Page 60 of The Enforcer's Possession
“Why not?”She folded her arms.“Because I’m your wife?Because you think I’m some delicate thing that needs protecting?”
“Because if something happens to you while I’m supposed to be saving your brother, Luca loses a sister along with everything else Marco’s taken from him.”I could feel my resistance crumbling, could hear it in how my arguments were becoming more specific, more conditional.“Because Giuseppe will hold me personally responsible.Because --”
I cut myself off before I said something I couldn’t take back.Because seeing you hurt would break something in me I didn’t know could break.
She was watching me with too much perception.Seeing through the tactical justifications to whatever was underneath.“I need to be there, Dante.I need to see him safe.Need to know I did something instead of sitting here useless while other people risked their lives for my brother.”
She had a point.Multiple points.She knew Marco’s psychology in ways I may not have considered.And she had a right -- maybe not a tactical right, but a human one -- to be involved in her brother’s rescue.
I looked back at the video call screen where six of my best men were waiting patiently for me to finish this conversation.Looked at Francesca’s face, seeing the slight confusion there.
My fingers drummed against the table again.Jaw so tight I felt the muscle jumping.Eyes narrowed as I evaluated her -- really evaluated her, not as my wife or Giuseppe’s daughter, but as a potential asset in a high-stakes operation.
She stood her ground.Didn’t flinch from my assessment.Didn’t back down or soften her demand with pleading.Just waited with Lombardi patience for me to reach the conclusion she knew I’d reach eventually.
I was going to regret this.
“Fine.”The word came out clipped.“But you follow my conditions exactly.No deviation.No improvisation.One mistake and I’m pulling you out even if it compromises the operation.Clear?”
Relief washed over her features, but she nodded with enough gravity to show she understood this wasn’t a game.“Clear.”
“You wear a vest and helmet.You maintain radio contact at all times.If I say move, you move.If I say stay, you’re a fucking statue.You don’t go near Marco under any circumstances.If we find him alive, my men handle it while you stay back.”
“Agreed.”
“You see your brother, you don’t run to him.You wait for my all-clear in case Marco rigged him with explosives or other contingencies.”I moved closer, using my height advantage to emphasize how serious I was.“And if at any point I decide you’re compromising the operation, you go back to the vehicle without argument.I don’t care if we’re thirty seconds from getting Luca.You follow orders or this ends badly for everyone.”
“I understand.”Her voice was steady, no trace of the woman who’d been sobbing against my chest hours ago.This was the Caterina who’d orchestrated our marriage, who’d matched me in every negotiation.“I’ll follow your orders exactly.”
I studied her for a long moment, looking for any sign she was agreeing just to get her way with plans to improvise once we were in the field.But her eyes met mine with clear intent.She meant what she said.Or at least believed she did in this moment.
“All right.”I turned back to the video screen, where my team was still waiting.“Caterina Lombardi will be in the command vehicle.But she’s a non-combatant observer.No one puts her in danger.Questions?”
Rizzo’s face showed surprise, but he covered it quickly.“No questions.”
Francesca’s expression suggested she had plenty of questions but was saving them for later.“Understood.”
I continued the briefing, walking through contingency plans and communication protocols while Caterina moved to stand beside me at the table.Close enough that I felt her presence, close enough that I could verify she was paying attention to every detail I outlined.
She leaned over the schematics, studying the approach vectors with the kind of focus that suggested she was actually absorbing tactical information rather than just going through motions.Her finger traced the route Team Alpha would take, then moved to where Team Bravo would breach.
“What about Marco’s vehicle?”she asked, pointing at the warehouse’s small parking area.“He’ll have an escape route planned.If he realizes you’re breaching before you reach Luca, he might try to cut his losses and run.”
I pulled up satellite imagery showing the surrounding streets.“Team Charlie is positioned here and here, blocking primary exit routes.Anything on four wheels gets stopped before it reaches main roads.”
She nodded, already moving on to the next consideration.“And if he has Luca drugged?Unconscious or unable to walk?”
“Extraction stretcher in both breach vehicles.Medical team on standby three minutes out.”I zoomed the image back to the warehouse interior.“We’ve planned for every contingency.”
“Except me being there,” she said quietly, glancing up at me.“That wasn’t in your original plan.”
“No.”I held her gaze.“It wasn’t.But plans adapt to circumstances.You being there adds complications.Also adds potential intelligence value.We’ll manage the complications.”
Something shifted in her expression.Gratitude, maybe.Or respect.Or just relief that I was taking her seriously instead of treating her like an obstacle to work around.
I finished the briefing and disconnected the call, leaving just the two of us in the study with the schematics and surveillance feeds and the weight of what we were about to attempt.Three twenty in the morning.Forty minutes until we needed to be at the warehouse.
We stood side by side over the planning table, our shadows merging on the wall behind us from the angle of the desk lamp.I reached for my phone to make the final call to Francesca, confirming everyone was in position.My other hand, without conscious thought, came to rest at the small of Caterina’s back.
