Chapter Thirteen

Domani

Finley retreats to the far side of the office, staring out at the backyard. I don't know what she's thinking, but I know she's angry. At me. At Rafe. Perhaps even at life.

I don't know what Rafe thinks about what she had to say, either. He doesn't address it. He simply circles around his desk and sits, getting down to business.

"This is the path Coda took today," he says, turning his laptop around to show me the screen. Coda started at Cillian's and drove several miles before stopping. He then retraced his path two miles before stopping again.

"He called me from there. The timestamp matches."

Rafe zooms in on the area, but it's nothing but an abandoned warehouse.

"Whatever happened either happened inside or on the road outside," Mattia says.

"An ambush?"

"Most likely. Coda wouldn't have followed them into a warehouse."

"Agreed," Rafe says. "Someone let Gabe and Diego know this is the spot where it happened."

"Already on it," Luca says, already typing out a text.

"Where does the tracker go from there?"

"Back to the house."

"They're holding him there?"

"Looks like it."

"Fottuti idioti," Luca mutters, tossing his phone on the desk.

"Have you picked up anything on the devices yet?"

"Nothing."

"Cazzo. He must have swept the house for them."

"Either that, or they just aren't fucking talking anywhere near where you planted them."

"I put them in every common room in the house, including the office and the damn downstairs bathroom."

"That explains the unholy noises I heard last night," Mattia mutters.

"So we're hitting the house?" Luca asks.

"No."

Everyone looks to Rafe.

"We have no idea how many men he has inside. We need to draw as many of them out as we can. We're splitting into two teams. One will meet Cillian for a fake hostage exchange. The other will advance on the house to clean it out." He meets our gazes, his level. "No one walks out alive from either the house or the hostage exchange. No one."

Fake hostage exchange. Cristo. I knew it was coming. I knew since the minute I got that fucking text. But I'd hoped like hell that there was a different way, some way that didn't require us to dangle Finley in front of that motherfucker like bait. I don't want her anywhere near him, let alone breathing the same air in the same room while bullets fly.

It's dangerous. Everything in me screams to protect her. But this time…I fucking can't. Because the best way to ensure she's never in danger again is to put her in danger now. It's a hell of a problem.

But we have no choice. To set her free, we have to risk it.

"You sure about that?" Mattia asks. "They'll only send someone else to take his place if you don't decide for them who it's going to be."

"Let them," he growls. "They won't get a fucking inch of this city. It belongs to us, and we're not sharing it. Not after this bullshit. If they line them up, we'll keep knocking them down for however long it takes for them to get the fucking point." His gaze briefly bounces to mine as if in silent acknowledgment of the conversation we had earlier. "This city belongs to us. We're not sharing it."

I nod. There can be only one king in Chicago. We've already crowned ours. If the Irish mob wants a new territory to play in, this one isn't it. We have far too many problems already. Between the gangs, the families, the feds, and the fuckery constantly hitting us from every side, we don't need the Irish or the Russians or anyone else trying to add more fuel to the fire.

Somewhere on the horizon is peace. That's what we're trying to build here. That's what Rafe wants for everyone so desperately. Peace. A chance to fucking breathe. But we'll never get it if we're constantly fending off every other fucking mob who thinks they can take what belongs to us.

We've already taught our people the painful lessons they had to learn to get the fuck in line. I guess it's time to teach everyone else. They can't have Chicago. They can't have Finley. And if I have to leave a goddamn pile of bodies for them to learn the lesson? Well, I've always been good at murder and getting away with it.

"I like her for you," Rafe says an hour later, eyeing me across his desk.

He kicked everyone else out. Finley didn't want to leave. I had to promise her that I'd be okay. She glowered at Rafe on the way out, as if silently daring him to try something.

My wife is fierce when she's feeling protective. I never thought I'd live to see the day a tiny Irish princess decided I needed her protection, but here we are. I fucking love her for it.

"I like her for me too."

