Page 41 of Devil's Embrace
I hesitated."And you?"
His hand hovered over the panic room's latch, his shoulders tensing visibly before he squared them."I'm going to end this.Once and for all."
"No," I said firmly, stepping closer to him."We stay together.We fight together."
Something flickered in his eyes—surprise, perhaps, or respect."This isn't your fight, Emory."
I raised my chin, meeting his gaze without flinching."They came for my daughter.That makes it my fight."
For a moment, we stood locked in silent battle of wills.Then Luca nodded, a decision made.
"Then we face him together."He checked his weapon."And God help him when we do."
“What if we left Mina in the panic room?”I asked.
He shook his head.“If anything went wrong, no one would know to look for her.She’d eventually die in there.Plus, like I said, it’s not as safe as the other location.It’s possible someone could still get to her.”
Before either of us could make a move, I heard a familiar voice through the door.“Boss, I’m here to help.Hall is clear.”
Luca stared at the door a moment before unblocking it.He let Antonio in, then explained our situation and the plan.After locking Mina in the panic room and stationing Antonio outside to protect her, we left to find Mateo, Jr.
We moved through the mansion like ghosts.The distant sounds of gunfire had faded to an eerie silence.His men reported positions letting us know Junior had gathered his forces in the grand foyer—a power play, choosing the very space where his father had died to make his stand.Poetic, in a twisted sort of way.
"He wants an audience."We descended a servant's staircase to avoid detection."A proper succession ceremony with witnesses."
"And we're giving him what he wants?"I kept my voice low, the gun Luca had given me still gripped tightly in my hand.
"We're giving him what he thinks he wants."Luca's eyes were cold, focused."There's a difference."
We paused at the bottom of the stairs.I could hear voices now—the rumble of men speaking in the foyer just beyond the door.Luca turned to me, his expression suddenly intense."You don't have to do this.You can go back to Mina."
I thought of my daughter, her small face tear-streaked but brave as we'd sealed her into the panic room with promises to return.Then I thought of the men who had come for her, who would still come for her if we didn't end this now.
"I'm seeing this through."I checked my weapon as I'd watched Luca do."Let's finish it."
A ghost of a smile touched his lips.He nodded once, then pushed open the door.
The grand foyer looked like a war zone.Bullet holes pockmarked the marble columns.The crystal chandelier that had once cast dancing lights across the floor hung at a precarious angle, several of its strands shattered.Blood stained the imported Italian tile in dark, accusatory puddles.And in the center of it all stood a man who could only be Mateo, Junior.
He was younger than I'd expected, perhaps mid-thirties, with the same cold blue eyes as his father but none of the age lines.He wore an impeccably tailored dark gray suit with gold embroidery at the lapels—ostentatious, the kind of style that screamed of poor taste and desperation.Six armed men flanked him in a loose semicircle, weapons held at ready positions.
Mateo, Junior smiled when he saw Luca, a predatory baring of teeth that held no warmth."Cousin.I was beginning to think you'd gone to ground like a frightened rabbit."
"Sorry to disappoint."Luca kept his tone casual as we stepped fully into the foyer."I was busy cleaning up your father's mess.Again."
Mateo, Junior's smile tightened.His gaze shifted to me, eyes raking up and down in a way that made my skin crawl."And you must be the woman who's caused all this trouble.Quite pretty, I suppose, in a common sort of way."His lips curled."Though I expected something more impressive to make the great Devil himself go soft."
"You talk too much," I said before I could stop myself."Must run in the family."
One of Mateo's men moved forward, hand raising as if to strike me, but Junior stopped him with a gesture."Spirited, too.I can see the appeal, cousin, though I'd have kept her for amusement, not protection."
Luca stepped forward, positioning himself subtly between the man and me."You made a mistake coming here, Mateo.Your father already tried this play.You saw how it ended for him."
"My father was a great man."The veneer of sophistication cracked slightly at his words."But he made one critical error—he let you live when you were seven years old.A mistake I won't repeat.You've gone soft, cousin.The Devil my father raised wouldn't risk everything for a woman and her brat."
I tightened my grip on the gun, rage boiling beneath my skin at the casual reference to Mina.Luca's hand brushed against mine, a silent warning to wait.To watch.To let Junior keep talking.
"The family deserves better than a leader who abandons tradition for sentiment."He seemed to be warming to his theme."The other families are already laughing at us.The great Moretti empire, brought low by a woman and a child."
