Roman stood in the wreckage of Alessandro's estate, his hands covered in blood that was not his own. Around him, bodies littered the grounds. Kamali's men, mostly. A few of Alessandro's guards. The night smelled of gunpowder and death.
And everywhere, that damned pull toward Nadia grew more painful.
"We need to move," his father's voice cut through the chaos. Marco DeLuca had arrived with reinforcements twenty minutes too late. "The authorities will be here soon. We cannot be found at this scene."
"I do not care about the authorities." Roman's voice was barely controlled. "Kamali has her."
"I know." Marco's expression was grim. "Which is why we need to regroup, plan our approach. Charging in blind will get you killed."
"Then I die."
"You die, and she dies with you." Alessandro appeared from the burning estate, soot-streaked and limping. Blood soaked through his shirt. "Kamali will not keep her alive if he thinks there is no leverage. She is only valuable as bait."
Roman crossed the distance between them in three strides, grabbing Alessandro by the collar. "You knew. You knew who she was this entire time and you said nothing."
"I was protecting her."
"From what? From me?" Roman shoved him back. "Or from the truth about what you did?"
Alessandro's face went pale. "What are you talking about?"
"The woman who died tonight. She said Kamali has always known Nadia survived. That he has been watching." Roman stepped closer, his voice dropping to something dangerous. "She also said you made a deal. That you traded information for your life."
"That is not."
Roman's fist connected with Alessandro's jaw. The older man stumbled, blood spraying from his split lip. Guards moved to intervene, but Marco raised a hand, stopping them.
"Let him speak," Marco said quietly.
Alessandro wiped blood from his mouth, his eyes haunted. "You want the truth? Fine. Yes, I made a deal with Kamali. But not the way you think."
"Enlighten me."
"Dominic Ferragamo was planning a massacre." Alessandro's voice shook. "He was going to eliminate half the families in Atlanta and Rome. Kamali showed me proof, documents, kill orders. Your father was on that list, Roman. So was mine."
Roman's jaw clenched. "Nadia said—"
"Nadia was seven years old. She knows only what she saw, what she remembers through a child's eyes." Alessandro straightened despite his injuries. "Kamali came to me three days before he struck. He offered me a choice. Help him, or die with the Ferragamos. I chose to live. I am not proud of it, but I chose to live."
"And Nadia?"
"I did not know she survived until I found her in the woods that night. Covered in blood, half-dead from exposure. I could have turned her over to Kamali, completed the deal. Instead, I hid her. Raised her. Kept her secret for fifteen years."
"While training her to kill the man you helped." Roman's laugh was bitter. "Noble."
"I gave her a chance at life. What she chose to do with it was her decision." Alessandro moved toward them, his limp more pronounced. "But know this, Roman. Kamali is not the monster Nadia believes him to be. And her father was not the saint. The truth is uglier than either of them want to accept."
Marco cleared his throat. "Fascinating as this is, we have more immediate concerns. Kamali has declared open war by taking her. Every family in the southeast will be watching to see how we respond."
"We get her back," Roman said flatly.
"It is not that simple."
"It is exactly that simple." Roman turned to his father. "She is my mate. I will burn down every compound Kamali owns until I find her."
"And start a war that will cost hundreds of lives?" Marco's voice hardened. "Use your head, son. Kamali wants you to react emotionally. He is counting on it."
"I do not care what he is counting on."
"Then you are a fool." Marco grabbed Roman's shoulder. "Listen to me. Kamali has had fifteen years to plan this. He knows about the mate bond. He knows you will come for her. Every move you make, he has already anticipated."
"So what do you suggest? That I leave her in his hands?"
"I suggest we be smarter than he expects." Marco pulled out his phone, pulling up a map. "Kamali has three primary compounds. One in Rome, one outside Savannah, and one in rural Georgia, about two hours south of here. My money is on Georgia. Close enough to watch our response, isolated enough to be defensible."
Alessandro nodded. "The Georgia compound is a fortress. Twenty-foot walls, guard towers, enough firepower to hold off a small army."
"Then we bring a large army," Roman said.
"No." The voice came from behind them. They turned to find a woman stepping out of a black Mercedes. She was tall, elegant, with silver-streaked dark hair and eyes that missed nothing. "You bring me."
Roman's eyes widened. "Aunt Lucia?"
Lucia DeLuca was Marco's younger sister and one of the most feared negotiators in the supernatural underworld. She had brokered peace between warring families, arranged marriages, and ended blood feuds that had lasted generations.
"I heard about the attack," Lucia said, embracing Roman briefly. "And about your mate. Congratulations, nephew. Terrible timing, but congratulations."
"This is not a negotiation," Roman said. "This is a rescue."
