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I couldn’t have been happier. The wind whipped in my hair and the seawater sprinkled across my face as Gio’s boat whipped through the waters.

Gio and I’d gotten closer over the last week, to a level where even a moment away from him felt like agony. So when I was bored and asked if I could come with him for tonight’s operation, he’d only laughed and asked if I was planning on joining the family business.

My heart, I swear, lurched with joy at the thought. To imagine a situation where Gio and I worked side by side together felt like a dream, but I didn’t say so as I was still trying to sort through my feelings. His acceptance of my request to join meant the world to me, simply because had I asked any of my brothers, I’d have been dismissed straight away.

Gio, however, truly listened when I spoke. He saw me. Not just who I was and am, but who I could be. He made me believe in the possibility that anything could happen. That I could be anyone.

Beside Gio’s boat, Caspian steered a second vessel. At the dock, he had barely grunted a hello in my direction, and I knew he was still mad at Gio, but he didn’t take it out on me. Tonight’s operation, given Caspian’s presence, told me was larger than the previous one.

Last time, I’d been afraid. Tonight, however, I was excited. For some reason, the thrill of the deal was one I wanted to chase.

“Stay close,” he'd murmured before we boarded in his usual protective way, his lips brushing my ear. “If anything happens—”

“Nothing will happen,” I'd interrupted with a furrow of my brow as I turned to him and cupped his cheeks between my hands. “Not when you’re there.”

He had smiled and sneaked in a quick kiss before Caspian saw. Our situation was no longer a secret among his family, but we were giving them time to adjust to the change.

Just then, I heard some shouts and heard something crack. When I turned, I saw one of the men had stumbled with a heavy crate. Within moments, Gio was by his side, his shoulder braced against the weight from the other end.

“Steady,” he said, his voice carrying to where I stood. “No rush. We do this right.”

The kindness surprised me still, after all these months. There were half a dozen other men who could have helped. But Gio always got into the dirty work with his men. He was their teammate and not someone to be feared.

Perhaps that was why his men cherished the ground they walked on. From the moment I stepped onto this boat, big, burly, scary-looking men smiled at me sweetly, offered me lemonade, and asked if I needed anything. I knew they didn’t do this for me, someone they hardly knew, but rather for Gio. I was special to him, so important to them.

Only a good man, a kind man could garner such loyalty. My heart swelled with pride at the sight of my man as he now joked and laughed with his crew. When one of them stumbled over a rough wave, Gio immediately reached out, balancing him.

I pressed my palm against my stomach, still flat. Eight weeks, the doctor had confirmed yesterday when I went under the disguise of a general check-up. I hadn't told Gio yet.

I hadn’t earlier because I had been afraid he didn’t trust me, that he might not want the baby. But now, I knew without a doubt that he was willing to fight for me, for us. That was enough for me to know he’d love this baby, our little unit, beyond measure.

Tonight, I'd decided. After the shipment, when we found ourselves alone, I would tell him then. I rehearsed multiple ways to break the news to him, oscillating between jokes and simply laying it out there. I still didn’t know exactly how I’d tell him, but knew without a doubt that I would tonight. I felt a flutter in my heart at the thought of catching that exact moment when his face would transform with joy at the news.

The moon hung low over the water, making it a beautiful, perfect night and I felt a strange peace settle over me. I was fine. Gio was fine. We were together.

I moved closer to where Gio stood at the helm and he sensed me before I spoke, turning with that same small smile that still made my heart stutter.

“Bored yet?” he asked, taking one hand off the wheel to pull me against his side.

“Fascinated,” I corrected, leaning into his warmth.

His thumb traced circles on my hip. “Someday, I’m going to buy you your own boat, since you love it out here so much.”

I opened my mouth to respond, to tell him I would never let him justify such an unnecessary purchase, perhaps even to tell him right then about the baby, when his body tensed beside me.

“What’s happening?” I asked when his hand moved away from the hip.

“Get down,” he hissed, leading me toward the cabin door. “Inside. Now.”

I stumbled, catching myself on the railing. “What—”

The words died in my throat as I saw what he had noticed: small boats emerging from the darkness, their engines cutting through the night's silence. There were too many for these boats to be a coincidence, and from the way they surrounded the boat, it was clear they had come with an intent that was anything but friendly.

