Alessandro was yet to go to bed.
He had been at his desk at two in the morning when a call came in, Marco's name on the screen, which meant it was serious because Marco did not call at two in the morning for anything that wasn't. He picked up before the second ring.
"Talk to me."
"We have a problem boss." Marco's voice was steady the way it always was but there was something underneath it tonight.
"Dante's men were spotted near the Rossi estate an hour ago. Three of them. I doubt they were there for Giovanni."
Alessandro was already standing up. "How close."
"Close enough to know she's not there anymore." The was a long pause. "Boss they're looking for her."
The room went very quiet.
He had known this was coming. He had felt it the way you felt weather changing before it arrived. Dante Ricci did not leave loose ends and Elena Rossi was the loosest end of his entire operation right now.
"Lock the house down" Alessandro said, already moving. "I want men on every entry point. Nobody comes in or out without my approval."
"Already done sir. What about the girl?"
Alessandro was already in the hallway, moving toward the stairs that led to the second floor. "I'll handle it" he said and ended the call.
He took the stairs quickly and stopped outside her door. He stood there for a moment listening. There was no sound coming from inside. She was asleep. Good.
He turned the key in the lock himself.
He stood outside her door for a second longer and then went back downstairs.
By six in the morning the courtyard looked nothing like it usually did.
Twelve men. Four cars. Every camera on the property running live to Marco's phone.
Alessandro stood in the middle of it and ran through everything methodically the way he always did, no wasted movement, no wasted words, just the situation and what it required and the steps to get there.
It was the only way he knew how to operate.
The men around him were good. He had chosen all of them himself over the years, had tested every single one in situations that left no room for weakness, and they moved through the courtyard now with the efficiency of people who understood exactly what was at stake because they definitely did.
One of the men appeared at his shoulder. "Perimeter is secured boss. East side covered."
"The cars from last night?"
"Tracked them to a warehouse in the south district. Dante's people are confirmed."
Alessandro turned looked at him. "Do you think He knows she's here?"
The man met his gaze. "Most likely sir."
The courtyard was quiet.
"Double the security." Alessandro ordered. "And I want someone on her door until further notice."
The man nodded and walked away quickly.
Alessandro turned back to the house and that was when he saw her at her window. Two floors up, pressing close to the glass, watching everything in the courtyard with those beautiful eyes that missed absolutely nothing and he felt something tighten in his chest that had nothing to do with Dante Ricci.
He had locked her door so she would stay put and safe and completely away from all of this.
Of course she had gone straight to the window to know what was going on.
He turned away before she could see him looking.
Marco found him in the office minutes later.
"She sent a message." Marco said, holding out his phone with a look on his face that Alessandro chose to ignore.
Alessandro looked at the screen.
'Tell him to come up here now.'
He looked at it for a moment and almost laughed. The audacity of this woman was one for the books. Then he picked up the key from the desk and went upstairs.
He had prepared exactly what he was going to say on the way up. A brief explanation, Enough to satisfy her without giving her anything she could worry about. He was good at that, at giving people just enough, it was practically a professional skill at this point.
He told her she was safe. She looked at him for a moment and then asked if he was safe and something about the way she said it was so intriguing… he was a mob boss known to be hard and tough and no one normally really cared about his safety because they just assumed he would be safe due to his abilities.
But she didn't assume that and it did something to his composure that he spent the next thirty seconds recovering from.
When she told him that next time he should leave a note or message, he was amused, so He walked away before she could see him chuckle.
He was back at his desk by nine, working through everything Marco had put together on Dante's movements, when his phone rang.
It was an Unknown number.
He picked up anyway. "Alessandro DeLuca. Speak."
There was a long Silence for a moment on the other end. Then a voice he recognized immediately cut through smoothly, the voice of a man who had never once needed to rush anything because he had always been certain the outcome was already confirmed and by confirmed, I mean in his favour.
"Alessandro my man." Dante Ricci called out with an almost playful tone like they were old friends. "It's been a while."
Alessandro leaned back in his chair. "Dante."
"I hear you've been busy" Dante said pleasantly. "Picking up strays."
Alessandro said nothing.
"Giovanni Rossi's daughter" Dante continued. "Interesting choice. I have to say I didn't see that coming from you. You've always been so careful." There was a long pause. "She must be something special. Huh?"
"What do you want Dante."
"Just a conversation. Come on, relax my man." His voice stayed pleasant knowing he was getting on Alessandro's nerves.
"You know very well She saw something she wasn't supposed to see Alessandro. You know how these things work and what you were meant to do instead you did the opposite. Look she better be working as a servant or something and nonetheless… You can't protect her forever."
"Watch me" Alessandro said through his teeth.
"Funny guy." Dante said with the same tone before the line went dead.
Alessandro sat with the phone in his hand for a moment. Then he put it down on the desk very carefully and looked at the wall as he sighed deeply thinking about Elena.
He was going to need to end this faster but what should he do?
His office door opened.
He looked up expecting Marco.
It was not Marco.
It was a woman, Adriana, she stood in the doorway in a cream coat, perfectly put together the way she always was, she looked it up and down and scoffed.
"You should tell your men to be more careful about who they let through the gate" she said, stepping inside without being invited. "I walked right in."
Alessandro looked at her with furrowed brows.
"My men are careful people, they know you. I made the mistake of not telling them to not let you into my house again." He said through his teeth.
"Ugh… stop it darling… We need to talk" she said, pulling off her gloves. "About that girl."