"Amalia and Callandria will love her. Genesis, too, for that matter. She's a fucking warrior just like they are."

"Around here, that's what it takes."

"Yeah." He sighs. "You know she has to go with us when we meet her uncle. He won't show if she isn't there, and our plan will fall apart."

"Fuck." I scrub my hands down my face. "I know."

"You know I'll do everything I can to ensure he doesn't get his hands on her."

"I know," I growl.

"But if we don't make it out…"

"I know," I snap, glaring at him. "You think I don't? I haven't thought of anything else since you made the plan, Rafe. It's driving me fucking crazy. But I'll follow through because there is no other choice. We can't leave him alive, and this is the best shot we have of taking him out without getting everyone killed. Doesn't mean I fucking like it."

He nods, understanding better than anyone how this shit feels. He's been here. Tommaso Genovese kidnapped his wife. We decimated his ranks to get her back, and then Rafe put a bullet in his head. The fact that he had her ate him alive. If anyone knows what hellfire burns me right now, he does.

"She wasn't wrong."

I meet his gaze.

"What she said earlier," he clarifies. "She wasn't wrong."

"I know. She rarely is." We do cling to tradition even when it threatens to destroy us. It's the thing I hate the most about this fucking life. In a lot of ways, it never changes. It's the same shit, different day. But she was wrong, too.

Rafe isn't old school mafia, immutable and unchanging. He and his twin, Nico, watched their mother die on a sidewalk when they were kids. It changed him. He's turned tradition on its head a thousand times over since he took charge, enforcing new ways and new rules, even when he's had to drag the families along kicking and screaming. He's molded us into one singular organization, into one family. If anyone can keep the ship from going down in a world where men like us and ships like ours sink every day, it's him. That's why he has my respect and my loyalty. That's why I follow him.

"Tell her I don't have any plans to kill you, Domani," he says. "I never did. I'm not a complete fucking idiot. I need you alive far more than I need more power." He shoots me a withering glare. "But don't for a single fucking minute think that you're off the hook because you aren't. As soon as this shit is over, you and Coda are going to wish you were dead. Every fucking miserable job that needs doing, you two will do. Every errand, every body that needs to be buried, every skeleton that needs to be dug up, and every drop of blood that needs to be cleaned up, I'm calling you. And you'll answer. If you don't, I'll hunt you down myself."

"Fair enough," I agree, willing to give him that.

"One more thing," he says when I push myself to my feet. "When you kill her uncle, you make damn sure it hurts like hell."

"Already planned on it."

"Good."

I find Finley in the library with Amalia, whispering back and forth. I'm not sure what they're talking about, but the fact that they have their heads together and are whispering probably isn't a good thing. They've known each other for five minutes. And Amalia would absolutely help Finley destroy the world. Queen or no queen, she's a little monster herself.

As soon as they see me coming, they sit up straight.

"Reginetta," I murmur, dipping my head to Amalia. "Mio sole. What are you two doing?"

"Nothing," Amalia lies.

"None of your business," Finley says.

I smile, shaking my head. Yes, these two together are definitely going to be a problem. But it's good to see Finley at ease in this house. It's the first time since we stepped through the doors. "I very much doubt it was nothing, reginetta. It never is with you."

"Fine," Amalia says, smirking. "We were discussing the best escape routes and which ones take you the longest to run. But apparently, she doesn't want to escape you. Good job on the ring, by the way. It's lovely."

"Thank you. May I have a moment with my wife?"

She pops up from the sofa, turning a smile on Finley. "We'll talk later."

"Of course. Thank you, Amalia."

Amalia smiles at Finley, then sticks her tongue out at me before slipping from the room.

"Was she really telling you about her escape routes out of the house?"

"Yes." Finley laughs quietly. "She has a lot of them, doesn't she?"

"You have no idea. Coda and I chased her ass all over this fucking property when Rafe first brought her here. As soon as our backs were turned, she was gone. Why was she telling you about them?"

