The phone's vibration felt louder than the silence that followed their kiss. Gabe's hand tightened on the railing, the glow of the message on the screen casting shadows across his face.
Lottie leaned in, reading the words that had turned his jaw to stone.
You can't protect what burns from within.
Her stomach dropped. "Someone on the inside."
Gabe's silence was an answer in itself. His eyes were hard, his body rigid as though carved from marble, but she could see the storm behind them. He'd been waiting for this—expecting it—and now the proof was undeniable.
Without a word, he shoved the phone into his pocket and strode back into the war room. Lottie followed, pulse racing.
Marco and the others looked up sharply as the doors slammed open.
"Everyone out," Gabe snapped. His voice was low, dangerous, and absolute.
The men hesitated, confusion flickering between them. Marco frowned. "What happened?"
"Out," Gabe barked again.
One by one, the men filed out under his gaze, their boots echoing against the stone. The heavy doors shut behind them, leaving only Gabe, Lottie, and Marco in the room.
Gabe pulled the phone free, dropped it on the table, and slid it toward Marco. The message glowed like a brand.
Marco read it, his jaw tightening. "Christ."
"Inside our walls," Gabe growled. "Vitale's snake is closer than I thought."
Lottie's fingers curled against the table's edge. "What if they were in that briefing? Heard everything we planned?"
"They were," Gabe said flatly. "And now Vitale knows exactly how we intend to hold."
The thought chilled her. Every word, every insight she'd given—already compromised.
Marco scrubbed a hand over his face. "We can't accuse blindly. Half these men have been with you for years."
"Loyalty bends," Gabe said, his voice like iron. "Greed. Fear. Promises. Vitale knows the right strings to pull."
"And if you start tearing through them all—" Marco's eyes flicked to Lottie, then back. "—you risk breaking what's left of their trust."
Silence pressed in, heavy and suffocating.
Lottie spoke before fear could steal her words. "Then don't look for who broke trust. Look for who gains the most from what Vitale knows. If we set a trap—"
Both men looked at her. She swallowed but held their stares. "We feed false information. Different stories to different men. Whoever leaks it to Vitale gives themselves away."
Marco's brow lifted. His expression was skeptical, but not dismissive.
Gabe's gaze lingered on her, unreadable at first. Then, slowly, he nodded. "The serpent chooses its prey by scent. Let's see who smells the blood."
⸻
The plan took root by morning. Gabe moved through his men with calm authority, issuing orders with slight variations—assignments shifted, details altered. No one suspected the seeds of deception planted in his words.
Lottie watched from the shadows of the courtyard, unease tightening her chest. She could see the tension in Gabe's shoulders, the weight of suspicion he carried. Every handshake, every nod of respect from his men could be betrayal masked in loyalty.
By noon, whispers were already stirring. Men muttered about double shifts, about supply routes changed at the last minute. The uncertainty was working, but it gnawed at her all the same.
She found Gabe in his office, standing at the window, hands braced against the sill. He didn't look at her when she entered.
"You doubt them all," she said quietly.
His reflection in the glass was a storm. "I have to. Trust is a luxury that gets men killed."
She stepped closer, her voice soft but unflinching. "And what about you? If you don't trust anyone, who do you have left?"
His jaw worked, but he didn't answer.
"You can trust me," she whispered.
This time, he turned. The walls in his eyes cracked just enough to show what lay beneath—fear, fury, and something rawer. He stepped toward her, stopping only when the air between them was charged with heat.
"I already do," he admitted, the words sharp, dragged from his chest like they cost him something.
Before she could respond, the office door creaked open. Marco slipped inside, face grim.
"They bit."
Gabe straightened instantly. "Who?"
"Vitale hit one of the routes. The one I fed to Enzo."
The name hung in the air like a blade. Enzo—one of Gabe's oldest men, the kind who laughed loudest at the table, who carried his scars like proof of loyalty.
Lottie's stomach sank.
"Bring him," Gabe ordered, voice ice.
⸻
They dragged Enzo into the cellar beneath the estate. The stone walls were cold, the air damp, the smell of mildew thick. He was bound to a chair, sweat glistening on his forehead, his eyes darting between Gabe, Marco, and the shadows where Lottie stood.
"Boss," Enzo stammered, "you've known me since I was a kid. I took bullets for this family—"
"And sold it for what?" Gabe's voice cut like steel. He paced in slow circles, his predator's gaze never leaving the man. "Money? Fear? Or the promise Vitale whispered in your ear?"
Enzo shook his head violently. "No! I swear—"
Gabe stopped behind him, leaning close enough that his voice was almost a growl in Enzo's ear. "Then how did Vitale know where to strike?"
Enzo's silence was answer enough.
Lottie's breath caught as the truth settled in the room. The serpent had shown its face.
Marco slammed his fist into the table, fury flashing in his eyes. "You sold us out, Enzo. You sold him out!"
Enzo's gaze flickered to Lottie then, desperation bleeding into his voice. "It wasn't me! It was her! She's the one who wasn't supposed to be here. Everything started going wrong when she showed up!"
Lottie flinched at the venom in his words, but Gabe didn't waver.
"She's the only one in this room I trust," Gabe said, his voice deadly calm.
The words silenced Enzo. Even Marco's anger dimmed for a heartbeat.
Lottie's throat tightened. She hadn't asked for this war, hadn't asked to carry his trust—but now that she did, she would not break it.
Gabe stepped in front of Enzo, crouching low, his eyes level with the man's. "You'll tell me what Vitale promised you. And then, Enzo… you'll beg me for the mercy you never earned."
The serpent within had been found. But the venom still lingered in their walls.
And Lottie knew this was only the beginning of the reckoning to come.