Page 58 of Brutal Kiss

"Every single one." Marco confirms. "Vito knew exactly where you two were the whole time."

Vito let us think we were free, let us make our choices, all while watching from the shadows. "Son of a bitch."

"He's waiting for you. Both of you, but since we can only find one..." Marco shrugs. "You're coming with me."

"I need to find Sofia."

"We're working on that. But first, you're going to explain to the boss why his enforcer decided to go AWOL with his sister-in-law."

I lower the gun slightly. "Where is he?"

"The other safehouse. He's not leaving until Rina's secure and Sofia's found."

The drive is tense, Marco behind the wheel while I stare out the window, my mind racing through possibilities. Sofia could be anywhere by now. If she hitchhiked, took a bus, if someone picked her up... The Irish have resources, connections. They could have been watching all the roads.

The safehouse comes into view. "How many men does he have here?" I ask.

"Enough." Marco parks near the main entrance. "Try not to make this worse than it already is, Dante."

Inside, the tension is thick enough to cut. Elena and Gianna are sitting on a couch, both looking exhausted and worried. A few soldiers I recognize are posted at windows, watching the perimeter.

And there's Vito, standing with his back to me, staring out a window with the rigid posture of a man barely containing his rage.

"Boss," Marco announces. "Found him."

Vito turns slowly, and I see the full weight of his fury in his dark eyes. But underneath it, there's something else. Fear. For Rina, for Sofia, for the family he's built.

"Where is she?" His voice is deadly quiet.

"I don't know."

"Bullshit." He crosses the room in three strides, getting close enough that I can see the muscle ticking in his jaw. "You were supposed to protect her."

"I was protecting her. From you."

The words hang in the air like a lit fuse. Vito's eyes narrow dangerously.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me." The anger that's been building since I read Sofia's letter finally boils over. "You gave her an impossiblechoice. Marriage to that bastard Kieran or war. What the fuck did you think she'd do?"

"I thought she'd be smart enough to see the bigger picture."

"The bigger picture?" I laugh, but there's no humor in it. "You mean your picture. Your empire, your deals, your fucking legacy."

"Watch it, Dante."

"No, you watch it." I step closer, matching his energy. "She's not a bargaining chip. She's not collateral. She's not some pawn you can move around your chessboard."

"She's family. And family protects family, even when it means making hard choices."

"Then why didn't you protect her from Kieran?"

Vito's hand moves faster than I expect, grabbing my shirt and slamming me against the wall. But I don't back down.

"Because some prices are worth paying," he snarls.

"Not her. Never her." I grab his wrists, pulling his hands away from my shirt. "She belongs to me now, Vito. And I'm never letting you hand her over to anyone."