Chapter 23
LUCA
I wake before Katerina, watching her sleep with her head resting on my chest.
We returned to her cottage with Luca and fresh cookies last night. We played a game and when Luca was tucked into bed, I made love to Katerina again.
Now in the morning, with her nestled against me, the world feels right.
Of course, that doesn’t stop Victorio's face from haunting me. I can still vividly see him spitting blood, begging for mercy as I extracted every last secret from his traitorous mouth.
My oldest friend.
The only one who welcomed me home.
I swear my hands still smell like his blood despite scrubbing them raw in the shower last night.
"You good?" Alessandro had asked after we disposed of the body. I think he was truly concerned.
I'd nodded, stone-faced. "Just business."
But it wasn't just business. Victorio was my brother when my own flesh and blood wanted nothing to do with me. And in the end, he was feeding information to our enemies.
I ease out from under Katerina, careful not to wake her. I pull on pants and make my way to the kitchen to make coffee.
My phone beeps with a text. Adriano.
Family meeting. Twenty minutes.
I hesitate.
My re-inclusion into the family was temporary until I found the mole.
My job is done.
My family membership is now revoked.
Maybe they need an official decree for that as well. I swear, my brothers are more into pomp and circumstance than my father was.
I grab my coffee, leave a quick note for Katerina and Enzo, and then head up to the house.
“You can just hand me my walking papers,” I say as I enter.
My brothers frown, like they don’t know what I’m talking about.
“We need to discuss the fallout and ramifications of Pyotr and Victorio’s elimination,” Allesandro says.
"Good work with Victorio,” Adriano says in a way that suggests he rarely hands out praise.
"You're not still thinking I'm the leak?"
"If you were working with the Russians, you wouldn't have exposed your own inside man." He shrugs. "And no one fakes that kind of rage. What you did to him… that was personal."
"It was."
Valentina sips from her mug of coffee. “With the problem solved—”
"We think you plugged the leak," Alessandro interrupts, "but we need to be sure."
Valentina nods. "So Luca stays, right? Watch for any unusual patterns. If Victorio was working with anyone else inside our organization, we need to know."
I look at each of them in turn. "You want me to stay?"
"Don't look so shocked," Adriano mutters. "You proved yourself useful."
"More than useful," Valentina corrects. "You saved Alessandro's life by exposing Victorio before he could try again."
Alessandro's jaw tightens as he pours himself coffee from a tray on his desk. "And you dealt with him efficiently."
I search their faces for any hint of manipulation.
For seven years, I've been the family pariah, the exile, the mistake.
Now they're asking me to stay, to help, to be part of the united front.
At the same time, they seem shocked that I killed Victorio the way I did. “This isn’t my first rodeo, you know. In fact, the way I dealt with Victorio is the sort of behavior that got me banned. And now you want me to stay?”
Alessandro sucks in a breath. “That was Dad, and… you’re still unpredictable, Luca. It makes you dangerous, not just to our enemies but us as well.”
I nod. “Then I’ll go—”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Adriano rolls his eyes. “Will you stay until this is finished or not?”
"And after the month?"
My siblings exchange glances.
"Let's see where we stand," Valentina says carefully. "Things change."
It's not a promise of permanent reconciliation, but it's more than I expected when I first came home. I think of Katerina sleeping in my bed, of Enzo's small hand in mine yesterday.
"One month," I agree. "We do this as a family." After that, I need to go back to Chicago, but perhaps with the family relationship restored, we can work together.
"We'll need to increase security on the estate," Adriano says, moving on.
I nod. "Chances are good the Bratva will have a problem with losing another informant. If they plan something, it will likely be big and they’ll do it soon.”
"Already on it," Alesandro confirms. "Doubled the men at the gates."
"Good. And keep eyes on anyone who had close contact with Victorio,” I add.
For the first time ever, my brother and I are on the same page when it comes to business.
As the meeting wraps up, my thoughts drift back to the cottage where Katerina and Enzo are probably waking up.
She'll be making his breakfast, listening to him chatter about whatever six-year-olds find important.
