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“Should we reach out first?” Eli asks. “Try to explain our side?”

I shake my head. “No. That would show weakness. I’m not taking the blame for this no matter what. We wait, let them make the first move.” My jaw clenches as I think of Eve and Leo sleeping upstairs, finally safe after the horror of tonight. “But we prepare. Double the security at the club. I want eyes on Alessandro’s people round the clock. And get our weapons cache ready. We may need it.”

“What about Eve?” Micah’s quiet voice cuts through the tension. “She’s on the right side of the law. If this turns into an all-out war with New York—”

“She stays protected,” I snap, though the same worry settles heavy on my shoulders. Having her here puts her at risk, but having her anywhere else would be worse. “Set up around-the-clock surveillance at her precinct too. If Nicolo decides to move against us, he might try to use her job against her.”

I worked so hard to separate myself from the mafia. Or at least I thought I did. Guess I was a fool. This situation, this threat on Eve, has only proven that I’m still rooted deep in this mindset. Because for Eve? For her safety? I’d burn the whole fucking world down.

“Get moving,” I order. “We need to be ready for whatever comes next.”

The others file out, leaving just me and Seb in my office. My brother’s jaw is clenched tight, that muscle ticking the way it does when he’s about to say something I won’t like.

“A cop, Zeke? Really?” He rakes his fingers through his hair. “Of all the women in Columbus, you had to get tangled up with a fucking detective?”

“Watch it.” My voice carries a warning edge. “That’s my future wife you’re talking about.”

He barks out a laugh. “Wife? Jesus Christ. You’re actually serious about marrying her?”

“Dead serious.” I pour two fingers of whiskey and slide the glass across my desk to him before I pour one for myself. “And soon. Very soon.”

“This is insane.” He downs half the whiskey in one gulp. “She’s going to get us all killed or worse … arrested.”

I lean back in my chair, studying him. “Kind of like how Olivia’s going to get us killed?”

The glass freezes halfway to his mouth. His eyes snap to mine, shock written across his face before he schools his expression. “That’s just for fun. I’m not fucking marrying her.”

“Please.” I snort. “You think I haven’t noticed the way you look at her? How often she frequents the club now? How you always manage to be wherever she is in the club? Or how oftenthe two of you disappear to one of the private rooms for god only knows how long? You’re fucking her. And often.”

“Fuck.” He drains the rest of his whiskey. “You weren’t supposed to be paying that close of attention.”

“I know everything, little brother. It’s my job to know.” I pour him another drink. “So maybe ease up on the judgment about Eve when you’re carrying a torch for a mafia princess under Nicolo’s rule.”

He scrubs a hand over his face. “Point taken. But at least Olivia understands our world. Eve’s not like us. There’s no way this ends well.”

I glareat the surveillance photos spread across my desk, a cold fury building in my gut. Alessandro Costa’s men have been making moves, testing our defenses. Three separate incidents at the club last night alone.

This tells me Alessandro knew what his son was up to. Which means he lied to me.

“They’re pushing us,” Eli notes from where he stands by the window. Early morning light streams in behind him, casting his bulk in shadow. “Testing to see how we’ll react.”

I pick up a photo showing one of Costa’s men outside Eve’s precinct. The timestamp reads 6:02 AM this morning. My fingers tighten, crumpling the edge.

“Have you told her everything yet?” Eli asks quietly.

“No.” I toss the photo aside. “She has enough to deal with right now.”

“She needs to know this goes beyond the attempt on her life, Zeke. Her and the kid.”

I rake my fingers through my hair, frustration eating at me. “I know. But how do I explain this without revealing everything? She’s a cop, Eli. She already knows too much The moment she knows the full truth about who I am, what I do—”

“She’ll either arrest you or run.” He finishes what I can’t bring myself to say.

“Exactly.” I stand, pacing to ease some of the tension coiling through me. “And I can’t let either happen. Not now. Not when the Costas are gunning for her.”

“Then what’s the play?”

I stop at the window, staring out at the city I’ve fought so hard to protect from the mafia’s control. “We keep her close. Double the security detail like we discussed, but make it subtle. She can’t know she’s being followed.” I turn back to face him. “And we need to speed up the wedding timeline. The sooner she’s officially my wife, the safer she’ll be.”