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“You are out of your depths here. Giacomo is unhinged and on a rampage for revenge. Now, with my wife taking a liking to yours; that means I have a vested interest in this because if your wife dies, mine will be sad, and I hate when my wife is sad.”

I blink. “Charming.”

Dario steps toward me, the tension in the room as thick as tar. “Look, Giacomo came after my wife today. I don’t take lightly to her life being in danger, and I will make sure that he pays for what he did.”

The silence stretches on. Neither Dario nor I blink as we stare each other down. We’ve never needed friendship to understand each other—but he’s one of the few men I respect in this world.

“To war?” I hold my hand out to him.

He takes mine into his with a smirk playing on his lips. “To war.”

The memory slips away, and I’m back in our room—back beside her.

But before the anger pushes me too far, I take one last look at the woman sleeping beside me.

Beatrice, my son, and now my wife. It has gone on for too long. Giacomo has taken things too far, and he will answer for this.

I have always been a cool and collected man, but right now, my mind is moving on pure instinct.

That is the only thing on my mind. I don’t know exactly what my plan is, but I do know that it involves causing pain to Giacomo in some way, shape, or form.

I finally remove myself from under my wife. I can’t stay when my blood is bubbling the way that it is. I have a thirst for blood—his blood—and my gun has been itching to be shot.

Carefully, I shift away, peeling her fingers from my skin one by one. She stirs slightly, murmuring something incoherent under her breath. Her features contort into a frown before they smooth, and she is back to sleeping peacefully.

I push back the covers and rise from the bed, moving through the room until I am at the door. I glance back one last time. She looks so peaceful in that bed, and I would do anything to not see her in pain the way she was when those elevator doors opened.

I tighten my jaw and force myself to step into the hallway, shutting the door softly behind me.

Two of my men are already standing post outside the bedroom. Tony is running point with Valerio. I need both of my finest at the forefront of this job. Their backs straighten as I approach, their hands hovering near their weapons.

“At ease. No one gets in or out,” I say quietly. “Not until I return. And if anyone tries to force their way in, shoot first.”

They exchange a quick look but don’t question me. They have one task and one task alone—keep my wife safe.

Satisfied, I pull out my phone as I make my way downstairs, dialing Valerio. If I am going to do what I’m about to do, I need to at least alert my second just in case I don’t make it back alive.

He picks up immediately. “Matteo?”

“I’m going to Giacomo’s club.” There is no need for pleasantries at 1:00 a.m.

He is quiet for a moment. I think that maybe he hung up. Then I hear some rustling before he speaks again. “Are you out of your goddamn mind? Are you high right now?”

“I need to do this. Emily likely reported back what she did, which means he likely expects me to try something tonight. He has been goading me into making a move for weeks now—well, here it is.”

“Matteo, we spoke about this with Dario. We need to wait for the most opportune time. You can’t just decide that you want to go rogue all of a sudden. We stick to the plan.” Valerio is in a bit of a panic. “Fucking hell, don’t let your heart make you reckless.”

He is trying to be the voice of reason, and maybe that’s why I called him. Maybe I want someone with logic to talk me out of this. The only problem is that my anger is louder than my logic. I won’t be satisfied until he is bleeding at my feet.

“I will be at his club downtown. He won’t kill me, I know he won’t. This isn’t about killing me; if he wanted to do that, he would have pulled the trigger. This is about making me suffer the way he believes I made him suffer.”

Valerio curses under his breath. “Boss, listen to me?—”

I hang up before he can say anything else. I already know this is reckless. But that doesn’t matter. He’s been waiting for me to break, to blink first. Well, here I am, motherfucker. Staring you down.

I storm out my door and make sure my gun is loaded. If tonight is the night I end it, then so be it. My phone buzzes in my pocket, but I ignore it. Valerio knows where I will be, and he will come. I know he will.

I drive for twenty minutes,moving through the streets of New York like a man possessed. I park my Range Rover right out front, and when the guards see me, they aren’t moved by my presence.