Page 118 of Ivory Oath

She just hugs me tighter, her cheek pressed over my heart.

Anatoly is watching nervously from the door. I catch his eye. “We need to talk—you, me, and Raoul. My office in ten.”

He nods and disappears into the house.

Viviana pulls back. “You just got home. Can’t this wait until?—”

“It can’t wait.” We’ve already lost so much time. We’re lucky there wasn’t an attack while I was in custody.

Dante runs over and wraps his arms around my legs again. “Can you put me to bed, Daddy?”

I ruffle his hair and gently nudge him towards his mother. “Not tonight.”

Something I can’t read flickers across Viviana’s face, but she tucks it away and slaps on a smile. “Just you and me tonight, bud. What should we read?”

I walk into the house before they can decide and it feels like I’m stepping through a portal. Like my life is divided cleanly into two halves.

I wish that was the case. As it is, the two halves are on a collision course. And there’s no telling what kind of carnage will be left behind.

“If there was anything to know about who tipped off the feds, we’d have it by now.” Anatoly has given up his usual spot on the sofa in exchange for anxiously pacing across the room. “No one knows a fucking thing.”

“Or they’re lying to us.” It’s the same theory I offered to Raoul outside, but it hits Anatoly a bit differently.

He stiffens, stopping his pacing long enough to face my desk. “I know I fucked up by not telling you about taking Viviana to the clinic. If you want to hash it out now, we can. But I think we both know we have more important shit to handle.”

I shrug. “What we’re trying to figure out now is who we can trust. Can I trust you?”

“With your life,” Anatoly vows without hesitation.

“Then there’s nothing else to hash out.”

I circle a hand in the air and it’s like hitting “resume” on a movie. Anatoly starts his pacing again and Raoul leans against the edge of my desk. “Maybe Christos or Agostino infiltrated the FBI.”

“Even if they did, their word wouldn’t be enough to get me arrested. The FBI knows better than to take the word of one crime boss against another. They don’t have enough evidence for a conviction, but my lawyer said they had credible testimony from an informant.”

Anatoly frowns. “What kind of informant?”

“Someone the FBI would trust to know what I was up to,” I explain. “Someone on the inside.”

Anatoly curses under his breath, but Raoul doesn’t move. His brow is furrowed. “We already don’t have the manpower to match a Greek-Italian alliance. If they also have someone feeding them information from the inside, we’re fucked.”

“I know,” I growl. “Why the fuck do you think we were trying to take out Christos or Agostino before all of this shit went down?”

“It’ll be impossible now,” Anatoly grumbles. “They’ve made a move and they’ll have their guard up, ready for a response from you.”

“As they should be. This can’t go unanswered. We have to be on the offensive.”

“We don’t have the manpower,” Raoul repeats through gritted teeth.

“Then fucking get it!” I snarl.

The room goes quiet, but I don’t give a damn. This has gone on for too long. There have been excuses and reasons why we couldn’t end this war, but none of that matters now.

“Get the manpower,” I repeat. “I’m not going to sit on my ass and wait for another attack to roll in. We need to make a move before they land a fatal blow.”

It’s been a long time since the day we all found Anzhelina and Alyona dead, but I know Anatoly and Raoul are right back there with me.

Only this time, it’s Viviana and Dante they’re seeing on the floor.

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