Chapter 193 196

Chapter 193 196
I’m amazed at how in control she is right now. Especially considering how emotional she was a second ago. She seems to have jumped right into survival mode.

“How we got this information is not your—”

“That bitch is a liar on a vendetta,” she snaps, cutting him off. “She has a personal agenda against Lucio. If you were doing your job right, you’d go lock her up for endangering her own daughter and playing you like fucking fools.”

Her eyes are blazing with blue fire.

And even though I know I should probably step in, I’m burning with so much pride that I don’t.

“Did you know about the deal she offered Lucio?” Charlotte demands. “Was that FBI-approved?”

The fed’s eyebrows knot together. “Charlotte…”

“That’s Ms. Dunn to you,” she snaps, as though she’s not surrounded by armed men in riot gear. “Are you planning on killing us tonight, detective?”

“No,” he grimaces, “we’re not. We do things the legal way.”

“Is there a reason you’ve got a target on my chest then?” she demands. “Is there a reason you came in here with guns and a fucking SWAT team instead of knocking on the door like a reasonable person?”

“Insurance,” Jacobsen replies expressionlessly. “Miss Dunn, I suggest you comply with my orders.”

“She won’t need to,” I interrupt.

Jacobsen arches an eyebrow at me.

“You want compliance? Great. You can have mine. I’ll give you everything you want. All my business dealings, as well as files that pertain to my various investments in the city and outside of it. Anything I’ve ever touched is fair game for you and your investigators.”

Charlotte’s mouth drops open in shock.

Even Jacobsen looks fucking gob-smacked, though he does a better job of hiding it.

“Is that right?” he asks finally. “I can’t help but think there’s a catch.”

“No catch,” I reply. “Just a simple deal.”

“Of course. Which is?”

“Immunity,” I answer at once. “For Charlotte and for my men.”

“No,” Charlotte gasps. “No, Lucio!”

I ignore her. “With me in custody, you’re chopping the snake off at the head,” I tell him. “There is no Family without me. I’m the only one you need.”

“We can’t let your underbosses go free.”

“Reduced sentences for them,” I negotiate. “Two years maximum, with the exception of Adriano Bargnani. He walks.”

Jacobsen squints suspiciously. “And you’ll give us everything?”

“Once I know you’ve fulfilled your end of the bargain, yes, I’ll give you everything.”

“Lucio, what are you doing?” Charlotte hisses.

I look at her.

“This is not a sacrifice,” I tell her. “This is duty. I am the don. And a true don protects his Family. You’re my family, Charlotte.”

“They’ll put you away for life,” she argues, her voice trembling even in the face of her strength.

“It’ll be worth it if I can make sure you and Evie are safe,” I say. “Adriano will take care of both of you. I should have said this earlier, Charlotte, but I didn’t, so I’m saying it now instead: I love you.”

Silence.

She opens her mouth to reply…

But her words are swallowed up in the catastrophic BOOM of an eruption downstairs.

A few of the riot squad duck to the floor instinctively. I move back a few steps, but I stay on my feet, my eyes zoning in on Charlotte.

“What the fuck was that?” Jacobsen bellows, pulling his comms device out. “I didn’t authorize a—”

The device crackles with static as a voice comes in.

“Sir! Sir! We’ve been hit. There’s another team out here…”

“What the fuck?” the agent spits into the walkie-talkie.

His eyes rise up to mine. “Order your men to stand down!” he roars.

I shake my head as realization dawns. “Those are not my men. It’s—”

“Sir! More driving up to the gate!”

Charlotte meets my gaze. She gets it, too.

“The Polish,” she whispers, completing my thought.

It’s loud enough for the detective to hear.

“Fuck,” he growls. “We’ll need backup—”

Another explosion rips through the air, making the foundation of the house tremble.

This one was much closer than the last.

The riot squad break their perfect formation and start scattering. They turn their backs on Charlotte and me as they refocus their attention on the oncoming threat.

I turn to back out of the room when Jacobsen turns his gun on me.

“Don’t fucking move,” he growls. “You are still under arrest.”

“Don’t be an idiot,” I snarl back at him. “They didn’t come for a fucking social visit. The Polish aren’t gonna pull their punches and you’re gonna need all the help you can get. I need to get my hands on a weapon.”

“So you can turn it against us? Not a chance.”

He flinches to the side as the sound of gunfire pounding into a nearby wall splinters our eardrums.

They’re almost on us.

But this idiot fed doesn’t want to take his eyes off me.

Charlotte is standing between us, watchful and unsure.

“All I care about is making sure she’s safe,” I say, gesturing to Charlotte. “At this point, I don’t give a shit who wins or who loses, as long as she makes it out of here. I need a weapon to defend myself and her. So put your gun down, man!”

“No!” he yells. “You will stay right there. Don’t you fucking move!”

“INCOMING!”

The Polish soldiers descend on us like a plague. The glass doors explode inwards, peppering us with tiny shards of glass.

Charlotte screams.

I make a move for her, but Jacobsen grabs her before I can. He pulls her against his chest and makes for the door.

Tangled together, they stumble out of the room. He keeps his gun trained on me until the second they disappear.

I have no choice but to wait, with fear and rage alike blazing like wildfire in my chest.

Only when he’s gone can I move again.

I hate the thought of losing sight of her even for a moment, but I won’t get another opportunity to arm up. I dart out of the living room while the feds are busy with the Polish onslaught and sprint straight to my weapons vault.

It’s chaos all around me. Screams and explosions and glass shattering and guns firing endlessly.

My heart hammers thunderously against my ribs.

But I feel a strange sense of calm settle over me.

This is war now.

And if there’s one thing I understand, it’s war.