64. CHAPTER SIXTY-FIVE
CHAPTER SIXTY-FIVE
Dante
Rossi’s trail led them through the outskirts of the city—down winding, broken roads, past silent factories with shattered windows, and finally to a crumbling estate swallowed by overgrown hedges and iron gates hanging off rusted hinges.
Luca crouched near the entrance, surveying the structure. Faint lights moved inside. Guards.
“He’s here,” Rico muttered, checking his weapon.
“Elena,” Luca said quietly, “back entrance. Cut off his escape.”
She gave a sharp nod. “Try not to have all the fun without me.”
Luca glanced at Rico. “On my mark. We go loud.”
Rico smirked. “Finally.”
Luca stood, stepped forward, and kicked the door in. Gunfire erupted instantly. “Contact!” Rico shouted, already firing as he moved left toward a half-collapsed balcony. His shots cracked upward, forcing two gunmen into cover.
“Three in the hallway!” Elena’s voice came through the comm as she slipped inside from the rear. A burst of gunfire followed. “Correction—two.”
Luca advanced straight through the front, weapon steady, clearing corners with quick, practiced movements. A man lunged from a side room, but Luca fired once, and the man dropped.
“Rossi!” Luca shouted. “You’re out of places to run!”
“Go to hell!” Rossi yelled from upstairs. More gunfire rained down, splintering the banister.
“Rico, suppress the second floor!”
“Already on it!” Rico climbed onto a broken railing, firing upward in controlled bursts. “Keep your head down, Luca!”
“I prefer it intact,” Luca muttered, sprinting for the staircase. Halfway up, a guard stepped out; Luca drove into him, slamming him into the wall. The gun discharged into the ceiling as Luca disarmed him and dropped him with a sharp strike.
“Elena, status?”
“Back hallway clear,” she replied. “Two tried to run. They’re not running anymore.”
“Good. Rossi’s upstairs.”
Luca reached the top just as a door slammed shut at the end of the hall. Another burst tore through the wall beside him. “Stay down!” Rossi shouted from inside. “I’ll kill you!”
“You won’t,” Luca said, kicking the door open. Rossi fired wildly. Luca dropped low, the shots thudding into the wall behind him, then surged forward, slamming into Rossi and driving him backward onto the floor. The gun skidded away.
They struggled. “You traitor,” Luca growled.
“You don’t understand!” Rossi snapped, blood on his lips.
“I understand enough.”
Luca pinned him hard. Rico burst in seconds later, weapon trained. “End of the line.”
Elena stepped into the doorway, scanning the room. “The house is clear.” She looked down at Rossi, unimpressed. “Is this the big mastermind?”
Rico yanked Rossi’s arms back and cuffed him. “Not so impressive now, huh?”
Rossi said nothing—just stared, breathing hard, beaten. Luca pulled out his phone. “Dante,” he said, voice steady, “we have your rat.”
Rossi was dragged into the warehouse hours later and thrown into a chair opposite The Broker. Two traitors. Two enemies. But now, a palpable tension lingered between them. Dante stood between them, silent, watching.
“Rossi,” he said at last, “start talking. Why him?”
Rossi didn’t answer right away. His eyes flicked to The Broker—sharp, wary. Not loyalty, but resentment. Rossi laughed under his breath. “You really want to know?”
Dante didn’t move. “I wouldn’t ask otherwise.”
Rossi leaned forward slightly. “He didn’t just promise power. He promised everything.”
The Broker scoffed. “Careful, boy.”
Rossi snapped his head toward him. “Don’t call me that.”
Alina raised a brow, glancing between them. Dante noticed it, too. “Sounds like not everything went as planned.”
Rossi let out a bitter laugh. “Oh, it went according to his plan.”
The Broker’s expression hardened. “You got exactly what you asked for.”
“No,” Rossi shot back. “I got used.”
Dante stepped slightly closer. “Explain.”
Rossi’s eyes stayed locked on The Broker. “You told me I’d be your second in command. When Dante fell, I’d take control of the west side routes.”
The Broker smiled faintly. “And you believed that?”
Rossi’s jaw tightened. “You said it.”
“I said many things,” Rinaldo replied smoothly.
Rossi leaned forward as far as the restraints allowed. “You had men in my operations before I even agreed to work with you.”
“Preparation,” The Broker said calmly.
“Control,” Rossi snapped. “You were replacing me before we even won.”
Dante remained silent, letting it unfold. Alina crossed her arms. “So you betrayed us… for someone who never intended to keep you around.”
Rossi didn’t answer her—his stare was still fixed on Rinaldo. “You were going to put me down once I’d served my purpose.”
The Broker tilted his head slightly. “If necessary.”
Rossi let out a hollow laugh. “There it is.”
“You were a means to an end,” Rinaldo continued, almost bored now. “You lacked vision. Discipline. You were convenient.”
Rossi’s fists clenched against the restraints. “I took risks for you.”
“And failed,” The Broker replied.
The word hit harder than any blow. Silence stretched. Dante took a slow step forward. “So the great partnership… was built on lies from the start.”
Rossi shook his head, almost in disbelief. “I thought I was choosing the winning side.”
“You chose the wrong mentor,” Alina said coldly.
Rossi let out a breath, shoulders sagging. “Yeah. I see that now.”
The Broker’s gaze sharpened, annoyed. “Pathetic.”
Rossi snapped back instantly. “No. What’s pathetic is you needed me because you couldn’t do it alone.”
A flicker of anger crossed Rinaldo’s face for the first time. Dante noticed it and pressed it. “You couldn’t reach my organization without him,” Dante said to his uncle. “You needed access. That bothers you, doesn’t it? That even now… your plan depended on someone you considered beneath you.”
The Broker’s thumbnail pressed into the pad of his index finger. Rossi smirked faintly despite everything. “Guess we both got played.”
“No,” Rinaldo snapped. “You got caught.”
“And you didn’t?” Rossi shot back. “Look at you.”
Another silence—heavier this time. Dante stepped between them, reclaiming control of the room. “Enough.” Both men fell quiet. Dante looked down at Rossi. “You chose betrayal for power.” Then at The Broker. “And you built a war on deception. And neither of you trusted the other.”
Rossi let out a quiet, humorless laugh. “Turns out… that was the only smart instinct I had.”
The Broker didn’t smile this time. Dante’s voice dropped, cold and final. “That’s why you lost.”
The tension didn’t disappear; it just settled into something heavier. Broken alliances. Exposed truths. Nothing left between them but failure. Dante straightened slightly. “Now,” he said, calm and unyielding, “I decide what happens next.”