Page 79 of Possession

He looks up, visually evaluating us as he says, “Yes. Fine. Good.” He ends the call. “Jesus fucking Christ, what the hell happened?”

I guide Lucas to the couch and push him down. While Quinn fills Vitali in, I start pacing. I can’t switch gears as fast as Quinn. I can’t just shut down my adrenaline, and without a focus for it, it’s quickly turning into anger.

“You’re sure it was the DiMaggios?” Vitali asks after Quinn reports.

“Yes,” Quinn answers. “The one who came at Roman—”

“We kill them,” I cut into the conversation. “All of them.”

Vitali says, “If it were that easy, I would’ve already done it.”

I go stalking toward him. “Lucas could have been killed. If you fucking think—”

“Wewillretaliate,” Vitali insists, holding his ground as I crowd into his space. “We just have to decide how to do it. We have to choose a target that we can access.”

The door opens. Anton walks in looking furious. “Is it true? The DiMaggios came after Roman?”

Vitali says, “Yes. So we need to figure out the cleanest and most accessible target—”

“Fuck that,” Anton interrupts. “This isn’t the first time they’ve come after Roman. We have to end this.”

I stare at my uncle, stunned by his reaction. I would never have thought he would take my side or be upset on my behalf.

“Tonight needs to be a statement,” Vitali argues. “We’re not ready for war—”

“Would you say that if Roman had been killed?” Anton demands. “Or captured again and sold like a fucking slave?”

I don’t really react to his words, but Vitali does. He goes cold. He turns vicious. I watch it happen in his eyes as Anton’s words twist something inside him.

“Fine,” Vitali says with icy calm. “We hit Gavino. His house.”

“Good,” Anton agrees.

Somewhere inside me, an alarm rings, but there are so many alarms ringing that I don’t know whether to pay attention to it.

Shit happens fast after that. Calls are made, orders given. I let it happen around me. I step back from it—because I can see that Lucas is worried, that he’s scared. His eyes are huge as he tracks everything.

As I approach him, he pops up from the couch. “Don’t leave,” he begs. “Please stay.”

“You’ll be safe here,” I promise him.

“I’m not worried about me! None of this is about me! Roman—”

“This has to be done, Lucas,” I say, forcing all my focus onto him so I can explain. “I cannot have it be unsafe for you to be in the city with me. The DiMaggios need to understand the consequences of attacking us.”

He shakes his head like there’s some other way to understand this. “But Vitali said we’re not ready—”

“He’s with me on this.”

“But only because your uncle—”

Lucas gets cut off again as Vitali calls, “Roman.”

I grip the back of Lucas’s neck. “You’ll be safe here.”

The location is safe, and Quinn will be with him, along with Anton and his bodyguard.

Lucas’s hand curls around my wrist. “Roman, something is wrong. I can feel it.”

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