Page 15 of Stefano
“Stefano...”
I whirl on him, fury burning in my chest.“Don’t.Don’t tell me to calm down.They took her because of me.They think she’s a weakness.But I’ll show them.”
For a long moment, Severu studies me, his gaze heavy with something like warning.“Be careful, brother.When you give yourself over to the darkness, it doesn’t let go.”
I step closer, my voice sharp.“If that darkness gets her back alive, I’ll drown in it.”
He doesn’t argue, but the flicker in his eyes tells me he’s already thinking ahead.Thinking about what Andrea will see when she looks at me after this.Whether she’ll run.
I don’t care.As long as she is safe, nothing else matters.
We leave the basement together, my boots echoing on the stairs, my mind a storm.Soldiers wait in the hall, tense and armed, ready to move the moment the order is given.Alceu looks up from his phone, his expression grim.
“We’ve got confirmation.Cartel activity near the docks.It matches what he said.”
“Then we move now,” I snap.
Alceu’s eyes narrow.“We’ll plan.We’ll send in men.”
“I’m going.”I shove past him.“With or without your approval.”
Mancuso steps into my path, his usual grin nowhere to be found.“Brother, think.This isn’t just about Andrea.If it’s a trap...”
“Itisa trap,” I cut in.“That doesn’t change a damn thing.”
The silence after my words is heavy.Every man in this house knows the truth—if it were their women, their loves, nothing could hold them back either.
Severu mutters a curse under his breath.“He’s right.They’ll kill her if we wait too long.”
Guilia’s voice cuts through the room, raw and breaking.“Then bring her home.Please.”
Her eyes lock on mine, fierce despite her tears.And I swear to her in that moment, to myself, to the blood in my veins.“I will.Or I will die trying.”
“Stefano...”She starts but I cut her off.
“We leave in an hour.”
I don’t wait for a reply from anyone before stomping off.Alone in my room, I reload my Glock with steady hands.I strap knives to my thighs, a blade to my boot, another at my hip.My reflection in the mirror is a stranger, eyes black with fury, mouth set in a hard line.A man already half in the grave.
But beneath the rage, something else burns.Something more dangerous than vengeance.
Love.
It’s her face I see when I close my eyes.Her smile, soft and sweet.The way she blushes when she looks at me.The way she said my name once, so quietly I thought I imagined it.
They think they’ve taken my weakness.But they’ve only given me purpose.I chamber a round and holster the gun.Matías doesn’t know it yet, but tonight is his last night in this world.
