2025-10-25 05:04:29
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No Longer a Factor
The rain began seriously as Swag walked back to his car.He'd just played a dangerous game with Vitale, and won. Or so he thought.As he slid into the driver's seat, he checked his rearview mirror obviously not for traffic, but for tails. He saw nothing. Very good. The Valenti man, aka Ricardo Vitale had been clean too, nobody suspicious following him to the meeting. That meant Vitale either had exceptional security or he was as invested in secrecy as Swag was.Swag started the engine, wiped the condensation from the windshield with his sleeve, and drove toward Palazzo DeLuca. He knew Salvatore was there, probably with others to discuss their next move.It didn’t take 30 minutes for Swag to arrive there with his men. However, he was the only one who went inside while his men stayed outside.The room where Don Salvatore De Luca chose to meet was too clean for a man like him. Polished wood, a long dining table, glass fixtures that reflected too much light. Everything inside felt control
Meeting of Strangers Wearing Familiar Faces
Against all expectations, the meeting at the coastal villa ended without violence and the problem plaguing the team had been handled by the ever-benevolent Dante and Calvin.Benevolent my ass!And then the villa was empty again.Like nothing had happened there at all.Anyway, they all left the old building behind, knowing they had to be more careful with matters of the heart from now on and keep emotions far away from business.In truth, not much changed after that. Marco and Elena were still not talking, but deep down, Elena prayed her past would not catch up with her so soon. At least not now.Dante, Calvin, and Adrian tightened security monitoring around their operations, fully aware that they could not hide forever. After all, they were foreigners building an empire on another man’s land, and sooner or later, they would have to move again.But Dante’s investigation was far more secretive. Ever since seeing those files earlier, he had become obsessed with uncovering the people behi
Agreement
Dante blinked, and the day was here.One moment he was lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling fan’s slow rotation, exhaustion pulling him under like a riptide. The next—he was stepping into the light of a new morning, coat in hand, the weight of the meeting pressing against his chest like a second heartbeat.Time hadn’t passed. It had vanished and now it was the day they had all agreed on.The meeting day.The day everything that had been left unspoken between them would either settle or break completely.He was surprised that the day of the meeting was finally here. Just like that, without warning or sense of time. It felt almost unreal, like time had slipped through their fingers while they were still trying to hold on to everything that was already falling apart. Calvin had been the one who called Adrian earlier.It wasn’t a long conversation, and it wasn’t the kind of call that carried urgency in tone, but there was weight behind every pause.Adrian had answered on the first ri
Instinct over pain
Dante stepped into the house quietly, shutting the door behind him with a soft click. The warmth inside hit him almost immediately, chasing away the sharp cold that had followed him through the streets. The place was dim except for the yellow light hanging over the sitting area, where Calvin sat sprawled across the couch with one leg thrown over the armrest and a half-empty bottle resting on the table beside him.The television was on mute.Some late-night football replay flickered across the screen, but Calvin clearly was not watching it.The moment he saw Dante walk in, his face lit up with amusement.“Well, look who finally returned.”Dante pulled off his coat slowly and tossed it over the chair nearby. “I was gone for barely an hour.”Calvin looked dramatically at the wall clock. “Exactly my point. I was expecting at least two hours. Minimum. I thought you’d be longer.”Dante narrowed his eyes slightly. “What exactly was I supposed to do with Elena for two hours?”Calvin grinned s
You Can’t Fix What You Don’t Understand
Dante arrived at the rooftop bar just off the Stradun, ten minutes late. The place was Elena’s choice—quiet, hidden behind a narrow staircase, with a view of Dubrovnik’s old city. She was already there.Sitting in the corner booth, back straight, hands wrapped around a glass of ice-cold lemonade that had begun to sweat on the wooden table. She didn’t look up when he approached. Just kept staring into her drink like it held answers she wasn’t ready to face.He slid into the seat across from her.“Sorry I’m late,” he said, shrugging off his jacket. “Had to finish something up.”Elena lifted her gaze slowly.Her eyes were sharp, unreadable. “You’re never late. So don’t pretend it was work.”Dante didn’t flinch. “Then what should I say? That I got lost in thought?”“That would be honest,” she replied.Silence settled between them, like a heavy air before a storm. It was sort of awkward (the whole situation was awkward).The city moved on like nothing ever happened, tourists laughing, music
Patterns and Suspicions
“Dante.”Calvin had entered the room not long ago with boots heavy on the floor, and Dante was lost in thought.But there was no answer.Calvin stepped closer. “Dante!”Still nothing.Calvin moved right up to him, leaned in, and barked, “DANTE!”Something about the sudden urgency snapped him out of his trance. He jumped as if someone had hit him in the chest, his hand instinctively gripping the nearest object—the heavy book that had been resting on the desk—and hurled it behind him.Calvin ducked with reflexive ease, letting out a sharp laugh. “Damn! You really do scream like a girl! You should check your gender again, just to be sure!”Dante froze for a second, then burst into a short, tension-filled laugh of his own. The moment was absurd, ridiculous even, but the release was immediate. Calvin stepped closer, leaning casually against the doorway, the smirk on his face wide and knowing.“You ever do that again, I’ll break your neck.”Calvin wiped tears from his eyes. “I’ve seen newbor
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