Salvatore #2
“She hands me my cell phone, and I’m now realizing I left it on the nightstand. That’s not like me to make such a rookie fucking mistake.
“Look. Salvatore… please,” she asks, placing a hand on my arm.
"You shouldn't be here."
“I know, I was heading to my room after you left, and your phone kept ringing and then this message came. I went to hand it to you but you were talking to your brother and Nico, and then I saw them. I saw them dragging someone… here. I looked at the phone and saw her messages for you to please let him go. I knew it was her brother.”
“Lisa?” Vladimir says. “Please don’t let her see me like this,” he says.
"Salvatore, he was protecting her, he’s telling the truth, you have to let him go, please." She steps forward, her voice shaking but determined. "You can't just... You can't kill him."
The room goes silent. My men exchange glances, uncertain. No one speaks to me like this. No one challenges my decisions, especially not in front of others.
"Some crimes," I say slowly, "are only punishable by death."
"No." She shakes her head, moving closer despite the warning in my eyes. "Salvatore, this is a man's life. Please. Just consider—"
"Consider what? That he betrayed us? That his actions nearly got my men killed? That every person in this organization is watching to see how I handle disloyalty?"
"I understand that, but everyone doesn't have to die." Her voice rises, passionate and fierce. "Every crime doesn't have to be punishable by death. There has to be another way."
I stare at her for a long moment. My men are watching. Vladimir is watching. And this woman, this infuriating, magnificent woman, is standing in my torture chamber, pleading for mercy like she has any idea what that word costs in my world.
"Outside," I say finally. "Now."
She hesitates, glancing at Vladimir.
"He's not going anywhere," I add. "Outside, Valentina."
She turns and walks out, her spine rigid with defiance. I follow, closing the warehouse door behind us, putting distance between us and listening ears.
Valentina stands with her arms wrapped around herself, waiting.
"Valentina." I keep my voice low, controlled. "I know you're not used to this world. But this is a part of it. A necessary part."
"I get it, okay?" She meets my eyes, and I see she's struggling, not to understand, but to reconcile what she knows with what she believes. "I understand that you have rules. That there are consequences. But there has to be a line somewhere. Not every solution has to be permanent."
"He's a traitor."
"He's also a human being who made a terrible choice. A father, and a brother who people love. That means he’s not as bad as he may seem. This man’s sister begging, pleading for his life, that means something.
" She steps closer, her hand reaching out to rest on my chest. "What were his crimes? Exactly. Tell me."
I exhale slowly. "He tipped off a family about a shipment. Location, timing, security details. Because of him, we lost two million dollars in product and three of my men ended up in the hospital."
"Was anyone killed?"
"No. But they could have been."
"But they weren't." She presses her palm flat against my heart, like she's trying to feel if there's still something human beating inside me.
"Salvatore, if you kill everyone who wrongs you, eventually there won't be anyone left. Fear is a powerful motivator, but so is mercy. So is giving someone a chance to make things right."
"And if he can't make things right? If he betrays us again?"
"Then you've lost nothing. You were going to kill him anyway." She tilts her head, a spark of something clever lighting her eyes. "But what if you gave him a chance to be useful instead? He was feeding information, which means they trust him. They think he's still their asset."
I go still.
"Use him," she continues, warming to her idea.
"Feed the other family false information through their own rat and try to get your stuff back.
Bankrupt them slowly instead of waging open war.
By the time they realize he's been turned, you'll have taken everything from them.
Their money, their territory, their reputation. "
She pauses, searching my face. "And if he even thinks about betraying you again, you can still… do whatever you have to do. But wouldn't it be more satisfying to watch your enemies destroy themselves?"
I stare at her. “You make it all sound so easy.”
“As easily as you make it sound to take a man’s life like it doesn’t mean anything?”
This woman. This incredible, unexpected woman who walked into my world as collateral for her father's debts and is now standing here, casually suggesting a counterintelligence operation that would make my most seasoned capos proud.
“Hmmm, you remind me more and more of my mother every single day. She was always an advocate for keeping people alive, just like you, Valentina.”
