“Can I ask?” Theo gives me a pleading look.
“As long as it’s not anything stupid.” I sigh.
“Are you sure she’s not lying? This is the kind of move your enemy would pull,” he blurts out. “Just think about it. What’s the best way to get you to let her in? Is someone supervising her? She could be calling Marcello or Marya right now! They could all be coming here for you. We’ve spent so much energy and time on protecting this place and making sure no one would find out you live here. I mean, the fake doorman and all... fake tenants... It’ll all be for nothing!”
“For fuck’s sake, Theo, breathe,” I say. “She’s not working with the enemy. She’s just a normal girl.”
“Says who? She?” Theo throws his hands up. “Did you even verify any of what she said?”
“I believe her.”
“And we usually trust your judgment,” Alessandro says. “But you’re clearly in love with her, or at least infatuated with her. You might miss things. You might want to believe things that aren’t true. It messes with your head, especially in the beginning. You’ve never been in love before, and you’re going to be a father. It has to—”
“You didn’t know about Aurora when you got here. Is there something urgent to discuss or not?” I snap.
Whether I’m in love with Aurora or not is a question for another day.
“We know where Cole Jr. will be,” Alessandro says.
Cole Jr? Cole named his son after himself? Why am I not surprised?
“If Cole’s son is dead, he can’t marry Marcello’s daughter,” I say.
“Exactly,” Alessandro says. “I doubt Cole will be up for signing any deals if he’s mourning his son’s death.”
“Um, there’s a problem with that. Cole will know it was us. He’ll be pissed off and more likely to ally with Marcello to attack,” Theo says. “And Marcello will still have his daughter and will find another ally through marriage.”
“We’ll be careful, but yes, chances are Cole will figure it out,” Alessandro says.
“It doesn’t matter. Cole won’t want to wait like Marcello. We can handle him if he attacks alone,” I say. “But even if Marcello doesn’t wait, their attack will be less coordinated. It should be easier to fight them. I don’t think Marcello will proceed with the deal, though. He’ll try something else, or he’ll take out Cole himself to clear the path to me. To us. Doing something is always better than doing nothing. Messing up Marcello’s plans is always a good thing, and Cole is already poised to be our enemy, so it doesn’t matter. We can only gain with this.”
“So we’re going to kill Cole Jr?” Theo asks.
“Yes. Actually, let me take care of it.” I’m good at moving around without being seen, even in enemy territory.
“You’re forgetting something,” Alessandro says.
“Forgetting what?” I raise an eyebrow at him.
“What if something happens to you? I know you’re perfect for the job and probably nothing will happen, but you never know.”
“Theo will take care of everyt—”
“Luca, you’re going to be a father. It’s not just you that you have to think about now.”
I open my mouth to argue, then close it.
Fuck. He’s right. If something happens to me, who’s going to take care of Aurora and the baby?
For as long as I can remember, I only had to worry about myself, and most of the time, I didn’t give a fuck if anything happened to me. Sometimes I just got lucky. Life goes on. No one would miss me too much.
But now everything’s different.
I’m going to be a father. The last thing I want is to abandon my child and Aurora.
“Well, I can—” Theo starts.
Alessandro shakes his head, and Theo goes quiet.