I realize that even if all the threats disappeared today, I wouldn't want to leave.
Not without them.
The idea of returning to Chicago without them feels wrong.
But what choice do I have?
My life and business are there.
And while I might have a truce with my brothers, they still don’t quite trust me enough to ask me back.
"You alright?" Valentina asks as she catches me looking out the window toward the cottage.
"Yeah. Just thinking."
"About Katerina?" Her lips curve knowingly.
"And Enzo. I don't want to uproot them, but my life is in Chicago."
Valentina's hand lands on my arm, a rare gesture of affection. "Maybe your life is wherever they are."
I arch a brow. “You know I can’t stay here and… well… even if Katerina wanted to come with me, she’s not free to choose, is she? Alessandro or the Bratva will force her to stay.” It occurs to me that she’s more important and in greater danger now than ever.
She’s leverage to use against me and my family.
Or Alessandro could do the same against the Bratva.
She could end up like Pyotr and Victorio.
And Enzo is no better off. The Russians know Enzo is my son now. Whether I'm here or halfway across the country, they could still use him to get to me, as could Alessandro.
Fuck. Why does every fix come with an even bigger problem?
I’m heading back to the cottage when my phone vibrates in my pocket. I duck into the library as I pull the phone out.
Franco’s name lights up the screen.
He’s my right-hand man in Chicago, the one who's been running things in my absence.
"Talk to me, Franco.”
"Boss, we've got problems." His voice is tight, not something easily achieved. "Castillo's men hit our shipment last night. They lost three men, and the cargo is safe, but they're getting brazen."
I close my eyes, pinching the bridge of my nose. "The warehouse?"
"Secure, but word's spreading that you're not coming back. People are taking advantage."
Fuck. The life I carved out with my bare hands is under attack without me there to hold it together.
"I need you back here," Franco says. "We can handle small fires, but this is turning into a war.”
"Give me forty-eight hours," I tell him reluctantly.
All I can think is that it’s not enough time to fix what’s going on here and arrange for Katerina and Enzo to come with me, assuming she would come.
What if she doesn’t?
Will I be forced to walk away again?
"Lock down what you can. Don't retaliate yet."
I end the call and stare at nothing. I feel like I’m caught between the proverbial rock and a hard place. Chicago needs me. My family here needs me. Katerina and Enzo need me.
For the first time in my life, I don't have a clear path forward. I've always known exactly what to do, what choices to make, what sacrifices were necessary. But this tug-of-war pulling me in opposite directions is new.
And I'm running out of time to decide.
When I came back, I thought I'd find answers, closure, maybe even a little revenge. Instead, I found a son I never knew I had and the only woman who ever made me feel something beyond ambition.
Now I'm trapped between two lives, neither of which I can abandon without devastating consequences.
I push off the wall, heading for the door.
I need to see Katerina, need to look at her face while I figure out what the hell I'm going to do.
The choice ahead feels impossible.
As I reach the door, Katerina steps into the library. “You were on the phone.” There’s tension in her voice. Why wouldn’t there be? She knows the predicament we’re in.
“Just some business in Chicago.”
Her eyes narrow slightly. "And?"
I shift, feeling like I’m in the hot seat though I don’t know why. “There was an attack on my business. Someone thinks that because I’m not there, my business is vulnerable.”
“And is it?”
Fucking hell, I wish I could read her now. I get the sense that if I say the wrong thing, I’ll lose her.
“Maybe a little.”
She sighs in what seems to be resignation. "You're leaving."
It's not a question.
She's already bracing herself, already building those walls back up.
I can see it happening in real time. Her shoulders straighten. She takes a subtle step back.
She’s telling me what I’ve been afraid to ask. She needs to stay.
“I’m here for now.” I hope that’s good enough and that in forty-eight hours, I can convince her and Alessandro to let her come with me.
Unable to help myself, I pull her close as if by osmosis, I’ll convince her to love me.
But love might not be enough. Not when for us to be together means I’ll have to kill the Bratva… and perhaps members of my own family.