Chapter 8 - The Ultimatum
By midnight, the private doctor had finished his work and left. The safehouse went quiet, save for the muffled sounds of the guards pacing the courtyard below.
Alessandro sat on the edge of the large bed in the rear room, wearing a soft black t-shirt over his bandaged arm.
I sat beside him, holding a mug of warm tea Victor had brought us.
“Moretti thinks he can force me out of the river contract,” Alessandro said, staring at the floorboards. “He’s holding a meeting tomorrow night at the Maritime Union Hall. He invited every regional boss in the state. He wants to prove I’m weak.”
“Are you going?” I asked nervously.
“If I don't go, it proves his point,” Alessandro replied, turning his head to look at me. “If I go alone, it’s a trap.”
I set my tea mug down on the nightstand. I turned my body toward him, taking his large, calloused hand in both of mine. “You’re not going alone, Alessandro.”
He frowned, shaking his head immediately. “No, Clara. Absolutely not. The Union Hall is no place for you. It’s dirty, dangerous—”
“Listen to me,” I interrupted, my voice dropping into the same iron-firm tone I had used at Rosie’s Diner the night we met. “Moretti thinks you’re a ruthless brute who only knows violence. He thinks you’re isolated. If you show up with your guards, it’s just another gang war. But if you walk in there looking like a leader who commands respect from real people, you change the entire room.”
Alessandro stared at me, his eyes wide with quiet astonishment. “You want to come with me?”
“I’m coming with you,” I stated flatly. “You gave my mother her life back, Alessandro. You stood by me when I had nothing. I’m not letting you walk into a snake pit without someone who knows how to spot a liar.”
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Alessandro looked down at our joined hands for a long, silent moment. A deep, quiet chuckle rumbled in his chest, and he lifted my hand to his lips, kissing my knuckles gently.
“You really are dangerous, Clara Davis,” he whispered softly. “More dangerous than any man I’ve ever met.”
