Page 78 of Declan

“Giovanni’s still at the Morelli mansion with his daughters. No movement,” Connor says, his tone shifting back to business.

“What now?” a voice cuts in behind us.

Viviana stands there, damp hair clinging to her shoulders, dressed in sweatpants and a hoodie from my closet. I did bring some of her things here, but nothing comfortable. The clotheshang loosely on her, making her look like a kid wearing her father’s clothes. Still, she manages to look sexy as hell.

“Now it’s your time to shine, firecracker,” I say, smirking as I pat the stool next to me.

She walks over slowly, her brows furrowed in suspicion.

“What we’re about to discuss stays in this room,” I say firmly, looking between her, Flynn, Connor, and Kian. “Not a word to our men or yours.”

Her gaze sharpens, curiosity piqued.

“You’re going to call your father,” I explained. “Tell him how pissed you are at us, at me. Tell him you hate the mistrust I have in you and how you’re working with the Russians.”

Her brows knit together as she processes.

“But I’m here,” she says, worrying creeping into her voice. “They won’t believe you’d take me back if it were true.”

“They will,” I say confidently. “You’ll tell them the evidence isn’t enough, and that I can’t kill my own wife without losing credibility inside the Irish Consortium. So now, I’m making your life a living hell, and you want revenge.”

“You’ll feed your father information about shipments, where we store our… stock,” Connor says, his tone steady. “He’ll pass it along to the Koslovs.”

“But they’ll attack it!” Viviana’s voice wavers, her eyes darting between us like we’ve all lost our minds.

“That’s the idea,” Kian replies, laying a map on the table. “We control the narrative. We’ll make sure nothing important is hit, but it’ll look real enough for them to trust you. If everything goes to plan, Aleksandr might crawl out of his hiding hole long enough for us to grab him.”

Viviana nods, but I can see the worry in her eyes.

“Everything will be fine,” I reassure her, my hand gliding up and down her back. “The warehouses will be empty, and so willthe shipments. No one will get hurt. We’ll leave just enough stock behind to make it believable, but that’s it.”

Her body relaxes slightly under my touch, but Kian continues.

“Your father will believe you’ve truly turned against us,” he says, his voice calm but firm.

Viviana stiffens again, her posture straightening.

“But make sure to keep your sharp tongue and temper toward him,” I add, locking eyes with her. “He’s not stupid. He’ll believe you hate us; that part’s easy. You kind of hate everyone.” Maybe I shouldn’t have let that slip since her eyes turned to knives. I clear my throat, pretending not to notice. “But if you’re too nice to him, he’ll know something’s off.”

Her lips curl into a slight smirk. “That part will be easy.” But then her expression darkens, the fire in her gaze dimming. “And once you get Aleksandr? What happens to my father?”

Fuck.

The guys turn to me, silently waiting to see how I’ll handle this. I take a deep breath, knowing I can’t lie to her.

“I’ll kill him, Viviana,” I say quietly but firmly. “Not just for Elva, but for what he tried to do to you.”

I reach out, brushing a lock of hair from her face. Her eyes glisten with unshed tears, and it feels like a knife twisting in my chest.

“I understand,” she whispers, her voice steady despite the pain in her eyes. She hides it well, turning away and heading to the fridge. She doesn’t face us again, and I let her have her space.

“So, tomorrow it all begins,” I say, raising my glass.

Chapter 25

Viviana

My hands tremble slightly as I pick up my phone to call my father. I’m alone in Declan’s office; he offered to stay, but I asked him to wait outside. This is hard enough without an audience.

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