Page 131 of The Underboss's Secret Twins
The night is quiet, but my mind is anything but.
I lie awake, staring at the ceiling, listening to Sofia’s steady breaths beside me. The room is dark, save for the faint silver slant of moonlight filtering through the curtains, casting soft shadows over the sheets, over the delicate curve of her body as she sleeps. Her warmth is tucked against me, her scent lingering in the air—something faintly sweet, something entirely hers.
I should be able to rest now. She’s here. Safe. But I can’t.
Mancini’s final words coil around my thoughts like barbed wire, digging in deeper the longer I dwell on them.A trump card.Something the Lombardis have been holding back, something they’ve been waiting to play. And if that bastard was willing to taunt me with it even as he stared down the barrel of my gun, it means it’s something big.
I don’t doubt that I made the right choice in putting him down. A man like Mancini would never have stopped scheming, never stopped trying to rip apart what I’ve built. But that final, mocking glint in his eyes before I pulled the trigger—that lingers.
I turn my head slightly, my gaze settling on Sofia.
She shifts in her sleep, her fingers curling against my chest, her body instinctively drawn to mine even in unconsciousness. I brush a strand of hair from her cheek, my fingertips barely grazing her skin.
She doesn’t know the depths of what I’m willing to do for her.
For her. For our child.
I exhale slowly, forcing my pulse to steady, though my mind still churns. The Lombardis have been circling like vultures for months, waiting for a weakness, for the right moment to strike. And if they knew Mancini was working against me, if they knew about his plans before I did, then they’re more embedded in my city than I realized.
That alone is unacceptable.
I can’t just sit here, lying in bed like a man with the luxury of peace.
I press a lingering kiss to Sofia’s forehead before carefully untangling myself from her, slipping out of bed without waking her. She stirs for a brief moment but doesn’t wake, her face soft in the dim light, her breathing deep and even.
I let myself look at her for a second longer before I turn away.
There’s work to be done.
Luca is already waiting for me in the study, a glass of whiskey in hand, his dark eyes sharp despite the late hour.
"You’re up early," he says, though it’s not really a question. He knows me too well.
I pour myself a drink, the amber liquid swirling in the glass as I roll it between my fingers. "Couldn’t sleep."
Luca watches me for a beat, then exhales, setting his glass down with a softclink. "Mancini’s words."
Rico has already fed Luca everything.
I nod. There’s no point in denying it.
He leans back against the desk, arms crossed over his chest. "You think he was bluffing?"
"No." The answer is immediate, firm. "Mancini was many things—arrogant, manipulative, a fucking traitor—but he wasn’t reckless. If he said the Lombardis have something, then they do."
Luca’s sighs. He knows what this means just as well as I do.
We can’t wait for them to make the next move.
"We need to hit them first," I say. "We end this before they have a chance to show their hand."
Luca nods slowly. "I’ve already started putting feelers out. If the Lombardis are holding something back, we’ll find out what it is." He pauses. "But you know what this means, Marco. If we go after them now, we’re forcing a full-scale war."
I meet his gaze. "Then so be it."
Nuova Speranza is ours. The Salvatores built this city, bled for it, turned it into something untouchable. I won’t let the Lombardis sink their claws into it, won’t let them use whatever ace they think they have against me.
And I sure as hell won’t let them get anywhere near Sofia.
