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The absence of Cara during breakfast the next morning leaves an unspoken tension in the air. Dante, Vinnie, and Rafe continue with their casual banter, sharing jokes and playful jabs, but I can't shake the unease that festers within me. Izzy, too, seems preoccupied, her gaze occasionally drifting to the empty chair where Cara usually sits.
As the minutes tick by, the air thickens with uncertainty. The routine camaraderie of our makeshift family is disrupted by the silent void left in Cara's absence. I wonder about the dangerous path she might be navigating in her undercover mission against the Scarlet Vipers. The shadows of suspicion linger, unspoken yet palpable. The others don’t know what she’s been up to, so they aren’t going to be concerned about her absence, but I’m so scared for her that I can barely eat.
Before anyone can ask if I’m all right and I’ll have to try to lie my way out of it, I leave the room.
A knot tightens in my stomach as I navigate the labyrinthine passages of the Obsidian Shadows' hideout. The muted lighting casts long shadows, accentuating the air of mystery that shrouds this secretive place. The usual camaraderie among the members is conspicuously absent, replaced by an unsettling stillness.
I reach the door to Leo's office, and a sense of trepidation creeps over me. The door creaks open.
Leo beams at me, rising behind his desk. Cara’s there with him, and she’s crying but also smiling.
“What’s going on?” I ask.
Cara stands from her chair and pats my shoulder before kissing my cheek. I gape at her as she leaves and shuts the door.
Leo comes around his desk and sweeps me into his arms.
“What… I don’t understand.”
“It’s done,” Leo says firmly.
I lift my eyebrows. “What’s done?”
“All of it. You are safe now. You’ll always be safe now.”
“Leo, I don’t understand.”
“I handled everything.”
“But how?”
“I took off the head of the serpent.”
“You…”
“Their mob boss is gone, and the man who is stepping up to take his place, let’s just say that he understand what is in his best interests, and that is to keep me happy.”
“The plot…”
“Won’t be finished. No one is going to be assassinated.” He cups my face. “Damn it, Olivia.”
“Damn me?” I whisper. “What did I do?”
“You swept into my life. Into all of our lives. So innocent. So naïve. So willing to fight alongside us.”
I gulp. “Leo…”
“I never thought I would love anyone. Not after… But I do. Fuck it. I do. I love you, and I don’t care if you need the others. Vinnie, Dante, Rafe… if you need them, so be it, but I need you, Olivia.”
My head is swimming. “It’s really over?”
He nods. “I doubt you want to see the body,” he says dryly.
“Ah, no. No need for that.”
“Bodies, I should say,” he muses with a wry grin.
“I don’t want to see any bodies.” I can’t help licking my lip. “Well, maybe just one.”
