Not Mine to Keep (The Costa Family)

“The League sent someone from their location in Oslo and confirmed the intelligence,” Hudson shared the second we joined everyone inside a large office decorated with warm wood and dark colors.

“That was fast. Rocco must be anxious for us to hurry up and get there,” Alessandro said as his mother pulled me in for a hug and murmured apologies as if she were to blame for my nightmare.

I peeked over her shoulder, catching Alessandro peering my way as if the sight of his mother holding on to me for dear life physically pained him.

“So my aunt is being held in Norway?” I asked once she freed me from her grip. “Do they know if she’s still okay?” I swiped away tears, sending an acknowledging hello to Mr. Costa when he joined the room.

Hudson handed an iPad to Alessandro, and he gestured for me to join in to view the screen. Did I really want to see that? No, but did I look? Of course. “She’s tied to a chair. No visible injuries and alive. This is in real-time.”

I’d done my best not to involve Tia in my mess, but what if I’d told her in the first place? Maybe she’d be okay. This is my fault.

“Clearly, Rocco was expecting we’d take the bait and send someone to confirm she’s there. He wants us to see her,” Izzy said, sitting behind the desk in front of a laptop, Constantine off to her side.

“Since you received a location, does that mean you figured out who’s the insider at Italian Intelligence?” I directed my question to Hudson as Alessandro handed him back the iPad.

“Yeah. Gabriel let his case officer know the insider is working with the Barones,” Hudson shared. “They can’t arrest him until after the Barones are taken down, or they’ll figure out we’re onto them.”

“Guess it’s a good thing we didn’t trust Gabriel.” Izzy looked up from her screen.

Because then anything you told him would’ve wound up back at Rocco.

“But you were right about him.” Constantine looked at Alessandro, and was that an apologetic nod from him?

“What are we telling Armani?” I asked them, knowing Leo wouldn’t reach out to Armani. But Frankie had to know something was wrong since we’d hightailed it from the penthouse, and Javier was keeping him outside the house right now.

“The truth.” Mr. Costa joined in on the conversation. “A version of it, at least.”

“That Rocco’s family is coming after us for revenge,” Alessandro clarified, hooking his arm around my waist, drawing me to his side. When his mother noticed the comforting gesture, a little look of hope reached her eyes despite everything going on right now. “Gabriel will tell him. And I think we should have Gabriel go with the team on the rescue op in Norway, let the insider truly believe we took the bait.”

I turned into him, hands flying to his hard chest. “But it’s going to be an ambush, right? What if he gets killed and my aunt dies in the cross fire?”

“I’ll go with him,” Hudson offered. “We need someone from our side to make it more believable. Plus, we’ll have League support.”

Izzy abruptly stood, her brown eyes shooting his way. Concern etched between her brows. “What, so you can be the one to die in the ambush?”

“No one’s dying,” Hudson rasped, turning his attention on her as if insulted she’d think he’d go down that easily. I had a feeling there was more going on in that heated look being exchanged than any of us were privy to.

“Clearly, you have the memory of a goldfish,” she said, breaking the silent staring contest. “I may have been in the dark about what happened to Constantine four years ago while it was going on, but he was taken for weeks, and . . .” She let her words to Hudson hang in the air while catching Constantine’s eyes as her next target.

“It’s different this time,” Constantine said after an awkward minute ticked by. “We have the advantage.”

“But do we?” If Izzy was this on edge, how was I supposed to feel? Would the shell shock wear off and I’d become hysterical with worry? “What if Rocco has an exfil plan? An emergency way off the compound we’re unaware of?”

“We have no choice but to go,” Constantine said, his tone steady and reassuring. “And The League has been prepping for the infil into the compound for weeks. We’re doing a HAHO jump, and once inside, The League will breach from the Black Sea. This needs to end with the Barones, and now.”

“Hey-ho?” I looked up at my husband. “What does that mean?”

“High altitude, high opening jump,” Alessandro explained, as if that’d make perfect sense to me. “We have to jump from high up so no one can hear or see the plane. Then we glide into the landing zone at a horizontal distance for quite some time.”

When you put it like that . . . “You make it sound like it’s no big deal. Are there risks from jumping from high-high up?”

“Hypoxia. Not opening the chute in time.” At Hudson’s words, Izzy grabbed a pen from the desk and launched it across the room. He snatched it before it hit his face. “We’ll be fine.” He mumbled under his breath and asked her, “That better?”

“Then what happens?” I knew Alessandro didn’t want to share details that’d make me worry, but I needed reassurances he’d be fine and that the mysterious League group really did have it all covered.

“The League will enter from the sea as we drop in from above.” Constantine repeated what he’d already said but with smaller words this time. “They have overwatch—guys on snipers with a view into the compound—set up as well. Not to mention a drone overhead to keep a watch out. There are four towers we’ll hit first so we can safely move in without drawing fire.”

