Page 210 of Mine Again
Her voice cracks, the words tumbling over each other. “I’ve seemingly already lost Mari. I willnotlose another one of my children, Aldo. Not while there’s breath in me to fight for her.”
Aldo exhales slowly, then sits back behind the desk, folding his arms, ignoring Caterina’s pleas.
“Can you prove Delaware wasn’t you? Because if you cannot, you’re asking me to tie Maximo’s future to a dead man walking.”
I meet his gaze without hesitation.
“Yes, I can,” I reply. “When Isa is safe. But right now, she’s my priority.”
Aldo studies me, the silence stretching long.
“What are you offering in return?” he asks, ever the calculating consigliere.
“I’ll barter something Maximo will consider priceless.”
His brows lift faintly, but he doesn’t press. Not yet.
We stare at each other, him probing, measuring, and me daring him to find a crack I don’t have.
Isa’s mother breaks the silence.
“Aldo, please,” Catarina begs again, her voice raw but steady. “I need my daughter back. Call Maximo.” She holds his gaze, regal even in her distress, and adds the words I was counting on. “For me.”
Aldo looks at her, then back at me. His hesitation is deliberate, his mind calculating cost against risk. Her words crack his armor for a breath, before the mask slides back into place.
“Maximo has recently taken over as Don and is fighting turf wars that are long overdue. He will likely refuse.”
“I can help him outsmart his opposition,” I say flatly. “I’m the best at what I do.” It isn’t a boast, only fact. “With me on his side, Maximo can win any battle.” I believe every word leaving my mouth.
I usually keep out of gang wars because they’re messy, public, and driven by ego. They lack precision, and precision is where I excel. But for Isa, I will do anything.
The words hang heavy in the room.
Aldo’s eyes narrow. He studies me one last time before picking up the phone.
I step back toward the window, hands loose at my sides, and stare out into the night as he makes the call.
If Maximo refuses, so be it. I’ll tear Hale’s empire apart brick by brick, even if I have to burn this city down to get to Isa.
Chapter Seventy-Nine
Luca
Ienter Aldo Marino’s dining room the next morning.
I slept in one of his guest bedrooms only because Caterina made me, but guilt gnawed at me.
How could I rest when Isa was in Hale’s hands?
It felt obscene, a luxury. But Caterina Accardi looked me in the eye and told me I was no use to Isa if I collapsed. And I was too tired to argue. Two days awake had hollowed me out.
I hit the pillow and dropped straight through it.
But sleep was a trap. Isa was there waiting. Behind bars. Behind glass. Her hands bruised against chains.
That dome over Hale’s hall turned into a lid, sealing her in, shutting me out. I woke twice with the taste of iron in my mouth and my fists clenched like I’d been fighting something in the dark.
Now the morning smells of coffee and sun on old timberwork. My head still feels split, but clearer, like I’ve crawled partway back into myself. I follow the scent into the breakfast room.
