Page 98 of Ruthless

“No. Niccolo is the only one who knows, remember? The Council came after you because they found out about the ring you bought from that jeweler. …Robbie? He’s a Council plant, Dante. He squealed like a pig.” Papà keeps staring out the window as if lost in memory. “They knew about your plan to leave for good. I didn’t want what happened to your mother and me to happen to you and Sara. So, I intervened.”

He releases a deep, shaky breath. “I thought I could play the game and buy your freedom. I requested a private audience with Niccolo, asked him to speak to the others and grant you clemency, but he shot me down. Said he’d done enough to repay our years of friendship, and he couldn’t risk any additional favors. That left me with only one choice.”

Gio finally meets my eyes again, his own tortured. “They were determined to discipline you one way or another. I used my knowledge of Niccolo’s identity to leverage the Council for a less severe punishment. My last card to play. I thought…” He exhales long and slow. “I thought private retaliation would be enough to spare your life and salvage our family’s reputation.”

The world shifts beneath my feet, and I sway where I stand. “But instead, they tortured me to within an inch of my life, all while planning on killing me anyway.”

Giovanni flinches but doesn’t deny it.

Though difficult to believe, my father’s story proves that I can’t shoot my way out of such a tangled web, and I’m done trying. For the first time in my life, I don’t view my father’s love for my mother as a weakness.

Love granted him strength, and losing my mother meant him learning to survive with a handicap. It’s a battle I recognize all too well.

Never again.

It’s time to live my life my way rather than bowing to the Council’s rule. I’m finished playing the game.

“The jet is waiting for you at the airfield.” Gio smiles. “Once you leave, we won’t see one another again.”

I want to hate him. To scrub him from my life so completely, I could pretend he never existed at all. But my hatred died with Enzo, and there are no more flames within me to stoke the old rage back to reluctant life.

Instead, the insurmountable weight of grief settles around my shoulders, especially when I consider Marco. As Papà rises on unsteady legs, I eliminate the distance between us and embrace my father one last time while agony buries itself deep in my bones.

A moment later, I release him, whistle for Pistol, and head out to join Sara and Jeremy without looking back.

At least I got to say goodbye this time.

The airfield is an empty stretch of land in upstate New York that my family has owned for decades. In just a few hours, should the need arise, we can be a continent away, and right now, the need has risen.

The sun is high in a crystal clear sky by the time we arrive at the hangar. Perfect flying weather. Luca waits for us on the tarmac with folded arms and a satisfied smirk. He claps me on the shoulder and drops a small silver object into my palm. This unassuming piece of hardware holds our entire future. Eightfigures of liquid assets distilled into a virtually untraceable encrypted ledger.

“Good job back there with Zanni.” I pat Luca on the back and pivot to watch Sara, Pistol, and Jeremy board.

Luca shrugs. “I’m always happy to help. Though you should be thanking Marco. Last I heard, he’s the reason we’re not being gunned down this very second.”

My chest warms. “How much of a head start did he buy us?”

“Twenty-four hours.” Luca looks at me from the corner of his eye, his expression neutral even as his voice drips with amusement and no small amount of pride.

Marco.Leave it to that pain in the ass to charm the Council.Fuck, I’m going to miss my brother.Despite the day’s turmoil, I manage to smile.“Then we’d better make the most of it.” I sigh through my nose and meet my second’s icy gray eyes for the last time. “Thanks, Luca. For everything.”

Luca yanks me into a quick, rough embrace. “You deserve peace, my friend. Go find it.” He jerks his chin at the cockpit, where our reserve pilot’s beginning pre-flight checks.

My throat burns, but I manage a nod. Without looking back, I trot up the stairs into the plane’s spacious cabin and buckle into the seat next to Sara. Jeremy chooses a spot near the rear galley, and Pistol jumps up on his legs like she’s a tiny lapdog instead of sixty-five-pounds of retired police canine. The sight of their growing bond eases my weary heart.

I raise my voice over the engines’ rumble as they power up. “Are you nervous?”

Sara shakes her head. “I’ve done much scarier things today.” Despite her words, she exhales a long-held breath, and a tear slips down her cheek.

“Damn right,tesoro.” I lean in and press a kiss to her lips.

My world is responsible for what happened to me. Sara was only ever a civilian. An innocent I once loved and attemptedto protect by separating her from the horrors of my daily life. That’s why, as I hunted my tormentors, I always intended to save her for last. A part of me always hoped that by the time I finished killing the others, I wouldn’t have enough hatred leftover for her.

In the end, I blew up my entire universe for her, and I’d do it again in a heartbeat.

I used to believe I was too mired in sin to offer anyone salvation, but if she plans to stay by my side, I’ll be whatever she needs.

The plane lifts into the sky, and just past her shoulder, I watch the ground fall away. As we climb higher, a sea of white clouds replace the greenery of upstate New York.