Chapter 55
The reports were scattered across my desk, pages of surveillance photos and intercepted communications, all pointing to the same conclusion.
I sat back in my chair, staring at the photographs and documents, my jaw tight. The thugs, the ones Drago had warned me about were getting out of the line.
Luca had pulled the intel together overnight, phone records, financial trails, the kind of breadcrumbs that desperate men left behind when they thought no one was watching.
The Eastside Crew- the name they had given themselves, as if they deserved one, had been busy.
Party invitations to the Moretti sons. Expensive gifts delivered to the Bianchi estate.
They were trying to buy their way into alliances with families that had existed for generations, families that had built their power on blood and loyalty and patience.
They were wasting their time. The Morettis and Bianchis didn't need help from a group of rebellious kids who had watched too many movies and thought they understood how the world worked.
But they were persistent. And persistence, when combined with stupidity, was dangerous.
I leaned back in my chair and stared at the ceiling.
I had been staring at these reports for hours, turning over possibilities, weighing options.
I could crush them. I could send a message that would make every other wannabe gang in the city think twice.
But that would be messy and loud. The kind of move that attracted attention I didn't need.
"Boss."
I looked up. Enzo was standing in the doorway, his brow furrowed, his hands shoved in his pockets. He was young, barely twenty-five, with the kind of nervous energy that came from wanting to prove himself.
He looked at the reports on my desk, then at my face.
"They're just some low-level thugs. Why are we even bothering with them?"
I studied him for a moment. He was eager. He wanted to be useful. He wanted to show me that he wasn't afraid.
I leaned forward and picked up one of the reports.
"My father used to say that the day you become too arrogant of your power is the day you lose it." I set the paper down and looked at him. "I'm not going to make that mistake."
Enzo nodded slowly. He didn't argue. He just stood there, waiting for instructions.
"Tell the men to keep watching them" I said. "I want to know who they're talking to, where they're going, what they're planning. Don't engage. Don't let them know we're watching. Just observe."
Enzo nodded again and left.
I turned back to the reports. There was a plan forming in my head. Not yet. I would wait. I would let them get comfortable, let them think they were clever. And then I would strike.
But not tonight.
Tonight, I had somewhere else to be.
I drove to her office on autopilot.
The streets were familiar now. The turns, the traffic, the way the city lights blurred past. I had made this drive so many times that I could do it in my sleep.
She was waiting outside when I pulled up. A small smile on her face, her bag over her shoulder. She didn't hesitate anymore. She walked to the car and got in like she belonged there.
"Hey...." she said.
"Hey."
She settled into the seat, and I watched her for a moment. The way she tucked her hair behind her ear. The way her lips curved when she looked at me. The way she had started to relax around me, like she was finally letting herself believe that I wasn't going to disappear again.
We drove in comfortable silence. The kind that didn't need to be filled with words.
She talked about her day, about a coworker who had brought in pastries, about a meeting that had run too long.
I listened and didn't interrupt. I just let her fill the silence with her voice, because it was the best sound I had heard in months.
When I pulled up in front of her building, neither of us moved.
"Same time tomorrow?" I asked.
"Same time."
She reached for the door handle, and I felt something surge in my chest. I didn't want the night to end. I didn't want her to leave.
"Elera."
She turned to look at me.
I took a breath. "Do you want to go somewhere with me? This weekend. A date."
Her eyes widened. She was quiet for a moment, and I felt my heart pound in my chest.
Then she smiled, slow and shy.
"Yes," she said. "I would like that."
"Wear the red dress."
Her eyes widened. "The red dress?"
"The one you wore the first time we met."
She stared at me. "You remember that?"
"I remember everything when it comes to you."
She was quiet for a moment. Then she smiled. It was small and soft, the kind of smile she used to give me before everything fell apart.
"Okay...." she said again.
As I watched her, I felt the pull of her. The need to touch her, to hold her, to kiss her till she forgot how to breathe. I wanted to kiss her. I wanted to feel her lips against mine, to remind myself that she was real, that this was real.
But I couldn't. I couldn't push. I had to earn it, the frustration was too much ignore, I had been controlling myself, resisting the urge to pin her down beneatg me till her throat went dry by screaming my name.
She had felt so good. Everytime I had had her, I knew I couldn't go back to some other woman and I cannot.
But I also knew that I had to restrain myself, at least till she forgives me completely, till she initiates it herself, I won't.
I leaned forward and pressed a rough kiss to her forehead.
"Goodnight, Elera."
She was still for a moment, her eyes closed, a soft smile on her lips.
"Goodnight, Caspian."
She got out of the car and walked inside. I watched her until her door closed, then I sat there for a long moment, my forehead resting against the steering wheel.
She had said yes.
She was wearing the red dress.
I was going to make sure this date was perfect.
I was winning her back.
And I wasn't going to let her go again.
? First of all, Thank you so much for all the support and love by dear readers.
Never expected to get famous, I just thought that I'll 200-300 reads max, but guys!
Thank you very much! You have done your part, I'll do mine.
Dw. And I was reading your comments and I saw the grammatical mistakes in my previous chapters, I'm really sorry, I might have missed it somehow.
Grammatical error is a turn off for me, and I know how frustrating or irritating it feels, I'll fix it soon. Thank you again.