The silence stretches between us while she waits for my decision. But I think we both already know.
"You know," I say slowly, "for someone who claims to hate this world, you're surprisingly good at playing in it."
The flush returns to her cheeks, but she doesn't look away. "I've always been a quick study."
"Apparently." I step closer, eliminating the distance between us, my hand coming up to cup her jaw. "I'm starting to think I underestimated you."
"Most people do."
"I won't make that mistake again." I lean down, brushing my lips against her forehead, then her temple, then the corner of her mouth. "Your suggestion has merit. I'll consider it."
"Consider it?" She pulls back slightly, eyebrow raised. "That's it?"
"I'm giving a traitor his life because my fiancée asked me to. That's not nothing."
"I suppose not." But she's smiling now and the sight of it makes me smile.
"Go back to the house. I'll deal with Vladimir with your... modifications. And here." I hand her my phone
“Let her know someone needs to pick him up at the same spot where he was picked up in one hour. He still betrayed us, so if Volcov gets a hold of him, he’s on his own.”
She looks down at the phone like she’s shocked I’m actually handing it to her.
“What? You’re only ok to go through and read messages without my permission?” I ask and she tenses.
“I mean, the message said please don’t kill him in big bold letters,” she says rolling her eyes.
“Go, and I don’t want to see you back here again, is that clear?”
“Crystal.”
She starts walking back toward the main house, and I watch her go. The graceful line of her back, the confident set of her shoulders.
"Valentina."
She turns, pausing mid-step.
"Don't get too good at this." I let a smirk pull at my mouth. "Or I may have to revoke my offer to let you go after the wedding."
I can see the blush that spreads across her cheeks. She opens her mouth, closes it, then shakes her head with a rueful smile.
"You say that like it's a threat," she calls back. "Maybe I'm starting to think it's a promise."
Then she's gone, disappearing around the corner, leaving me with a traitor waiting for judgment and a heart that's beating in ways it has no business beating.
I turn back toward the warehouse, my mind already shifting into operational mode.
Ugh, Vladimir gets to live. He'll become the weapon we aim at the Volkov family, their own trusted informant turned against them.
And if he so much as breathes wrong? Well.
Valentina gave him a second chance. She never said anything about a third.
I push open the warehouse door, and my men snap to attention.
"Change of plans, gentlemen." I approach Vladimir, who looks up at me with desperate, disbelieving hope. "You're going to live. But you're going to wish you hadn't."
His face crumples with relief, tears mixing with the blood on his cheeks. "Thank you, Mr. Vitale. Thank you. I won't let you down."
"Oh, I know you won't." I crouch down to his level, making sure he sees the promise in my eyes.
"Because here's what's going to happen. You're going to continue feeding information to the Volkovs.
Except from now on, every word out of your mouth will be what I tell you to say.
You're going to lead them into a trap and depending on how that goes, maybe we can consider your debts paid. "
"I—yes. Yes, I'll do it. Anything."
"One more thing." I lean in close, my voice dropping to a whisper. "If I even suspect you're playing both sides again, if you so much as hesitate when I give you an order, I won't kill you. That would be too easy." I let the smile spread across my face.
His face goes gray. "Do we understand each other, Vladimir?"
"Yes," he whispers. "Yes, Mr. Vitale."
"Good." I stand, brushing off my pants. "Nico, get him cleaned up. Elio, I want a full dossier on everything they think they know about our operations. We're going to start feeding them very carefully crafted bullshit."
"And the shipment we lost?" Nico asks.
"We'll get it back. With interest." I head for the door, already composing the first false intelligence we'll leak. "The Volkovs want to play games? Fine. Let's play."
I step out into the sunlight, and my thoughts drift back to Valentina. To the way she challenged me. The way she saw a better option when I could only see one. The way she's slowly, inexorably, changing everything I thought I knew about who I am and who I want to be.
She was supposed to be leverage. A bargaining chip. A beautiful complication that would resolve itself after the wedding. Now I'm not sure I'll ever be able to let her go.