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She held up a hand, silencing me. “I know, I know. My offer was not out of disrespect but out of concern.”
I clenched my teeth. She might have had good intentions, but the mere idea of my nephew growing up in someone else’s house was unacceptable for me. The silence hung heavy between us as she waited for me to calm down and process what she had said.
Hassan shifted in his seat uncomfortably, breaking the tension. “We’ll figure it out, boss. We have some tools now, thanks to Isabella. Perhaps we can even get ahead of this if we move fast…”
“Indeed,” Isabella said, her intensity seeping back as she turned her attention away from me and towards Hassan. "Timing is crucial here."
I sat back in my chair and watched as they began to exchange thoughts on the best strategies and actions we could employ with the information we now had. Isabella was a well of knowledge about Vito; they might not have been married for decades before Alicia died, but she still knew her ex-husband much better than I did.
My thoughts, however, were not on the strategies at hand. They were on my nephew. On my soon-to-be wife, Justice. On the potential onslaught we were about to face, and how much we had to lose.
It was silly, unexpected…but at this point, all I wanted was to be a dad and a husband. But in my line of work, that went hand-in-hand with danger.
Not to mention the fact that my adopted son was heir to one of the most powerful criminal dynasties in the world.
“There’s one other thing,” she said. “But this one is a longshot.”
“I’m listening.”
“Alicia had a half-sister,” Isabella said. “Vito’s estranged daughter from a short affair years before we married. She lives in Boston.”
“But she’s not in the life,” Hassan said.
Isabella shook her head. “She’s stayed out of the business, lives an ordinary life. She wants nothing to do with Vito, if she truly knows about him at all…but I’m not sure how much she knows.”
My head spun with the possibilities. If Vito had a daughter…we could potentially deflect the attention on Sebastian to her. It would be cruel to bring her into this life, but I was quickly realizing that, when it came to Sebastian, I didn’t much care if anyone else got caught in the crossfire.
That was what it meant to be a father.
Protecting my family at any cost.
“It’s good to know about any potential factors in the fight for Sebastian,” I said. “So…thank you. For telling me this. For telling me everything.”
Isabella’s face softened. “Of course,” she said.
At that moment, all I could do was nod in agreement at whatever Hassan and Isabella suggested while Skylar threw a few grunts of assent in here and there, my mind already preparing for the inevitable storm that was to come.
I would do what Isabella said.
And if that didn't work...
Well, then I guessed I was just going to have to kill Vito myself.
And I was planning on making it hurt.
Chapter Eight: Bash
Ileft the meeting with Isabella feeling emboldened and scared all at once. The envelope was tucked away securely in the inside pocket of my jacket, a toxic secret pressed against my chest. Hassan and Skylar flanked me as we left the restaurant and walked back towards Hassan's car.
Skylar broke the silence first. "Bloody hell, Bash, what have we got ourselves into?"
"We’re doing what we have to protect Sebastian,” I murmured. “This isn’t about us…it’s about him.”
“That’s all well and good,” Skylar said, “but this is…what? Are we planning on taking down the De Lucas now? Don’t get me wrong, I’m in for a bloody good time, but–”
“The kid cannot end up in their hands,” Hassan interrupted. “Vito brought this on himself. He came for us, now we have to fight back.”
“Thank you,” I said, meeting his eyes as we walked around the car to get in. “I know this is hard.”