Page 88 of Savage Ambition

“And this is a matter of life and death for you?”

“Everything involving Salvatore is.” I knew that danger all too well from my days in Italy. “I’ve seen men like him before. They view the world as their personal chessboard, with everyone else as pieces to be sacrificed at will.”

“And what piece are you?” he asked.

My smile held none of my usual warmth. “The one he doesn’t see coming until it’s too late.”

Something shifted in Dante’s expression that wasn’t quite trust but perhaps the beginning of it. Maybe a willingness to consider that I might be more than I appeared.

“We’ll see,” he said, neither accepting nor rejecting my offer of alliance.

It was enough for now.

As the car pulled to a stop, I leaned in for one last kiss. It wasn’t the passionate claiming of before but something softer, promising better things to come. “Remember, you’re not alone in this anymore. Whatever game Salvatore is playing, we’ll face it together.”

“I work alone,” he insisted, but the conviction in his voice had weakened.

“Not anymore.” I straightened his shirt. “Whether you like it or not, you have me now, tesoro.”

“But I never asked for you.”

“All the best gifts are the ones we don’t know to ask for.” I winked as I moved toward the door. “Trust me, Dante. You’ll thank me later.”

The car slowed to a stop at the service entrance of Gennaro Corporation, nestled between delivery bays where shadows pooled deeper than the security lights could reach. Massimo killed the engine and stepped out, conducting a casual sweep of the area before opening our door.

“You’ve got three minutes,” he murmured, nodding toward the entrance. “The security system is on a maintenance schedule where it goes down as it resets.”

Dante tensed beside me after we stepped out of the car, his hand nervously smoothing down his rumpled shirt. “Massimo, about what happened in the car.”

Massimo shook his head. “I didn’t see or hear anything.”

Dante nodded. “I appreciate your discretion, Massimo. And your support.”

“There are those of us who remember what the Gennaro name meant before him. I know who deserves my loyalty.” His eyes locked with Dante’s. “The true Gennaro blood worth protecting runs in your veins, not his. That matters to more of us than you know.”

I remained silent, understanding the weight of what was unfolding. It wasn’t an enforcer offering protection but a declaration that challenged the very foundation of Salvatore’s power.

“Why tell me this now?” Dante asked, his voice steady despite the danger such knowledge represented.

“Because when the time comes to claim your birthright position as the true Don of the Gennaro family, you’ll have support within these walls. Men who know where true family loyalty belongs.” Massimo’s voice dropped lower. “And if blood needs to be spilled to restore the proper order, there are hands willing to do it.”

It was rare to see Dante stunned into silence.

I couldn’t resist breaking the tension. “Massimo, with that loyalty and those muscles, you’re wasted on driving cars. Perhaps you’d like to explore other positions sometime?”

Dante’s hand clamped around my bicep with surprising strength. “Ignore him, Massimo. He flirts with anything that breathes.”

Massimo cracked into a rare smile. “Your Italian is a valuable ally.” His gaze shifted to me with knowing assessment. “Take care with what you’re playing at. The stakes are higher than you know.”

“I never play games I don’t intend to win,” I replied, all traces of flirtation vanishing from my voice.

Dante pulled me toward the entrance, his fingers digging into my arm. “Was that necessary?” he hissed, but the emotion in his voice wasn’t anger.

“Absolutely. Now he likes me.” I kept my voice light while scanning for cameras as we approached the building. “And men who like me tend to help me when I need it most.”

As we walked into Gennaro Corporation, I allowed my mask to slide into place. Lorenzo, the seductive sex worker, replaced Renato, the devoted ally. But beneath the performance, my resolve remained unshaken.

I had made a blood oath to Dante Gennaro, and in the world I came from, such vows were binding until death.