“Ambush!” One of Gio's men shouted, and then everything dissolved into chaos.

Gunfire shattered the night. I froze as Gio turned for a moment to shoot at some of the engines to halt them in their tracks. “Get in, Larissa,” he screamed over the gunfire, but I was paralyzed, unable to move. Panic clawed at my throat, and my hand instantly reached for my stomach. If anything happened tonight…no. I couldn’t let my thoughts go there.

Instead, I focused on the present, wondering how I could be of help, and watched in horror as the smaller boats surrounded us. Soon, there were men climbing aboard where they weren’t welcomed.

Gio moved like lightning, raising his gun and taking down two attackers in quick succession. His voice cut through the mayhem, ordering his men into defensive positions. For a moment, I thought they might repel the attack.

Then I saw him, Dom, among the attackers. The shock of recognition paralyzed me. Dom, my brother’s most trusted bodyguard. Dom, who always watched out for me.

Our eyes locked across the chaos. His widened at the sight of me and then, to my horror, he broke into a smile. He shouted something I couldn't hear over the gunfire and pointed in my direction.

Two men broke away from the fight, heading straight for me. I finally found my legs then, turning to run, but the deck was slick with blood and saltwater. I slipped, scraping my palms on the rough surface, but caught myself in time on the railing.

A scream tore from my throat as I watched three men corner Gio. He fought hard, but they overwhelmed him when he was distracted by the men heading in my direction. A blow to the head sent him to his knees. Another to his ribs doubled him over.

“Stop!” I screamed, lunging toward him, but strong arms caught me from behind, lifting me off my feet.

Right in front of my eyes, I saw those men continue to beat Gio, even though he wasn’t moving. The rage, the agony I felt at seeing him be treated that way threatened to tear through me. I whipped around and tried to grab my holder’s hair with my fists, but he stepped back.

I kicked and clawed as they dragged me backward. But then, from a distance, I saw Caspian's boat approaching. They weren’t shooting? Why weren’t they shooting? Dom and the others hadn’t noticed the boat, and that was when I realized what was happening. Caspian was waiting to get on board undetected. I whipped my head and screamed, “There,” pointing in the opposite direction. “Boats. Dozens!”

Dom and the others rushed to where I was and stared into the sea, but my assailants held on to me.

“I see nothing,” Dom groaned and motioned at another to hand him some binoculars. This was enough of a distraction and the next thing I knew, Caspian and his men were on board, firing. But their shots didn’t reach close to us, and I knew why. Caspian was afraid of hurting me.

“Retreat,” Dom shouted over the fire. “Retreat.”

The attackers took me with them.

The last thing I saw before they threw me into one of the smaller boats was Gio's body, crumpled on the deck, blood darkening his shirt. Caspian ran through the boat, desperate to reach his fallen brother.

As our boats sped away, Dom turned to me, furious. “Why the hell did you do that? We almost had him?”

I ignored him and instead, let the tears fall down my cheeks.

***

Being back home felt strange and unfamiliar. Dom led me straight to my room and left me there. My old nursemaid Maria came soon after with some tea and cake. When I looked at her, I must have appeared ghastly, for she murmured and reached over, giving me a wordless hug before she left.

My bedroom remained unchanged—the same silk sheets, the same crystal perfume bottles arranged on the vanity, but it no longer felt like mine. I sat on the edge of my bed, still wearing the clothes I'd been rescued in. My hands wouldn't stop shaking. Behind my closed eyelids, I kept seeing Gio's body on that deck, being battered and bruised.

I looked up when the door opened without a knock. My eldest brother Gastone strode right in, and his face washed with relief at the sight of me.

“Larissa,” he said, and crossed the room in three strides.

The hug caught me off guard. My brother wasn't usually an expressive man, but this one felt desperate, genuine.

“Carlo and Dino are taking the first flight back,” he whispered as he stepped back, but not before planting a kiss on my forehead. “

I stepped away and concern etched into the lines around his eyes as he wandered over my body, wondering if I was truly safe.

“Thank God you're safe,” he said. “When I heard—”

“I’m fine, Gastone,” I said stiffly.

“Did he—?” Dom growled, unable to finish his sentence as his throat tightened. I knew he was thinking the worst of Gio, even though Gio had been nothing but wonderful. However, for Gio’s safety and for what I wanted, I knew I couldn’t let Dom know.

