Chapter 339: I’m Getting Her Back

POV: DANTE

The vehicle moved through the New York night with military precision.

Luca was driving, not fast enough to draw attention, but with the absolute certainty of a man who knew exactly where he was going and how to get there without being followed.

Dante was in the back seat, his legs screaming with pain, his mind absolutely sharp despite the blood loss and the shock of the day’s catastrophic events.

He understood what had happened.

He’d come at Dimitri Valentino with a plan, with leverage, with intelligence, and with the kind of operational precision that should have worked. But Dimitri had moved faster. Dimitri had better resources. Dimitri had been operating at a level above Dante’s capabilities.

Intellectually, Dante accepted this reality.

But emotionally, spiritually, with every fiber of his being....he refused to accept it.

"How far to the safe house?" Dante asked, his voice steady despite the pain.

"Twenty minutes," Luca replied, not taking his eyes off the road. "Secure location. Stocked with supplies. We can hole up there while we assess the situation."

Dante nodded, understanding the tactical necessity.

The warehouse was behind them. The battle was lost. But the war....the war was just beginning.

Because Dimitri had damaged his legs. That was a debt. And debts, in Dante’s world, were always eventually paid.

***

The safe house was exactly what Dante expected: nondescript, secure, stocked with medical supplies, weapons, and cash.

It wasn’t luxurious. It wasn’t comfortable. But it was FUNCTIONAL.

The moment they arrived, Luca was already moving, setting up the space, establishing security, making calls to their remaining network.

The doctor arrived within the hour. He was a professional...no questions asked, complete discretion, paid extraordinarily well for his silence.

He examined Dante’s legs, probing the wounds, assessing the damage.

"Multiple gunshot wounds," the doctor said, his voice matter-of-fact. "Significant tissue damage. Possible nerve damage. Infection risk is high."

He continued his examination for another thirty minutes, moving Dante’s legs, checking responses, testing sensation.

Finally, he sat back.

"The good news," the doctor said, "is that you have full sensation. The nerves are intact. That’s significant."

"And the bad news?" Dante asked, his mind already calculating timelines.

"Recovery is going to take months," the doctor said bluntly. "At minimum, three to four months before you can walk without significant assistance. Possibly six months before full mobility returns. Maybe longer depending on how the healing progresses and whether there’s secondary infection."

Dante was quiet, processing the timeline.

"Physical therapy?" Dante asked.

"Essential," the doctor said. "Without it, you’ll never regain full function. With it, you might achieve near-full mobility. But understand this: you’re not walking for at least a month. Maybe longer."

The doctor cleaned and bandaged the wounds, administered antibiotics and pain medication, left instructions for continued care.

"Rest," the doctor said as he was leaving. "Keep the wounds clean. Monitor for infection. And find someone competent to help with physical therapy once the acute phase is over."

When the doctor was gone, Dante lay on the cot in the safe house, his legs bandaged and elevated, his mind running through the implications.

Three to four months. At minimum.

That meant his immediate plans for retrieval and revenge had to be postponed. That meant he was effectively incapacitated for the near term.

But it also meant recovery WAS possible. With time and patience and proper care, he could walk again.

And when he could walk again, he would be ready.

Luca entered the room where Dante was resting, a tablet in his hand filled with casualty reports and operational assessments.

"We need to talk," Luca said simply.

Dante nodded, and Luca pulled up a chair.

"The warehouse," Luca began. "We lost more than half the men. Thirty-seven confirmed dead. Another eight missing, presumed dead. The rest either escaped or surrendered to Dimitri’s forces."

Dante absorbed the numbers without visible emotion, but the weight of them was significant.

Thirty-seven men. Men he’d commanded, men who’d followed his orders, men who’d died because he’d come at Dimitri and lost.

"The New Jersey operation?" Dante asked.

"Completely compromised," Luca said. "We’ve had to abandon the facility. Everything’s been cleared out...weapons, documents, money. But Dimitri will control the location now. It’s a total loss."

"Other operations?" Dante asked.

"New York is intact, but exposed," Luca said. "Dimitri knows about our secondary locations. We need to assume he’s hunting us. We need to assume that anywhere in this territory, Dimitri can find us if he wants to."

Luca paused.

"That’s why we need to get back to Rome," Luca continued. "We’re on his territory right now. We have no leverage here, no real resources beyond this safe house. But Rome...Rome is our territory. Rome is where we have operations, where we have people, where we have power."

Dante understood the logic completely. They were wounded, bleeding, vulnerable. Every moment they spent in New York was a moment Dimitri could potentially find them.

"How long until we can move?" Dante asked.

"I’d give it forty-eight hours," Luca said. "We gather what we need, establish secure transport, and move. Private plane out of a secondary airport. No commercial flights...too exposed."

"And Rome?" Dante asked.

"Our operation there is intact," Luca said. "Vittorio has been managing operations in our absence. The finances are secure. The alliances with the other Calabrian families remain solid. We have resources, Boss. We’re wounded, but we’re far from finished."

Dante nodded, understanding that Luca was right on all counts.

"What about Isabella?" Dante asked, his voice turning cold.

Luca was quiet for a moment.

"What about her?" Luca asked carefully.

"Where is she?" Dante demanded. "What has Dimitri done with her?"

"She’s his prisoner," Luca said. "He’s holding her for leverage with the Russo family. As for what he’s doing with her....we don’t have clear intelligence. But based on what we know about Dimitri’s methods, she’s likely being isolated, intimidated, broken psychologically."

The thought of Isabella being broken by Dimitri made something shift in Dante’s chest.

"I’m getting her back," Dante said flatly.

"Dante..." Luca started.

"She belongs to me," Dante said, his voice absolute. "She came with me. She made that choice. And Dimitri took her. I’m getting her back."