Chapter 172: You’re Thinking Of Working With Enzo?

"That’s... actually impressive. And terrifying."

"Exactly. Which means we’re not dealing with a hot-headed revenge seeker. We’re dealing with someone patient. Strategic. Someone who plans ten moves ahead."

Mike studied the limited information on the screen. "What does Enzo think he’ll do?"

"Find my weaknesses. Exploit them. Hit where it hurts most." Dimitri met Mike’s eyes. "Which means Eve is a target."

Mike’s jaw tightened. "She doesn’t know about this yet."

"No. And I need to keep it that way." Dimitri saw Mike’s expression shift. "I know what you’re going to say....."

"That you promised her no more secrets? That she made you swear to tell her about threats before they escalate? That lying to her again is going to blow up in your face?"

"All of that. Yes." Dimitri ran a hand through his hair, winced when the movement pulled his shoulder. "But Mike, if I tell her that a ghost mafia boss is planning to destroy me and might target her to do it, she’s going to either panic or do something reckless. And I can’t protect her if she’s panicking or being reckless."

"So your plan is to hide it. Again. Despite the fact that the last time you did that, she walked in on you bleeding and almost left you."

"She didn’t leave."

"Only because you promised not to lie again." Mike’s voice was firm. "Dimitri, I get it. I do. She’s my sister and I want her safe too. But you can’t keep doing this. You can’t keep making promises and then breaking them the second things get dangerous."

"I’m not breaking the promise. I’m just... delaying the information until I have a plan in place to keep her safe."

"That’s literally breaking the promise."

Dimitri knew Mike was right.

Knew that Eve would see right through this excuse.

But the alternative, telling her that a man she’d never heard of was planning to hurt her to get to Dimitri....felt worse.

"Two weeks," Dimitri said. "Give me two weeks to establish counter-measures, to position security, to figure out what Dante’s planning. Then I’ll tell her everything."

"And if she finds out before then? If she notices the extra security or overhears something?"

"Then I’ll deal with it." Dimitri’s voice was hard. "But right now, my priority is keeping her alive. Not keeping her informed."

Mike was quiet for a long moment.

"Fine," he said finally. "Two weeks. But Dimitri, if she asks me directly, I’m not lying to her. She’s my sister. I won’t do that."

"Fair enough."

They sat in tense silence for a moment.

Then Mike shifted gears. "Okay. Strategy. What are we looking at in terms of threats?"

"Dante Romano has resources in Naples and Rome. Unknown number of soldiers, the Romanos had maybe sixty before I killed fifteen, so call it forty-five now. Maybe more if he’s been recruiting." Dimitri pulled up a map. "He’s got connections to other Southern Italian families. Weapon suppliers. Drug networks. The usual infrastructure."

"But he’s operating from the shadows, which means his soldiers are the weak point. They have to show their faces even if he doesn’t."

"Exactly. Which is where we start." Dimitri zoomed in on New York. "I need surveillance on every Romano connection in the city. Anyone who’s ever done business with them. Any family member, any associate, any business front they use. I want to know the second any Romano sets foot in my territory."

"I’ll put people on it. What about Italy?"

"That’s trickier. I don’t have the same reach there that I have here." Dimitri paused. "But Enzo does."

Mike looked up sharply. "You’re thinking of working with Enzo?"

"He called to warn me about Dante. Shared his intelligence network. That’s an olive branch, Mike. And I’d be stupid not to take it."

"You’d also be trusting someone who’s tried to undermine you for years."

"I know. But Enzo has every reason to want the Romanos neutralized too. They’re a threat to his operations same as mine. And his intelligence network in Italy is better than anything I can build in two weeks." Dimitri met Mike’s eyes. "Enemy of my enemy, right?"

"Enemy of my enemy can still stab you in the back." But Mike nodded. "Fine. Reach out to Enzo. Build that alliance carefully. What else?"

"Marco’s tripling Eve’s security. Four more men on her detail. Full coverage twenty-four seven. No one gets near her without being vetted."

"She’s going to notice."

"I’ll tell her it’s routine enhancement. That we’re expanding operations and I want her better protected."

"She’s not going to buy that."

"Then I’ll distract her."

Mike raised an eyebrow. "With what? Sex? You’re injured, Dimitri. You can barely move without wincing."

"I’ll manage."

"You’re an idiot."

"Probably." Dimitri pulled up another file. "What about our counter-moves? We can’t just play defense. If Dante’s planning something, we need to hit him first."

"Agreed. But we’re flying blind. We don’t know what he looks like, where he operates from, who his key people are." Mike thought for a moment. "We need intelligence. Real intelligence. Someone on the inside."

"Turning one of his soldiers would take time we don’t have."

"Then we don’t turn a soldier. We plant someone. Get one of our people into his organization."

Dimitri considered that. "Risky. If Dante’s as paranoid as Enzo says, he vets everyone thoroughly. We’d need someone with a bulletproof background. Someone Dante would have no reason to suspect."

"I might know someone." Mike pulled out his phone. "Tommy’s cousin. Works security, clean record, desperate for money. The Romanos have been recruiting in that sector. I could position him."

"Do it. But carefully. If Dante catches even a whiff that we’re infiltrating, he’ll kill Tommy’s cousin and escalate."

"Understood."

They spent the next hour going through scenarios.

What if Dante targeted Dimitri’s drug networks? His weapons suppliers? His money laundering operations?

What if he went after Mike? Nonna? Other people Dimitri cared about?

What if he tried to turn Dimitri’s own people?

Each scenario required different counter-measures, different preparations, different resources.

By the time they finished, Dimitri’s shoulder was throbbing and his head ached from concentration.