I hung up and went back to the bedroom.
Emilio was awake. Sitting up against the headboard. "What's wrong?"
"Stefan Romano infiltrated Inferno last night. Matteo's men caught him. He's locked in one of the upstairs rooms." I started getting dressed. "We need to go assess the situation."
Emilio's eyes widened. "You should call the police. Return him to his family before this becomes a kidnapping charge on top of everything else."
"Matteo won't allow that."
"Then this is going to get very complicated very quickly."
I smiled despite the seriousness of the situation. "Our lives are already complicated. What's one more disaster?"
We drove to Inferno together.
I kept my hand on Emilio's back possessively as we walked through the club toward my office.
Whatever came next, we'd face it together.
The RICO trial that could destroy everything.
Matteo's dangerous obsession with the rival boss's son.
The federal government trying to dismantle my empire brick by brick.
I wasn't worried anymore.
I had Emilio. That was all that mattered. Everything else was just details we'd figure out along the way.
When we reached my office, Matteo was waiting.
Elio was there too. Looking tense. Luca stood by the window. The three of them had clearly been discussing the situation before we arrived.
"Show me," I said.
Matteo gestured toward the one-way glass that looked into the upstairs room where we kept people who needed to be isolated.
I looked through and saw Stefan Romano.
He wasn't wearing the disguise anymore. Just clothes that sat awkwardly on his frame, like they weren’t his. Dark hair still damp from where they'd made him shower and change. He was pacing the room like a caged animal. All nervous energy and defiant fury.
Even locked up and clearly terrified, he held himself with pride. Chin up. Shoulders back. Refusing to show weakness.
I looked at Matteo.
My enforcer was staring at Stefan through the glass with an intensity I'd seen before. Something dark and possessive flared in his eyes as he watched the clever-eyed young man who'd met his stare at the auction without flinching.
And I knew—absolutely knew—that Matteo wouldn't be able to walk away from this.
"What did he say when you questioned him?" I asked.
"Nothing useful. Claims he was just looking around. Denies his father sent him. Says he came on his own." Matteo's jaw clenched. "He's lying. Giuseppe Romano doesn't let his sons make their own decisions. Especially not Stefan."
"What do you want to do with him?"
"I already told you. I'm keeping him."
Elio made a sound of frustration. "That's kidnapping. We've got federal prosecutors building a RICO case and you want to add kidnapping charges?"
"I don't care."
"Matteo—"
"I said I don't care." Matteo's voice was flat. Final. "He came into my club. Tried to steal information. Got caught. That makes him mine until I decide otherwise."
I studied him carefully. Saw the truth underneath the justifications.
This wasn't about leverage or security or protecting our operations.
This was about Stefan.
About the connection that sparked between them at the auction. About Matteo's need to possess things he wanted. About an obsession that was already consuming him.
"His father will retaliate," I said quietly. "Giuseppe Romano doesn't take kindly to people taking his possessions. And that's what Stefan is to him. Property."
"Good. Let him try." Matteo's expression was cold. "I've been looking for an excuse to go to war with the Romanos. Stefan just gave me one."
Elio and Luca exchanged concerned looks.
I sighed. "We'll discuss this. The four of us. Privately."
Matteo nodded curtly and followed me to the conference room.
Emilio stayed in my office. I saw him look through the one-way glass at Stefan. Saw the concern on his face.
I closed the conference room door and faced my three partners.
"This is a mistake," Elio said immediately. "We can't afford complications right now. The trial starts in six months. We need to be focused on that, not dealing with Giuseppe Romano's fury because we're holding his son hostage."
"I'm not asking for permission," Matteo said. "I'm keeping Stefan. End of discussion."
"You're letting your dick make decisions," Luca observed. "That never ends well."
"This isn't about sex."
"Then what is it about?" I asked.
Matteo was quiet for a long moment. Then: "Did you see his face at the auction? When that investment banker bought him? He looked terrified for just a second before he hid it. Then he saw me watching and something changed. Like he was hoping I'd do something. Save him."
"You didn't."
"I know. And I've regretted it every day since.
" Matteo's hands clenched into fists. "He came here on his own.
Walked right into our territory. That took courage.
Stupidity. Maybe both. But he's here now and I'm not letting him go back to that life.
To being sold and paraded and treated like property. "
"So you're going to treat him like property instead?" Elio challenged. "Keep him locked in a room? That's not saving him, Matteo. That's just a different cage."
"I'll let him go when I know he's safe. When I know his father can't sell him to the highest bidder again." Matteo looked at each of us. "I'm keeping him. If that's a problem, tell me now."
Luca shrugged. "Not my problem unless it becomes my problem."
Elio sighed. "This is going to blow up. But I can't stop you."
They both looked at me.
I thought about the night Emilio walked into my life. How I'd made the choice to pursue him despite the complications. Despite knowing it could destroy my carefully constructed world.
That choice gave me everything that mattered.
Maybe Matteo deserved the same chance.
"Keep him," I said. "But this is your responsibility. If Giuseppe comes after us, you handle it. If Stefan becomes a liability, you deal with it. And if this ends badly, that's on you."
Matteo nodded. "Understood."
We filed out of the conference room.
I went back to my office where Emilio was still standing by the one-way glass. He looked troubled.
"What did you decide?" he asked.
"Matteo's keeping him."
"Sandro—"
"I know. It's complicated and dangerous and probably stupid." I pulled him close. "But I've made plenty of complicated, dangerous, stupid decisions for love. I can't tell Matteo not to do the same."
Emilio looked at me. Then back at Stefan through the glass. "He's terrified."
"I know."
"And Matteo's obsessed."
"I know that too."
"This is going to end badly."
"Maybe. Or maybe it'll end like us. Complicated and messy but ultimately right." I kissed his forehead. "Either way, we'll deal with it together."
I looked through the one-way glass one more time.
Stefan had stopped pacing. He was sitting on the bed now. Knees pulled to his chest. Looking small and vulnerable and completely out of place in that stark room.
Matteo appeared in the doorway. Stefan's head snapped up. For a moment they just stared at each other through the open door.
Then Matteo walked in and closed the door behind him.
I couldn't hear what they were saying. But I saw Stefan's expression shift from fear to defiance. Saw Matteo move closer. Saw the tension in both their bodies.
Whatever happened next was going to change everything.
Again.
I'd spent six months watching my carefully ordered world transform into something I barely recognized. Emilio turned my empire into something worth protecting instead of just maintaining. Showed me that love was more powerful than control. That vulnerability could be strength instead of weakness.
Now Matteo was about to learn the same lessons.
With a young man who'd walked into our world wearing a disguise and gotten caught trying to steal our secrets.
With Giuseppe Romano's youngest son who'd been sold at an auction and rescued himself by breaking into enemy territory.
With Stefan.
I pulled Emilio away from the window. "Come on. Let's go home. This is Matteo's story now."
"What about the RICO trial?"
"We'll handle it. Together. Like we've handled everything else."
We walked out of Inferno hand in hand.
Behind us, Matteo and Stefan were locked in that room together. Beginning something that would probably destroy them both or save them. Maybe both.
But that was their journey.
Mine was with Emilio.
And whatever came next—trial, verdict, prison, freedom—we'd face it together.
END OF BOOK ONE: THE KINGMAKER