"Everything is a negotiation." Lucia turned to Marco. "Kamali took the girl to make a point. To remind everyone that he is still a power to be feared. But he is also testing boundaries. He wants to see how far he can push before someone pushes back."
"So we push back," Roman growled.
"No. We offer him something he wants more than revenge." Lucia smiled, sharp and calculating. "We offer him legitimacy."
Marco's eyes narrowed. "Explain."
"Kamali built his empire on blood and violence. But he is getting older, and he knows it. What does every aging crime lord want? To be remembered as something more than a thug. To have a legacy that lasts beyond bullets and bodies." Lucia pulled out her own phone, scrolling through files. "I have been tracking his movements for years. He has been trying to break into legitimate business, buying up real estate, investing in tech startups. He wants to be respectable."
"He murdered an entire family," Roman said. "There is no respectability in that."
"Not to us. But to the world outside our circles?" Lucia shrugged. "He is just a successful businessman with a questionable past. We can help him polish that image. In exchange for the girl."
"Absolutely not." Roman's voice was steel. "We do not legitimize what he did."
"We do if it saves your mate's life." Lucia met his eyes. "Your bond is new, Roman. You do not understand yet how painful it will become. Every hour she is away from you will feel like dying. You will not be able to eat, sleep, or think about anything else. Within three days, you will be nearly feral. Within a week, you will storm that compound yourself, bond-mad and suicidal."
The truth of it hit Roman hard. He could already feel it starting, that clawing need to get to Nadia.
"There has to be another way," he said quietly.
"There is." Alessandro stepped forward. "Let me go to him."
Everyone turned.
"You?" Marco's voice was skeptical. "Why would he negotiate with you?"
"Because I am the one person he might still consider an ally." Alessandro's expression was resolute. "I can get inside the compound. Talk to him. Maybe buy us time to plan a real extraction."
"Or he kills you on sight," Roman said.
"Possibly. But I owe Nadia that much." Alessandro looked at Roman. "I failed her father. I will not fail her."
Before Roman could respond, his phone buzzed. Unknown number. He answered, putting it on speaker.
"Roman DeLuca." The voice was Kamali's, smooth and mocking. "I trust you received my message."
"Where is she?" Roman demanded.
"Safe. Comfortable. We have been having fascinating conversations about her family history." A pause. "Did you know her father tried to have me killed? That he planned to eliminate your father too? I have proof, if you are interested."
"I want Nadia back. Name your price."
"My price?" Kamali laughed. "You think this is about money? This is about justice, Roman. The Ferragamos tried to destroy me, and I defended myself. Now their last daughter wants revenge for crimes I did not commit. I am simply helping her see the truth."
"Let me talk to her."
"No. But I will give you a choice." Kamali's voice hardened. "You can come for her, bring your armies and your weapons. Storm my compound and likely get her killed in the crossfire. Or you can wait while I educate her about her father's sins. When she understands the truth, I will let her choose. Stay with me and learn the real family business. Or return to you and live a pretty lie."
"You are insane if you think she will choose you."
"Am I? She is smart, Roman. Once she sees the evidence, once she understands that her entire life has been built on Alessandro's manipulation and her own delusions, she will see things differently." A pause. "I will give you seventy-two hours. After that, if you have not made your move, I make mine. Clock starts now."
The line went dead.
Roman stared at the phone, rage and helplessness warring inside him.
"Seventy-two hours," Marco said quietly. "Three days to plan and execute a rescue from a fortified compound."
"Or we negotiate," Lucia added.
"Or I go in alone," Alessandro offered.
Roman looked at each of them, then at the burning estate behind him. Somewhere south of here, Nadia was locked in Kamali's fortress, being fed lies designed to break her.
And the bond between them pulled tighter, demanding he go to her.
"We do all of it," Roman said finally. "Lucia, start negotiations. Make him think we are considering his terms. Alessandro, see if you can get inside as a mediator. And Father?" He turned to Marco. "Assemble every resource we have. Because in seventy-two hours, regardless of what Kamali thinks, I am bringing my mate home."
"And if she does not want to come?" Alessandro asked quietly.
Roman's eyes flashed gold, his wolf rising to the surface. "Then I remind her exactly who she belongs to."
He turned and walked toward his car, pulling out his phone. There were calls to make, plans to set in motion.
And a mate to reclaim.
Behind him, Lucia watched with calculating eyes. "The boy is going to start a war."
"The boy is going to finish one," Marco corrected. "The question is who will be left standing when the smoke clears."
In the ruins of Alessandro's estate, embers still glowed.
And in a compound two hours south, Nadia was about to discover that the truth was far more dangerous than any lie.