Page 116 of Pietro
"So?" Tony presses. "Do we have a deal?"
"Midnight," Declan says. "The old Murphy warehouse on the South Side. You know it?"
"I know it."
"Bring the girl. Come alone. If I see a single Sartori soldier, if this smells like a trap for even a second, I'll put a bullet in your grandson's head before you can blink."
"It's not a trap," Tony lies smoothly. "I just want my grandson back."
"Midnight," Declan repeats. "Don't be late."
The line goes dead.
I look around the table, meeting each person's eyes. "We have four hours to plan this perfectly."
"We stick to the plan." Nora's voice cuts through the room, steady and certain. "If Declan sees even a hint that this is a trap, he'll kill Michael. Probably Tony too."
I turn to her. "There's no way in hell you're going anywhere near him."
"This has to do with me too." Her voice colored with anger as she stands, palms flat on the table. "I need to face Declan. I need?—"
"No. There is no fucking way. We go in, extract Michael, eliminate Declan. Simple. Clean. You stay here where it's safe."
"Safe?" She laughs, but there's no humor in it. "When has anywhere been safe for me? This is my fight, Pietro. He tried to kill me. He used me to destroy my family. I have the right to?—"
"You have the right to stay alive." I stand too, matching her stance. "We stick to the plan we already have. Lorenzo coordinates, Liam takes point with the extraction team, and?—"
"She's right."
My head snaps toward Nico. "What?"
"Nora's right." My brother pushes off from the window, his expression unreadable. "Declan's expecting her. If she doesn't show, he'll know it's a trap immediately."
"Fuck you." The words explode from me as I round the table toward him. "You want her dead, is that it? Been looking for an excuse since you found out who she is?"
Nico moves fast, grabbing my shirt and yanking me close. His eyes burn with controlled fury. "If I wanted her dead, she'd be a fucking corpse by now. I had a gun to her head, remember? Could have pulled the trigger anytime in that warehouse."
I shove him back, but he doesn't let go.
"Think with your brain instead of your dick for once," he snarls. "This isn't about what you want. It's about saving a seven-year-old kid."
"Don't lecture me about?—"
"Stop." Lorenzo's voice cuts between us. "Both of you. This isn't helping."
But I barely hear him. All I can think about is Nora walking toward Declan. Nora in danger. Nora choosing to go back to the man who tried to kill her.
She wants to leave.
The thought hits me like a punch to the gut. Maybe this is her out. Her chance to escape me, escape this life. Go back to what she knows, even if what she knows is Declan.
"Pietro." Liam's calm British accent breaks through my spiral. "We need to think tactically here."
I wrench free from Nico's grip, my chest heaving. Nora's watching me with those green eyes that see too much, and I can't tell what she's thinking. Can't tell if she's already planning her escape.
"You're not going," I tell her, my voice rough. "That's final."
"You don't get to make that decision for me."
