Leo's POV:

By the time I left the house, the sun had fully risen over the city, painting the streets in pale gold light that felt completely out of place compared to the storm brewing in my head.

Sera stood at the front door wearing my shirt, arms crossed loosely over herself as she watched me head toward my car.

"You'll call me later?" she asked.

The softness in her voice nearly made me stay.

"Yeah," I answered. "Lock the door after me."

She smiled faintly. "Bossy."

I walked back up the steps before I could stop myself, grabbed the back of her neck, and kissed her hard enough to steal the breath from both of us.

Then I forced myself away before I forgot there was still work waiting for me.

The second I got into my car, reality came crashing back.

The engine roared to life beneath me as I pulled away from the house and headed toward Ed's warehouse on the south side of the city. The closer I got, the darker my mood became.

Someone had attacked one of our routes.

Again.

And lately, those attacks were getting bolder.

Which meant one thing: someone either wanted territory... or wanted a war.

Neither option sat well with me.

My grip tightened on the steering wheel.

The warehouse finally came into view—an old industrial building tucked between abandoned factories near the river. From the outside it looked dead. Rusted walls. Broken windows. Empty loading docks.

Exactly how we liked it.

But inside?

Inside was where millions of dollars moved every month.

I parked beside Vince's black SUV and stepped out.

Two armed guards near the entrance nodded immediately.

"Boss."

I acknowledged them with a slight tilt of my head before walking inside.

The warehouse buzzed with tension.

Men moved quickly across the floor carrying crates while others stood around talking in low voices. Everyone looked pissed off. Nervous too.

Good.

They should be.

Because if somebody thought they could hit us without consequences, they were about to learn otherwise.

Ed stood near a large wooden table in the center of the room with Vince and Gio beside him. Maps, phones, and paperwork were spread across the surface.

The second Ed saw me, his expression darkened.

"There he is," he muttered.

"What happened?" I asked without wasting time.

Ed slid a photograph across the table toward me.

I picked it up.

One of our trucks sat abandoned near the docks, the windshield shattered by bullets. Blood stained the driver-side door.

My jaw tightened instantly.

"Whose blood?"

"Marco's," Vince answered.

I looked up sharply. "Is he dead?"

"No," Vince said. "But he took two rounds to the shoulder."

Relief came briefly before rage replaced it just as fast.

Marco had worked for us since he was nineteen.

He was family.

"They knew exactly which route to hit," Ed growled. "Which means somebody talked."

Silence fell over the table.

That was the real problem.

Not the attack.

Not the stolen shipment.

A rat.

I leaned both hands against the table slowly, staring down at the map.

"Who knew about the route?"

"Only six people," Vince answered immediately.

"Now make that five," Gio muttered darkly.

I lifted my eyes toward him.

"You think it was Nico?"

"He disappeared after the attack," Gio replied. "Phone's off too."

"Could mean he's scared," Vince said.

"Or guilty."

I exhaled slowly through my nose.

Nico was reckless. Lazy sometimes. But betrayal?

That was different.

Still... disappearing right after an ambush wasn't exactly innocent behavior either.

"How much did we lose?" I asked.

Ed rubbed his forehead tiredly. "About four hundred grand."

A few men nearby cursed under their breath.

I stayed silent.

Money came and went.

Respect didn't.

And if word spread that someone could rob us without consequences, every other crew in the city would start testing us too.

That couldn't happen.

"What about the crew behind it?" I asked.

Vince glanced toward Ed before answering carefully.

"We think it was Moretti's people."

The name immediately soured my mood further.

Salvatore Moretti.

Old money. Old blood. Old enemies.

The Moretti family had been sniffing around our territory for months pretending they wanted "business partnerships." In reality, they wanted leverage.

And now they'd crossed a line.

I laughed once under my breath, humorless.

"So this wasn't just theft."

"No," Ed agreed grimly. "This was a message."

The warehouse fell quiet again.

Everyone waited for my reaction.

For my decision.

I looked around slowly at every man standing there.

Fear.

Anger.

Expectation.

That familiar weight settled onto my shoulders again—the one that never really disappeared. Leadership sounded powerful to outsiders.

In reality?

It meant everybody looked to you when things went bad.

And things had definitely gone bad.

Finally, I straightened.

"Then we send one back."

The room immediately sharpened with attention.

"We find Nico first," I continued. "If he talked, he dies."

Nobody argued.

"And if Moretti ordered this?"

A cold smile pulled at my mouth.

"Then we remind him exactly whose city he's standing in."

Several men nodded immediately.

Gio looked practically excited.

Vince, meanwhile, studied me carefully.

Like he noticed something different.

Maybe he did.

Because for the first time in a long time, my mind kept drifting somewhere it shouldn't.

Back to Sera.

Back to her smile this morning.

Back to the warmth waiting for me at home.

And suddenly this life felt more dangerous than it ever had before.

Not because I was afraid of dying.

But because now... I actually had something to lose.