Page 101 of Accidental Alliance

“I think the Contis’ appetite has grown tired of what they currently have. They are looking for something new to devour.”

His mouth tightens while he watches me silently.

I continue. “If Vittorio wanted compensation for something, he would have demanded payment already. If he wanted revenge, he would’ve named his price. None of those things have happened, so that leads me to believe what he really wants is what he cannot have.”

“Every man has a number,” he says.

I shrug. “Not every man wants money, though. He wants your territory simply because he believes he can take it from you. There is no version of this where you both shake hands and agree to a ceasefire.”

Davide’s gaze hardens at that.

The door to the study bursts open without warning.

The sound cracks through the room like a gunshot, slamming against the walls and tearing straight through the fragile quiet that’s descended over the room.

Matteo flinches so hard beside me that his tablet nearly slips from his hands.

I turn and grab him, pulling him into my lap to shield him with my arms. His small hands clutch at my blouse, fingers twisting in the fabric as his head buries into my chest.

I feel his breath stutter against me, and something primal tears open inside me.

Davide pushes to his feet instantly.

All trace of the man who had been sitting across from me discussing strategy disappears.

The tiredness leaves his face. The faint softness he had allowed just moments before has vanished. What remains is a syndicate boss.

The three enforcers stop just inside the study, their bodies tense, one of them still breathing too hard from whatever sprint brought them here.

That alone sends a chill racing down my spine.

These enforcers have likely seen men beg, bleed, and die without their faces so much as twitching in response. Right now, they look shaken.

Davide’s gaze cuts across them. “What is it?”

One of them steps forward. He is younger than the others, though not young enough to be excused for the way his throat works before he speaks. “There’s been a situation at the front gates.”

My heart squeezes hard enough to hurt, eyes darting to Davide, looking for confirmation that I am not the only one feeling the shift in the air as if the entire room seems to suddenly brace itself for the impact of whatever information is about to be spilled.

I find his expression tightening further.

“What kind of situation?” he asks.

The first enforcer hesitates.

It lasts less than a second, but in that moment, my mind becomes a horribly efficient machine.

It churns out one horrific situation after another, all of them ending with Matteo and me being ripped away from the Bianchi estate as Davide bleeds out on the floor at someone else’s feet.

A second enforcer steps in to speak. “Elio Conti is here… He is asking to be let in.”

For a moment, I forget how to breathe.

My fingers dig tighter into Matteo’s back, not hard enough to hurt him but hard enough that I have to force myself to loosen my hold. My heart gives one violent thump, then another, each beat tightening the knot in my stomach.

Why the hell would he be here?

How did he find us?