Damian
The moment she was escorted upstairs, I forced myself to turn away. Dwelling on her trembling lips, her tear-bright eyes, would distract me from what mattered most: control.
And control was what kept me alive in this world.
I crossed the hall toward my office, pushing open the double doors with deliberate calm. My sanctuary. My war room. Floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked the city skyline, while shelves of leather-bound ledgers and files lined the walls. The desk was black mahogany, massive enough to swallow a man whole, and every inch of it reminded me of the empire I had built.
Enzo was already waiting, standing at attention by the desk. He was the only man I trusted to be here without invitation. Years at my side had earned him that much. Everyone else… everyone else I kept at arm's length.
"Talk," I said, shrugging out of my jacket and tossing it over the chair.
Enzo nodded once. "The Naples shipment arrived this morning. Clean. No interference. Product's being distributed through the usual channels."
Good. Naples was always messy—too many greedy hands, too many rats.
"And the port in Valencia?" I asked, flipping open a file on my desk.
His jaw tightened. "Complication. The Guardia Civil intercepted a container. Not ours directly, but tied to the Colombians we've been partnering with. They're sniffing around more aggressively than expected."
My fingers tapped once against the desk, sharp and steady. "Names?"
He slid a thin folder toward me. "Inspector Ruiz. Ambitious bastard. Wants to make a name for himself. If he links the Colombians to us…" He didn't finish. He didn't need to.
I skimmed the papers, my mind already calculating outcomes. Ruiz. Young. Hungry. The kind who thought justice was more than a word politicians threw around in speeches. Dangerous because of his idealism. Dangerous because he didn't understand yet that men like me always won.
"We'll send a message," I said flatly.
Enzo's eyes flickered. "You want him gone?"
"Not gone," I corrected, leaning back in my chair. "Not yet. If we kill him, they'll replace him with someone older, smarter, harder to manipulate. No—we bleed him. Subtly. A scandal. A whisper of corruption. We ruin his reputation before he can build it. Then, when he's drowning in disgrace, we take him off the board."
Enzo nodded once, no hesitation. That was why he was my right hand—not because he questioned me, but because he understood when not to.
I poured myself a drink—whiskey, neat. The burn was familiar, grounding.
"There's another issue," Enzo said carefully.
Of course there was. There always was.
"Draganov," he continued. "He's been moving into our territory again. Low-level at first. Gambling houses. Small clubs. But it's growing."
My jaw tightened at the name. Draganov. That snake never learned.
"He wants a war?" I asked, my voice calm, though my blood stirred at the thought.
Enzo shook his head. "Not yet. He's testing boundaries. Seeing how far he can push before you react."
I smiled, slow and cold. "Then it's time we remind him where the lines are drawn."
Silence stretched for a moment, Enzo watching me carefully. He knew what that smile meant.
War wasn't coming yet—but the promise of it was enough. And sometimes, the promise was more effective than the battle itself.
I took another sip of whiskey, my gaze drifting toward the ceiling above. Toward the rooms where she was now. Elena.
A different kind of complication.
The shipment, the ports, Draganov, Ruiz—these were predictable enemies. Money, guns, politics. I had handled all of it before.
But her? The girl who should have been dead already? The girl who made my hand still on the trigger, who made me want to cage her instead of bury her?
That was the complication I hadn't yet decided how to solve.
I set the glass down with a sharp click, focusing once more on Enzo.
"Handle Naples. Dig into Ruiz. And send a message to Draganov. A bloody one."
Enzo inclined his head and left without another word.
When the doors closed and silence returned, I leaned back in my chair, steepling my fingers under my chin.
The empire was secure. The enemies were predictable.
But upstairs, in my room soon enough, was the one danger I couldn't control.
And that terrified me more than any rival ever had.