Page 47 of Breeding Justice

"Vito has to die," I said, ignoring Skylar. "That’s the only way this ends."

Justice shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She’d been uncharacteristically quiet since we arrived. The gunshot wound had her looking pale and drawn. I could see the pain in her eyes, but she was tough. She’d pull through.

“I mean, don’t get me wrong. I’m here for it. I would love to just kill him and all his men,” Skylar continued. “Love the fresh smell of blood in the morning.”

Zane laughed softly. I didn’t.

"Look, Skylar. We can’t just rush in and start shooting," Zane said. "This isn’t some Hollywood flick where the bad guys go down in a hail of bullets and the credits roll. Vito’s got an army, and he’s not going to just sit there and take it."

"We need a plan," I said. "But it has to be quick. We don’t have time to wait."

Hassan leaned back in his chair, his disheveled hair falling over his eyes. "Zane and I have been talking. There’s another option."

All eyes turned to them. Hassan sighed, rubbing his temples. “Wanna take it from here, Zane?”

Zane uncrossed his arms and stepped further into the room. "Dante Moretti," he said. "He has intel on Vito’s operations. Schedules, shipments, guard rotations. Everything we’d need to make a move."

"Dante?" Skylar scoffed. "You’re kidding, right? That guy would sell his own mother for a quick buck. He’s not exactly trustworthy."

"I’m not kidding," Zane said. "Dante Moretti is the only reason we’re alive right now. He hosted us in New York City and helped broker a dialogue with Vito. It didn’t go well, but at least Sebastian was protected.”

“Dante Moretti is a dangerous man,” I said. “And going all in with the Morettis is risky. Are you sure they want a war with Vito De Luca?”

"We don’t have another option," Zane replied, his voice calm and measured. "It’s a calculated risk, but it’s better than going in blind."

“Okay, but how is that an option? It’s not like they’ve offered, right?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest.

“They haven’t,” Hassan said, leaning forward, his elbows resting on his knees. “But Moretti already helped us once, and the lines of communication are open. He’s not loyal to anyone except himself. He doesn’t need to offer. If we make it worth his while—if we convince him Vito’s death benefits him—he’ll get involved. He’ll want to be on the winning side.”

Skylar snorted, pacing to the far side of the room. “And what happens when we stop being the winning side? What happens when Dante decides he can squeeze more out of Vito’s crew instead?”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” Zane said firmly. “Dante’s already made enemies with Vito. We don’t have to push him far—just enough to give us the intel and support we need.”

Justice shifted in her seat, her voice quiet but steady. “It’s a gamble, but it’s not like we have many options left. If Vito’s already gunning for us, Dante might be the only way we stay ahead of him.”

“Convincing Dante’s going to take more than good intentions,” I said, shaking my head. “Do we even have anything to offer him?”

Hassan gave me a look, half-surprised, half-dismissive. “We still run Miami, Bash,” he said. “That counts for something. He knows we can help with distribution in Florida—and Miamians love their drugs. So…” He shrugged, as if that login was self-explanatory.

Skylar let out a sharp laugh. “I love how casually you just offered Miami up as a bribe. Did anyone else catch that? Or just me?”

Hassan didn’t rise to the bait. “It’s business,” he said simply. “Dante will understand that. And we’ll make sure the terms work for us too. To be clear, I’m not offering Miami. I’m just saying we can put his product on rotation too. Mutually beneficial.”

“No cut?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

Hassan shrugged again, his voice calm. “Admin fee, sure. But no, the real price we’re charging is Vito’s head.”

Justice closed her eyes and took a deep breath. I could see she was struggling with something, but I didn’t know what. She’d always been the most level-headed of us, the one who could balance our hot tempers with her cool reasoning. But having SJ targeted by Alicia’s mafia family had clearly thrown her off kilter.

"Justice," I said. "What do you think?"

She opened her eyes and looked at me, then at the rest of the group. "I think we need to be realistic. We can’t keep hiding, but Zane is right. I have no idea what the right move is," she said slowly, her voice steady despite the tension in the room. But she remained quiet, visibly uneasy, as the group continued discussing killing Vito.

“We have to worry about the consequences here,” I said.

"Consequences?" Skylar said, snorting. "Since when are we worried about consequences? This is about survival."

Justice glared at him, and for a moment, I thought she was going to explode. But instead, she sank back into her chair, crossing her arms over her chest. "I’m just saying we need to think this through."

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