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“We can’t. She needs to protect her career.” I stop pacing and lean against my desk. “I doubt her captain will appreciate knowing one of his own is engaged to Nicolo Moretti’s former protégé”

“Good point,” Micah says.

“And what about protection?” Seb asks, suddenly serious. “Marcus may have agreed to back off, but we all know how reliable his word is.”

“That’s where you three come in.” I pull out my phone, bringing up Eve’s address. “I want round-the-clock surveillance. Two-man teams, rotating shifts. No one gets within a hundred yards of her or that kid without us knowing about it.”

“Speaking of the kid,” Micah says, “what’s your plan there? You can’t just walk into their lives and expect everything to be smooth sailing.”

He’s right, of course. Leo complicates things. Eve’s not just protecting herself—she’s got a seven-year-old depending on her. “We’ll have to take it slow with him. Let Eve lead on that front.”

“And our other operations?” Eli asks, referring to our vigilante activities that disrupt New Yorks operations. We’ve made it our mission to sabotage Nicolo’s activities and maintain control over Columbus, keeping the local families in check. “The families are getting bolder. They’re moving more product through the city every week.”

“We keep watching. Keep gathering intel.” I pull up another file on my phone—surveillance photos of recent shipments. “But we have to be smart about this. One wrong move and they’ll connect us to New York’s problems.”

“So we just sit back and let them take over?” Seb’s voice rises with frustration.

I stare at the photos spread across my desk, my jaw clenching. Surveillance shots show the Columbus families moving drugs through my city. Through my territory. And now they’re threatening Eve. These thoughts make me sound like I’m still in the mafia. Hell, maybe I never really left.

“Fuck this.” I slam my fist on the desk, making Seb jump. “We’ve been too passive, watching from the shadows while these bastards get cocky. Too focused on sabotaging New York and letting our own backyard get polluted with the same shit.”

“What are you suggesting?” Eli asks, his dark eyes narrowing.

The answer crystallizes in my mind with startling clarity. “Change our focus. Bring the fight to them here in Columbus.”

“That’s risky,” Micah warns. “We’ve always focused on Nicolo and New York.”

“And we still will.” I gather the photos, organizing them with sharp, angry movements. “But these local families just made it personal. They threatened what’s mine.”

Seb raises an eyebrow. “Eve isn’t actually yours, brother.”

“She is now.” My voice comes out as a growl. “The moment they put her in their crosshairs, they signed their own death warrant.”

The room falls silent as my words sink in. There’s a shift in energy and my men straighten, sensing the coming storm.

“We start small.” I continue, laying out the photos again. “We bide our time. Wait for them to get comfortable. Hit their drug operations first. Disrupt their supply lines. Make them bleed money until they’re desperate enough to make mistakes. We hit them where it hurts most—their profits.”

“And then?” Eli prompts.

A cold smile spreads across my face. “Then we show them why they should have stayed the fuck out of my city.”

Micah strokes his beard thoughtfully. “This could draw Nicolo’s attention.”

“Good.” I lean forward, planting my hands on the desk. “Let him come. Let him see what happens when someone threatens what belongs to me. He’s the one who taught me the importance of family. Maybe then he’ll finally understand—I’m not his puppet anymore.”

“What’s your real angle here?” Seb asks, watching me with a skeptical eye as I pace. “Is this really all about Eve? You barely know this woman. A few fucks a year ago? That’s nothing.”

My jaw clenches at his words. He’s not wrong—our time together was brief. But those moments with Eve burnedthemselves into my memory with an intensity that still haunts me. We were good together, both inside and outside the bedroom. The way she’d curl into me after sex, trusting and vulnerable. How her eyes would light up when she laughed at my terrible jokes. The quiet strength she carried, even when discussing her past.

“You don’t understand,” I growl, stopping to face him. The leather of my desk creaks as I lean against it, crossing my arms.

“Then explain it to me,” he pushes, leaning forward on the couch. “Because from where I’m sitting, you’re putting everything we’ve built at risk for a woman you ghosted.”

His words sting, but I can’t let him see how much. “She needs protection. That’s all that matters.”

“Bullshit.” Seb stands, frustration evident in every line of his body. “We could arrange protection without this whole engagement charade. Without putting ourselves in the crosshairs of every family in Columbus.”

My hands curl into fists as anger rises hot in my chest. “She’s not up for debate, Sebastian.” The words come out low and dangerous. “Eve will be protected. At any cost.”