"She said every woman should get to decide for herself where she wants to be. I guess she wanted to make sure that I was really with you by choice and not because I didn't feel like I had no other option." She smiles. "I think it was a test."

"For you or me?"

"Both?" She shrugs. "I'm not sure, but I think we passed."

"That's good." I pace to the window, staring out.

"If you're stressing out about telling me that I have to go meet my uncle, I already know," she says softly, stepping up behind me. "I figured that out before we ever left the safehouse, Domani."

"Cazzo." I spin to face her. "I don't want to take you."

"I know, but you have no choice. Neither of us do."

"I won't let him touch you." I press my fingers to her cheek. "I won't let him hurt you, mio sole."

"I know." She pushes her way into my arms, burrowing into me. "Promise me something, Domani?"

"Anything."

"When this is over, we'll go back to your cabin and pretend the rest of the world doesn't exist for a little while. I just want to be with you. No one else."

"I'll take you anywhere you want to go, tesoro. Anywhere."

"To paradise, Domani. I just want to go back to paradise."

Fifteen minutes later, I dial the number that texted me this morning. Finley grips my hand as if she's never going to let it go. Rafe and Mattia sit on the opposite side of his desk, watching.

"It took you long enough to call," Cillian says as soon as he answers. I've never spoken to him, but I know by the way Finley's hand tightens around mine that it's him.

"I didn't see you picking up the phone, either."

"Are we making a trade or not?"

"I want to speak to Coda first."

"That's not on the table."

"It is if you ever want to see your niece again," I taunt. "Because we aren't trading jackshit until I know that he's alive and well."

"Fine." A rustling comes down the line.

"Hey, brother," Coda says. He sounds like shit, but he's alive.

"Hey. Do you remember the night the reginetta came into our lives? You said something after we met her for the first time. What did you say, brother?"

"Donna buona val più d' una corona."

"Yeah," I say softly. "A good woman is worth more than a crown." He's alive, then. This isn't some trick or recording Cillian is trying to pass off as the real thing. Coda is still breathing. Now, we need to keep him that way. "We're coming for you, brother. Just hang tight."

"I want to talk to my niece," Cillian demands.

I nod to Finley, silently reminding her that I'm right here. We knew he'd want to hear from her and that she'd have to convince him that I've been holding her against her will.

"Hi, Uncle Cillian," she says, her voice shaking like a leaf.

I exhale a tiny breath when I hear it. I fucking hate that she's scared. But the fact that she is works in our favor. For all he knows, she's terrified because I have her, not because she's speaking to him. As far as he knows, she was taken against her will. He has no real reason to believe that she was trying to escape. She's always been obedient, always played along with his rules. He tied her up simply to remind her that he could.

"Finley. We've been worried about you. Are they treating you well?"

"Yes, uncle," she whispers. "I want to go home."

"Soon, a leanbh."

"That's enough," I growl, ending the conversation before she has to say anything else and risks saying too much. "If you want her back, I want Coda. And then you walk the fuck away. No bullshit."

"No bullshit? You're the one who came into my home and took my niece," he growls. "I'm the wronged party here."

"We both know everything about you is wrong, Brennan. Including your presence in this city. You're here because we allow you to be here. Don't push us. If you want her back, you'll be at the storage facility at the harbor at midnight."

"Is this the part where you tell me to come alone?" he asks, cold amusement lacing his voice.

"I don't care who you bring. If you're such a coward that you need to surround yourself with an army to make the trade, then by all means, be a fucking coward. But be there at midnight, or you'll never see her alive again." I disconnect without giving him an opportunity to say anything else.

"Cristo, Domani," Rafe growls. "Did you have to taunt him? The last thing we need is for him to show up with a goddamn army."

"Weak men will do anything to avoid looking weak," I murmur, lifting Finley out of her chair into my lap. I don't care who is watching. My wife needs comfort, and I'll provide it. "He won't bring an army. He knows it's what we expect."

"You better hope you're right. Because we'll be split down the middle."