I shook my head. “They treated me well. I had my own bedroom, anything I wanted.”

His eyes widened with surprise, but he nodded. “Thank God. Thank God you’re back. I can’t believe they would-”

“Why wouldn’t they, Gastone?” I blurted out, stopping him in his tracks. “Don’t you know what’s been happening? Of course the Lebedevs hate us, even though I know,” I stepped forward and took my brother’s hands in mine. “I know you didn’t do those things.”

“What are you talking about?” Gastone furrowed his brows. “Stop talking in riddles, sister.”

“Gastone, your men have been acting behind your back. Dom—he’s been leading attacks against the Lebedev operations. They… he… bombed one of their warehouses. People could have died,” I paled as I gave my brother this information. “Not only that, Gastone. I’ve seen things. Your men, they kill their subordinates. Shoot them right dead. You must do something.”

Gastone’s face hardened, and for a moment, a stretched silence lingered between us. I couldn’t imagine how shocked he must be by all this, so I gave him time to process it, waiting patiently.

But then, he let out a sound. A laugh. My world twisted on its axis as he looked at me with scorn. “And you think Dom and the others did those things without me knowing? How weak a leader do you think I am, Larissa?”

“What?” I choked out the question, not understanding what he meant. It couldn’t be. It was impossible that my brother knew the whole time.

“The bombing at the warehouse three months ago,” he said conversationally. “That was me.”

I felt the air suck out of my lungs.

“The attack on their shipment in April. Also me.” He adjusted his cufflinks. “The men being killed on our sites. They’re traitors. Useless.”

Each confession hit like a physical blow. The bombing could have killed people, killed Gio, killed his lovely family.

My knees weakened. I sank back onto the bed. “Why?” The word emerged as barely a whisper.

“Business,” he said simply. “The Lebedevs were expanding too rapidly. Taking contracts that should have been ours. Recruiting men from our territory.”

“So you risked open war? For business?”

He shrugged. “War is business, Larissa. Your grandfather understood that. Your brothers understand that. We kept you safe from this world.”

I thought of all that time I wasted trying to gather evidence to prove to Gio that my brother wasn't behind the escalating violence between our families. All lies. I'd been defending a monster.

“So, that day,” I asked, for myself more than anything. “When you sent Dom with me for those chores…”

“He wasn’t there to help you with chores. You were sent as a cover. I needed him to spy on Giovanni Lebedev, but Dom made a mistake by leaving you alone. Lebedev covered his tracks so well that day that we were chasing false leads for months. Months.”

“And here I was,” I said, with anger in my voice as I met his gaze. “Trying to prove you innocent. Trying to convince Gio that you wouldn’t do such a thing! You used me. You used me, Gastone!”

That was when the tears began to fall. I held back sobs and curled my arms around my body, but I didn’t want to cry. Not after what Gastone had just told me. He was cold and cruel, and I knew my tears would mean nothing.

“Gio?” I heard him ask, softly.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

I looked up and saw his scrutinizing gaze directed at me. “You were working with him, trying to prove my innocence?”

I shouldn’t have told him that, I felt it in my bones before I understood the full context of why he’d asked. But I also knew there was no point lying when the truth had already been laid out. I gave him a single nod.

“And he let you work with him, didn’t he?” It wasn’t a question, just an observation. I said nothing.

He walked closer until he towered over me. But unlike when Gio did so, I felt afraid. I looked up and met his cold, blue eyes.

“You know, I always wondered, Larissa. That day at the mall, when Dom found you, why you didn’t go with him straight away. Now I know. You were with Gio. You betrayed me.”

The way Gastone used the word with, tinged with disgust, told me I was too late. He’d figured it out. He knew what Gio meant to me.

“You went soft on him,” the accusation hung in the air.

“I never betrayed you,” I whispered. “I was trying to—”

“To what? Make peace?” He spat the word. “Let me explain how this works now. You will end your relationship with Giovanni Lebedev. You will remember that you are an Ajello.”

My hand instinctively moved to my stomach. The baby. Our baby. But I quickly removed it, before Gastone caught on. “And if I refuse?”

“If you refuse,” he said softly, “I will destroy him. Not quickly. Not cleanly. I will take everything he loves, piece by piece. And when he has nothing left, when he is broken and begging for death, then—only then—will I tell him why.”