Chapter 372: You Should Tell Your Father

Eve’s hand tightened on his chest.

"How is that possible?" she asked.

"Because they have resources I didn’t anticipate," Dimitri said, his voice dropping into something heavier. "They have connections that go beyond what should even be possible. They have government backing. Federal funding. Protection at levels that suggest they’re not just operating with government immunity, they’re being actively funded by government agencies."

Eve processed this in silence.

"And they’re backing Dante," Dimitri continued. "They’re not just allowing him to operate. They’re actively supporting his recovery, his operations, his vendetta against me. They’re using him as a weapon."

Eve lifted her head to look at Dimitri’s face in the darkness, though she could barely see him. She reached up and touched his jaw, her palm against his skin.

"That’s why everyone was here tonight," Eve said. It wasn’t a question.

"Yes. Mike brought intelligence. Marco and I strategized response. Enzo is investigating their operations in Rome."

Eve settled her head back on his chest, processing the weight of what he was telling her.

"You should tell your father," Eve said after a moment. "Your father should know about this. He needs to understand the threat level."

Dimitri’s arm tightened around her.

"No," he said flatly. "I’m handling this myself."

"Dimitri..." Eve started.

"I’m not involving him," Dimitri said, his voice becoming colder. "Involving my father comes with prices I’m not willing to pay."

Eve understood immediately what he meant. The cost of his father’s involvement. The political weight of it. The leverage his father would demand in return for his help.

"Like him telling you to take Isabella back?" Eve asked quietly.

"Yes," Dimitri said. "Exactly like that. And I’m not paying that price, Eve. I’m handling this myself."

Eve was quiet, understanding the boundary he was drawing. Understanding that his relationship with his father was transactional at best, cold at worst. Understanding that asking his father for help meant accepting whatever conditions Antonio attached to that help.

"Then you handle it," Eve said simply. "But you don’t handle it alone. You have me. You have Marco. You have Mike. You have Enzo. You’re not alone in this."

Dimitri tilted his head down, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

"I know," he said. "I’m not alone."

They lay there in the darkness, Eve’s body pressed against his, her head on his chest, her hand over his heart. Outside, Manhattan spread out in lights and noise and millions of people living their lives, completely unaware that the man holding her was preparing for war against an organization that included elements of the federal government.

"What does this mean?" Eve asked after a long moment. "For us? For this?"

Dimitri was quiet, considering the question.

"It means the threat level has escalated," he said. "It means I need to be more careful about your security. It means I need to understand what we’re really fighting before I can protect you from it."

"Am I in danger?" Eve asked.

"Yes," Dimitri said, and the honesty of it was both terrifying and grounding. "You are. Because you matter to me. Because they could use you as leverage. Because protecting you is the one thing that motivates me more than anything else."

"Then why don’t you make me leave?" Eve asked. "Why don’t you tell me to go, to disappear, to save myself from this?"

Dimitri shifted slightly so he could look at her face, though the darkness made it hard to see clearly.

"Because you’re not that kind of woman," he said simply. "And I’m not that kind of man. We don’t run from things we care about. We stand and fight."

Eve felt tears prick her eyes, though she couldn’t have explained why. Maybe it was the weight of what he was telling her. Maybe it was the understanding that she was choosing to stay in this, choosing to be part of this war, choosing to stand beside a man who was about to go into battle against forces that operated at levels she was still trying to comprehend.

"I’m scared," Eve whispered.

"I know," Dimitri said. "So am I."

The admission surprised her. Dimitri never admitted fear. Dimitri was always certain, always confident, always absolutely assured of his ability to handle situations.

"But I’m more scared of losing you than I am of The Covenant," Dimitri continued. "And as long as that’s true, as long as you matter to me more than anything else, I’m going to be okay. Because I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you safe."

Eve reached up and kissed him deeply, a kiss that communicated understanding and commitment and the choice to stay beside him through whatever was coming.

When she pulled away, she rested her forehead against his.

"What do you need from me?" Eve asked.

"Right now?" Dimitri said. "Just stay here. Just be with me. Just remind me that there’s still something good in all of this."

Eve settled back against his chest, her body finding the perfect fit against his, her ear returning to the steady beat of his heart.

Outside, the city continued on, unaware. Inside, two people held onto each other in the darkness, understanding that the war was coming but choosing to be ready for it together.

"Dimitri?" Eve said after a long moment of silence.

"Yeah?"

"We’re going to win this," Eve said. It wasn’t a question. It was a statement of fact, a declaration of faith in him.

"Yes," Dimitri said. "We are."

And in the darkness, holding the woman who’d walked into his world and decided to stay despite everything, Dimitri understood something fundamental:

The Covenant had made a miscalculation. They’d assumed he was vulnerable because they could take Eve. They’d assumed that having her would give them leverage.

But what they didn’t understand was that having Eve didn’t make Dimitri weak. It made him stronger. It gave him clarity about what he was fighting for. It gave him a reason that went beyond empire, beyond territory, beyond power.

Eve was his reason.

And as long as she was his reason, he couldn’t lose.