Page 88 of Dark Breaker

I glance at Rosa, but she merely moans softly and turns away.

I grab my phone. It’s Nicolo.

I get up and head to the kitchen so that I can talk without waking her.

“What’s up?” I ask.

“I thought you’d like to know,” Nicolo says. “One of our prison guards reported in. Looks like Roberto Moretti got himself into a bit of a scrape. Broke some bones. The guards have isolated him. My contact wants to know if you want him put back into the general population.”

“No,” I tell him, keeping my voice low. “I don’t want Roberto to die. This was never about killing him. I just wanted to piss off Massimo. Let him stay in isolation.” I pause. “We shouldn’t have done this. The sting was a bad idea. We’re supposed to be allies.”

“Changed you mind already?” Nicolo asks.

“Basically, yeah,” I reply.

“Well, it won’t be too much work to release him, if that’s your call,” Nicolo tells me.

I nod. “Most likely. I’ll let you know tomorrow.”

“All right.Buona Notte.” Good night.

I hang up. I’m glad my brother didn’t make a comment about me being wrapped around Rosa’s finger or something. I appreciate that.

When I turn around I see Rosa standing in the kitchen entrance. Completely naked. Her expression is one of shock.

“You lied to me,” she says flatly. “You told me you didn’t have anything to do with it. But you lied to me.”

I can feel her accusing eyes digging into me.

“This is all some game to you?” Rosa asks. “To show me how ‘powerful’ you are? You told me you were going to pull some strings to get my brother released. You left out the part about how you were the one who put him there in the first place!”

“Rosa, I—”

But she interrupts me relentlessly. “You had my brother thrown in jail just so you could piss off Massimo, you say? Well all you’ve done is piss offme. You’ve sent me over the edge, past the point of no return. No one harms my brothers. No one. Go fuck yourself, Fabio D’Alimonte.”

She storms out of the kitchen.

I follow her to the bedroom. She’s getting dressed.

“Rosa, don’t do this,” I try. I slip on some underwear, since I feel odd arguing with her while naked.

“Instead of going to war with the Jackal all you’ve done is gone to war with us,” she says. “Now, you could face an attack on three fronts. The Morettis. The Amatos. The Tunisians. Nicely done.”

“Look, stop behaving like a spoiled brat,” I tell her. “You’re pissing me off. I was going to have your brother released tomorrow. Now, maybe I won’t.”

She slips on her leather jumpsuit. “I don’t care anymore. We’ll break him out ourselves. We don’t need you. You’re a traitor.” She shakes her head. “And here I thought I was actually beginning to feel something for you. To fall for you. And then you go and stab me in the back like this.”

Her words hurt more than I’m willing to admit.

“You walk out that door, our families are going to war,” I warn her.

“I know that,” she says. “That’s what I’ve been saying all this time. It’s finally registering with your hard head.” She shoves past me. “Just remember, you started it. I can’t trust you anymore.”

“Don’t you walk away from me!” I shout at her at her back. She jumps, and I feel a tinge of regret for scaring her. Just a tinge.

She hurries forward, not bothering to retrieve her helmet or any of the other belongings she has in the boxes in the hall.

I pull out my phone and activate my custom-made lockdown app.