Page 45 of His Enemy's Daughter
“What kind of plans?” I’m not sure why I ask—maybe just needing to focus on something beyond the immediate danger.
“The kind where you’re free.” His thumb traces my lower lip with devastating gentleness. “Where Sabino’s empire is rubble. Where Lorenzo Di Noto learns what happens to men who threaten what’s mine.”
The possessiveness in his voice should probably concern me. Instead, it settles something in my chest that’s been untethered for too long.
“I’m yours?” The question comes out softer than intended.
“You’ve been mine since you let me claim you.” His forehead rests against mine, and I feel his breath warm against my lips. “I just wasn’t fully ready to admit it until you showed up at my door looking like you fought your way out of hell.”
“I did fight my way out of hell.” I close my eyes, letting his presence anchor me. “Now I need you to help me send it back there.”
“Consider it done.” He kisses me—soft, claiming, promising things neither of us should promise. “Welcome to the revolution, Regina. It’s going to be bloody.”
“Good.” I kiss him back with everything I have—fear and hope and desperate determination braided together. “I’m tired of being afraid. Time to make them afraid instead.”
Outside, sirens wail in the distance—maybe coming for me, maybe just the normal chaos of the city. But here, wrapped in Mauricio’s arms with his heart beating steady against mine, I feel something I haven’t felt in years.
Safe.
Not permanently, not without risk, but safe enough to believe that maybe—just maybe—I can survive this.
13
Mauricio
“She’s worth twenty million now.”
Simeone’s voice cuts through the pre-dawn darkness, and I force myself not to tighten my grip on Regina’s sleeping form. She’s curled against my chest, finally peaceful after hours of shaking, and I’ll be damned if I wake her for this conversation.
“Twenty million for what?” I keep my voice low, even though rage is already building beneath my carefully maintained calm.
“For her return. Alive.” Simeone pauses, and I hear the weight of what comes next. “Sabino’s declared open war. He’s contacted every family in the eastern territories, every bounty hunter worth their salt. Says Regina’s mentally unstable, that she’sbeen kidnapped and brainwashed. He’s painted himself as the desperate father trying to save his daughter.”
“Bastard.” The word comes out soft, venomous. “He’s making her the villain in his narrative.”
“He’s making her a target.” Simeone’s correction is blunt. “Every two-bit criminal with a gun is going to be hunting her now. Twenty million is more than most people make in ten lifetimes.”
I look down at Regina’s face—peaceful in sleep in ways she never is awake. Dark hair spills across my chest, and her hand rests over my heart like she’s checking to make sure it’s still beating.
“What about us?” I ask, though I already know the answer. Bounty hunting is a bloody business in this underworld.
“Five million each. Dead or alive, though he’s offering a bonus for alive.” I hear ice clinking in a glass on Simeone’s end—whiskey at four in the morning, which means this situation is even worse than he’s letting on. “He’s claiming we’re a rogue element threatening the stability of all the families. Positioning himself as the reasonable one trying to maintain order.”
“While secretly murdering partners and forcing his daughter into marriage with a man who kills his wives.” My free hand clenches into a fist. “Christ, Simeone. We need to move fast.”
“Agreed. But moving fast means—”
“Blood. I know.” I close my eyes, feeling Regina’s heartbeat steady and trusting against my ribs. “How much time do we have before every mercenary in the territory starts hunting us?”
“Hours, days. Sabino’s message went out an hour ago. By sunrise, this city becomes a war zone.”
“Then we go to ground. Deep.” I’m already calculating—safe houses no one knows about, allies who owe me favors, routes that avoid his surveillance. “I need to get Regina somewhere secure before—”
“Before she becomes a liability?” Simeone’s question is gentle but necessary.
“Before she becomes collateral damage.” My correction is firm. “She’s not a liability,fratello. She’s the reason we’re doing this. The entire point was giving her freedom.”
“The entire point was dismantling Sabino’s empire.” His reminder carries weight. “Regina was supposed to be an asset, a source of intelligence. Not—”