“I think that’s all she needs to know,” Alessandro said, as if worried I was heading into fight-or-flight mode.

Probably already there.

“Ignorance can be bliss,” my mother-in-law said. How in the world had she handled her sons all operating over the years? “Wine. Lots of wine,” she added, reading the worried look on my face and somehow hearing the question in my head.

“What about Armani? If you kill Rocco, don’t you lose your scapegoat for his death?” my father-in-law asked, raising an important issue.

“We’ll find someone else to pin Armani’s death on,” Constantine replied, almost like a brush-off, and I wasn’t sure how to interpret that.

“Unless you bring him and Marcello on the op. It’s obvious now they’re not in on this with the Barones and definitely not with the insider at AISE,” Izzy suggested. “We could ask them for their help, and ensure they die in the cross fire on the mission.”

“I don’t trust Marcello not to shoot me in the back while there. I can’t look over my shoulder the whole time,” Alessandro said, quickly shutting down the idea. “We’ll deal with them when we get home.”

“We should get a move on to the airport,” Constantine said with a curt nod, letting Izzy and, well, probably everyone know the conversation was now over. He motioned toward the door, and his parents quietly followed him.

“I guess I don’t understand why our government can’t handle this?” I asked once it was only the four of us there. “Is that such a wild idea?” I mean, is it?

Izzy peered at Hudson, her eyes narrowing on him as if she might chuck her laptop at him next for placing himself in danger. “Aside from concerns someone could wind up leaking the fact we’re hitting Rocco’s real location to the insider, there’s another issue.” Redirecting her attention on me, she shared, “There’s no guarantee our government, or the Italians, will get the Romanians to allow for a mission on their soil. And even if they agree to coordinate a joint op, your aunt doesn’t have time to wait for the ink to dry on the paperwork.”

“Bureaucracy and red tape slow missions down,” Hudson drawled, clearly knowing a thing or two about that as a SEAL.

“What about Enzo? Is he going with you?” I asked them. “And are you heading out with them, Izzy?”

“She’s staying here,” Hudson said before Alessandro could. “Enzo will be on the next flight here. He’s staying with you. Plus, Javier and his team will be here. Frankie and Leo.”

Alessandro pointed at the floor. “There’s a safe room here. I need to know you’ll be okay no matter what happens.”

“Me okay?” I stabbed at my chest, feeling frantic. “I’m not the one risking my life because of a side gig, and I can’t lose you because I . . .” Tears fast-tracked down my cheeks as my stomach turned.

Yeah, I was officially off the deep end.

And Alessandro noticed. He snatched my hand and had me on the move within seconds. Once inside a bedroom, he closed the door, and my back went to it. He caged me there, hands over my shoulders.

“If you say something about you sacrificing yourself for the greater good being the lesser of two evils, I’ll snap. For real.” I fisted his black tee, looking up at him. “Fuck the greater good. And if feeling that way means I’m joining the dark side like Armani said would happen, well so be it. Because without you, the world’s not even worth fighting for, and—”

His lips crashed over mine, cutting off my hysteria. For those few seconds he kissed me, I forgot every last problem.

It wasn’t until our mouths broke that the heavy weight of the world came back. God, I wished it’d go away again.

“Tell me you’re going to be fine,” I begged when he’d yet to talk. He bowed his head to mine, cupping my face. “It’s what I need to hear you say.”

“I can’t promise you that,” he whispered.

“But you promised you’d get my aunt back alive. Why can’t you say the same about yourself?” Pulling away, I searched for his eyes, needing him to look at me. He hesitantly lifted his head.

That’s when I realized what was going on in his mind. Nicole had fucked him up eighteen years ago by running out of fear something would happen to him, and there I was . . . Dammit. “I’m not her. I’m not going to bail because of what may happen.” At the sight of his eyes going glossy, I continued, “I’ll wait for you.” I let go of his shirt to position my hand over his heart. “I’m a fighter. Stubborn. Not going anywhere.” I sniffled. “I thought you weren’t mine to keep, and here you are, becoming all I want.”

At the sight of a single tear rolling down his cheek, I had to do my best not to let that sign of emotion from such a tough guy paralyze me with fear.

“Okay.” He covered my hand with his own. “I promise I’ll make it back to you. To my wife.”

Chills scattered across my skin, and I about sobbed in his arms. But I had to keep it together for him. For us. For my aunt. Hell, for the world. “Good.”

“You’re much bossier than me, by the way.” His lighter tone eased free a half cry, half laugh from my chest.

“Bossy is to keep you safe. You’ll need to deal with it,” I said, tossing his own words to me from weeks ago back at him.

He leaned in, smiling against my lips. “Mmm. I could get used to always having a reason to make it home alive.”

“You have a lot of reasons.” My heart broke a little at his confession, despite the smile from him. I moved our hands to my stomach. “And who knows, maybe one day you’ll have more than just me to come home to.”