Page 332 of Rosetti Family New York

"I want to earn the right to stay," Mara says, her voice gaining strength from my presence. "To prove I can help instead of just being a problem he's too fixated on to get rid of."

Her honesty stirs something in me. She knows what she is—my weakness made real, the one flaw that could ruin everything I've built. Yet she's willing to fight to stay this weakness.

"Contribute how?" Domenico asks, though he seems to already know the answer. "What can you offer a family that's been doing fine without you?"

"Chase is planning a meeting with his European contacts this Friday night," Mara says quietly, but with enough firmness to make everyone listen. "It's a private gathering to finalize funding and assign contractors for his war against your family."

She pauses, letting them absorb the information.

"I'm going to that meeting," she continues, gaining confidence from their attention. "And I'll make sure Chase Callahan doesn't leave that room alive."

Silence follows as the family thinks about her offer. Not just asking for safety, but actively getting involved in the violence of our world. The line between being protected and being a protector, between an asset and an operator.

Salvatore looks at her for a long moment, his expression unreadable. When he finally speaks, his voice is full of authority.

"One chance," he says, each word heavy with meaning. "You get rid of Chase Callahan on Friday night, you prove your worth to this family. You fail, you disappear. Forever. Either way, the Callahan issue gets settled."

The harsh reality of the situation makes the kitchen air feel thin. It's not a test, it's an execution order with only one way out. Success or death, with no in-between.

"Understood," Mara says, though I can feel her body shaking, her breathing changing as she grasps the seriousness of her situation.

"Good," Salvatore replies with a smile as sharp as ice. "Then we understand each other perfectly."

As the family starts to leave, the room heavy with unresolved tensions, I grab Mara's hand, squeezing it hard enough to leave marks. My thumb presses against her wrist, feeling her rapid heartbeat.

"Scared?" I whisper in her ear as we're left alone in the huge kitchen, pulling her against me. I can still smell our lovemaking on her skin. It's intoxicating.

"Terrified," she admits. Her vulnerability is like a drug to me, and I'm hooked. She shakes slightly against me, showing she's been pushed to her limits but still standing. Last night, she found out her sister was dead. Now she's facing a life-or-death family ultimatum. Most people would break, but she's still here, still fighting. "But I'd rather die trying to earn my place here than live knowing I abandoned you again."

The words cut deeper because I understand what they cost her. She's not just choosing me over safety, she's picking our future over the grief that's tearing her apart. Sarah's death is still fresh, a wound that needs time to heal. But she's willing to set aside that pain to focus on surviving and proving herself worthy of the family that could offer her the only home she has left.

"You won't die," I assure her, though part of me relishes her fear, her need, her absolute reliance on my protection. "I won't let anything happen to you."

My words make her shiver against me, her body reacting to my authority despite, or perhaps because of, the danger around us. I can taste her fear when I kiss her throat, feel her rapid pulse beneath my tongue.

Friday night will decide everything—the war with the Callahans, her acceptance into the family, our future together. But for now, she's here. In my arms, in my home, touched by me and claimed by my resolve.

And God help anyone who tries to take her away from me.

24

Mara

The marble floor feels cold under my bare feet as I hold onto the sink, my knuckles turning white against the Italian stone. I barely recognize the woman in the mirror, her pale skin shows faint teeth marks, and dark circles shadow eyes that have memorized too many escape plans. Her lips are swollen from desperate kisses and bitten raw from familiar worry. But this time, the fear isn't about being caught. It's about losing him.

One chance. You eliminate Chase Callahan on Friday night, you prove your value to this family. You fail, you disappear permanently.

Salvatore's words echo in my mind like a ticking clock. Seventy-two hours until I walk into Chase's gathering, and every instinct tells me something will go wrong. This perfect reunion, this fragile safe space, might break just like everything else I've tried to protect.

Seventy-two hours until one of us might not come back.

"You're spiraling," Emilio says behind me, his voice low and knowing, making my heart race. He appears like a shadow, hissilver eyes watching every tiny expression as if he's afraid it's the last time he'll see me like this, vulnerable, unguarded.

His hands rest on my shoulders, his thumbs finding the knots of tension with expert skill. The touch sends a jolt down my spine, but beneath the familiar desire is something deeper, a desperate need to remember the weight of his hands, the warmth of his skin, the way he makes me feel valued instead of hunted.

"Terrified," I correct, leaning back into his solid warmth. "There's a difference."

"Is there?" His lips brush my ear, but there's no teasing. "Because from where I stand, it looks like you're planning to say goodbye."