Page 136 of Righteous Enforcer
I swallow as I hear Ivan discuss the total destruction of the Dante family.
“But this only works by outnumbering them by at least five to one. The Dantes are skilled at taking out many men, often before they know what’s happening. You have to be one hundred percent committed.”
“It’s true that underestimating the Dantes is a mistake. One I’ve made as Alessandro hasn’t looked strong as a Don, but he’s managed to survive. When he killed Maksim, I don’t have to tell you, Ivan, that made many families take pause. But yes, I’m committed.”
“This goes down Friday. We need to be ready.”
“I’ll be ready.”
My mind races. Whatever Adriano believes about me now, I can't let this happen. I need to warn him.
But how? Ivan lets me roam about the house, but there’s no way I’d make it two steps up the drive before I was stopped.
Still, I’m resourceful. They've been careful not to leave me anything sharp, but they've underestimated what desperation can accomplish. I've spent years running, hiding, surviving. I've learned to turn anything into a weapon or tool when necessary.
I return to my room, brainstorming my options. Once everyone is asleep, I exit my room, scouring the house for anything I can use to escape or even send a message.
“Sleepwalking?” Ivan’s voice startles me as I rummage through the empty drawers in the desk in his library.
“I’m bored.”
“It’s late enough that you should be sleeping.” I can see he doesn’t buy my story, but he’s more amused than mad. He enjoys toying with me, giving me bits of hope and then taking them away.
“If I could sleep, that’s what I’d be doing.” I give up on the desk and move to exit the library to return to my room.
As I pass him, he grips my arm, hard enough to remind me how easy it would be for him to kill me. “I don’t know what you’re playing at, Eva, but it won’t work. It’s possible you’ll survive this, but only if you don’t fuck it up.”
He’s lying. As soon as his plan is achieved, he’ll kill me.
I’m only still alive because he thinks I might be useful.
I don’t reply, only tug my arm free and go up to my room.
He hasn’t scared me away from my plan.
Once you’ve accepted that death is inevitable, nothing scares you.
Except failing in warning Adriano, because if he dies, Ivan will come for Mirabella.
And I will do anything to make sure that doesn’t happen, even if it results in my head being placed in a box.
35
ADRIANO
Mirabella's tears break my heart as I tuck her into bed for the third time for her nap. Her fairy nightlight casts dancing fairies along the ceiling, but they do nothing to comfort her.
“I want my mommy.”
I sit on the edge of her bed, smoothing back her hair. "I don't know." I’ve now moved on from “soon” to “I don’t know”, but it’s still a lie. The truth is, Eva is dead. There’s no way Ivan didn’t retaliate once we sent that head back. But I can’t give my daughter a truth that brutal.
Her tiny fingers clutch the edge of her blanket. "The bad men have her?"
I nod, throat tight. "Yes."
"But you're the strongest," she says with such conviction it guts me. "You can get her."
This absolute trust would melt my heart at any other time.
