Chapter 283: I’ll Make Sure Words Gets To Him

Dimitri nodded. This was the reality of his world. You killed people, and then you disposed of the evidence. You cleaned up the mess and moved on with your life.

"What about Dante?" Dimitri asked.

"He’ll figure out pretty quickly that his operation failed," Marco said. "All seven men were equipped with trackers. When the signal goes dead, he’ll know they’re gone."

"Good," Dimitri said. "Let him understand that coming after me was a mistake he won’t get to repeat."

"I’ll make sure word gets back to him," Marco said. "Through proper channels. By tomorrow, the entire underworld will know that you killed his assassination team."

Dimitri looked out at the ocean, at the darkness of the water that would soon hold seven bodies.

Dante had wanted to play offense. Had wanted to strike at him while he was supposedly vulnerable.

Instead, Dante had just declared war.

And he was going to make sure that war ended with Dante’s corpse in the ground.

But that was a problem for another day.

Right now, he needed to get back to Eve. Needed to let her know that the threat had been neutralized. Needed to feel her alive and safe and in his arms.

"I need to take a shower," Dimitri said to Marco. "I don’t want her to see me like this."

Within minutes, Dimitri was in a shower, washing away blood and death, trying to shift back into being the man Eve knew instead of the weapon he’d just been.

By the time he reached the secure room upstairs, he was clean. Dressed in fresh clothes.

He unlocked the door, and Eve was on her feet immediately, rushing into his arms.

"Are you okay?" she asked, running her hands over him like she was checking for injuries.

"I’m fine," he said, pulling her close. "It’s over. All of them are gone."

"Did you...." she started.

"Yes," he said simply. There was no point in lying. She needed to understand exactly what he was capable of. Needed to understand the cost of being with him.

Eve was quiet for a moment, just holding him.

"Thank you," she finally said. "For ending it."

Dimitri held her and said nothing. Because there was nothing to say. He would kill anyone who threatened him. Would do it again without hesitation. Would do it a thousand times over.

That was who he was. And Eve had known it when she chose him.

***

Morning came quietly to the safe house.

Dimitri woke with Eve curled against his chest, her arm draped across his waist, her breathing steady and deep. She’d slept hard, the kind of sleep that came from exhaustion and relief and the understanding that the immediate threat had passed.

He didn’t move. Just lay there in the quiet, feeling her heartbeat against his ribs, listening to the sound of her breathing.

Outside, the world was moving forward. Marco’s men had spent the night cleaning up. The bodies had been disposed of in the deep water far from shore. The villa had been thoroughly cleaned. Any evidence of the firefight had been removed. To anyone looking at the property now, nothing had happened.

Seven men had simply disappeared.

And by tonight, the entire criminal underworld would know why.

Dimitri carefully extracted himself from the bed and moved to the window. The sun was already high, it had to be mid-morning. He could see the grounds from here, see Marco’s men moving around, finishing the final details of the cleanup operation.

Everything was proceeding exactly as planned.

Eve stirred when he moved, reaching for him even in sleep.

"Shh," he whispered, kissing her forehead. "Sleep. I’ll be back in a few minutes."

She mumbled something that might have been okay and rolled over, pulling the covers up around her chin.

Dimitri dressed in fresh clothes and made his way downstairs to the main operations room.

Marco was there with his laptop, monitoring communications, cross-referencing reports from the teams out on the island.

"Morning, boss," Marco said, looking up. "How are you feeling?"

"Good," Dimitri said. "What’s the status?"

"Cleanup is ninety percent complete," Marco said. "Final body disposal is happening in about two hours. We’ve cleared all the visible evidence from the island. The villa is clean. By tonight, there won’t be any trace of what happened."

"Dante?" Dimitri asked.

"That’s the interesting part," Marco said, turning his laptop so Dimitri could see the screen. "He found out about four hours ago. One of his men in Rome got word when the trackers on the seven men all went dead simultaneously. Dante made a few phone calls, and based on the chatter we’re picking up, he’s figured out what happened."

"Which is?" Dimitri asked, though he already knew.

"That all seven of his men are dead," Marco said. "That his assassination operation failed completely. That you’re still alive."

Dimitri felt something settle in his chest. Not satisfaction exactly, but something close. The knowledge that Dante would be sitting in Rome right now, understanding that his move had failed. That his best-laid plans had resulted in nothing but dead soldiers and a target who was now actively engaged.

"What’s he doing?" Dimitri asked.

"Right now? Nothing," Marco said. "He’s still processing. But word is spreading through the underworld. The Russo family got word about an hour ago. The Romanellis know. By tonight, everyone in the criminal infrastructure will know that Dante sent seven men to kill you and all seven ended up as food to sharks."

"Good," Dimitri said. "I want him to know. I want everyone to know. I want them to understand that coming after me has a cost."

His phone buzzed. A secure message came through....encrypted, routed through multiple servers.

It was from Enzo.

"Father’s asking questions. Someone told him about activity on your island and the news is everywhere now, the entire underworld knows that Dante attacked you on your Island. Father knows something happened but doesn’t know what. He’s calling me in for a meeting this afternoon. What do you want me to tell him?"