Page 340 of Rosetti Family New York
I tilt her chin up and kiss her again, slower this time, letting her taste the promise beneath the desperation. "It’s not goodbye," I say against her lips. "Not until I say it is."
Outside, the night grows colder, but inside the car we are a furnace of heat and need. She clings to me, and I to her, both unwilling to move and separate even a fraction of an inch. The city can wait. The killers can wait. For now, there is only us, suspended in a moment that feels like it could last forever.
The adrenaline finally burns out, leaving in its wake a bone-deep exhaustion. She sighs into my chest, tracing idle circles on my forearm, her body lax and sated. I memorize the weight of her, the feel of her heartbeat ticking against mine, the way she molds herself to the shape of me like there has never been anyone else.
We stay together in the darkness for a while, breathing hard, our hearts beating in unison as the night wraps around us. When reality slowly comes back, neither of us wants to let go, not wanting to break the bond that's kept us going through so much.
"We have to go," I finally say, even though everything in me wants to stay, to keep her close until the world forgets us. "The family will be closing in."
27
Emilio
The phone feels heavy in my hand as I look at Matteo's number, my thumb hovering over the call button. The car idles in the shadows of abandoned warehouses in an industrial area three miles from the Plaza, where everything went wrong. Mara chose to save me over completing her mission, leaving Chase's assassination to rescue me instead.
Now we're both being hunted. Beside me, Mara sits in a blood-stained burgundy dress, the elegant gown now torn and marked with Connor Callahan's blood. In the district's dull lighting, she looks like a beautiful ghost.
My family's kill order looms over us. Domenico's decision was quick and final: failing the mission means death. No appeals, no second chances, no interference from brothers who are too obsessed to think clearly. Mara didn't fail because she was incompetent or scared. She failed because she chose me over everything else when it mattered.
"We'll just explain it to your family," she says. "I saved your life! You're a Rosetti. They're Rosettis. They'd do anything for you."
I nod slowly. "Well, that's true."
"So, then…"
"They'll say you could have done both, baby."
She flinches at my possessive tone, but doesn't pull away when I take her hand. Her fingers are cold, stained with blood that's not hers.
I swipe my thumb across the phone before pride can stop me. It rings once before Matteo's familiar voice fills the car.
"Jesus Christ, Emilio," he says, sounding more than just tired. "Do you know what chaos she's started?"
"She protected what's hers," I reply, my voice rough with mixed feelings of satisfaction and need. "It's called love."
"Love doesn't come with kill orders and family ultimatums." His tone changes, not as frozen as before, but still frosty. "Dom's been in meetings since the Plaza reports. Eight dead, including Connor Callahan. Chase survived, which means this war just got worse."
Cold dread fills my stomach, but I keep my voice steady. "Mara saved my life."
"You can handle yourself. Her job was to kill Callahan."
"She had her reasons."
"I'm sure she did." Matteo's laugh carries bitter edges. "Tell me, brother, when exactly did you decide your cock was more important than family survival?"
My jaw tightens, but I know this is a test. He's trying to provoke the old me, the Emilio who would react with controlled anger.
"When I realized some things are more important than blood," I say softly. "When I understood that choosing her wasn't a betrayal. It was growth."
We pause, the silence heavy with our shared past and recent betrayals.
"Look, Matt, I need your help."
When he speaks again, his tone is flat. "You want my help?" There's no warmth, just a cold evaluation. "Then meet me in person. Prove you're still my brother and not just her puppet."
The insult hits home, but I sense hope hidden beneath his hostility. Meeting face-to-face means there's still a chance. He's not completely giving up on me.
"Where?"
