I stood in courtyard as I looked up at the stars above me. I took a deep breath as I tried to calm my nerves about the meeting with Pavlovski.

Everyone has been working relentlessly as they prepared for what would hopefully be the final attack against the Russians.

Isa and Natalia have been preparing the weaponry as well as creating enough explosives to take out a small continent while Angelo and Stephan were gathering the troops and organizing transportation once we lock onto Pavlovski's location.

I've been reverse hacking the Russian tracking device, ensuring that I would be able to reroute the signal so Dante can track my location at all times. I even slipped it into my bullet necklace to ensure that is remains hidden. 

Now that the preparations were complete, the only thing left to do now was just... wait.

As I stood in the courtyard collecting my thoughts, I heard the sounds of heavy footsteps approach from behind me. 

"Hey." I said as I continued to look up above, admiring the way the stars twinkled against the midnight sky. 

I heard him come closer before gently wrapping his arms around my waist and nuzzling his face into the crook of my neck, filling my senses with his familiar musky and masculine scent. 

"Hey." He muttered before he sighed deeply. We stood there in silence before I placed my hand on his arm.

"Remind me again why I can't just kill him at the docks." Dante mumbled as he held onto me tighter. 

"You know just as well as I do that he won't show up there himself." I said as I leaned back into his muscular chest. 

"Right." Dante said before he sighed loudly. Dante gently placed his hands on my hips before turning me around and looking down at me. 

"I just don't feel comfortable with this." He said as he looked down at me with his eyebrows furrowed.

"Dante, we don't have that much time before I have to leave. We might as well enjoy it while we can." I said as I wrapped my arms around the back of his neck and gave him a small smile. 

"No more talking about Pavlovski, or the mission, it's just you and me right now, okay?" I said as I tilted my head. 

"I suppose you're right." He said as he looked down at me with a sad smile etched across his lips. 

"Dance with me." He said after a few moments of silence, making me tilt my head slightly in curiosity. 

"With no music?" I chuckled. 

"Humor me." He said as he smirked before grabbing my wrist gently. He lifted it up to my side before interlacing his hand within mine. He slid his hand from my hip to my lower back before he began swaying with me underneath the moonlight. 

"Who would have thought the big bad Don of the Italian Mafia danced?" I said sarcastically as I looked up at him. 

He gently leaned me backwards, dipping me before he gave me a playful smirk

"You are full of surprises, aren't you Mr. Vino?" I said as a smile grew on my lips. 

"You don't even know the half of it." He muttered under his breath. 

He tilted me up, staring into my eyes for a moment as silence stretched between us.

"What are you thinking about?" I asked curiously as I looked at him. 

"Our future together. What our life is going to be like after we get this motherfucker." He said seriously. 

"Oh yeah? And what's that going to look like?" I asked as we began swaying once more. 

"Me waking up with you in my arms. Preparing your coffee with vanilla creamer and no sugar, just the way you like it. Kissing your forehead to wake you up, and starting my day off like that for the rest of my life." He said as he continued to stare at me. 

"Having an actual reason to celebrate the holidays." He continued as his eyes drifted down to my necklace. 

"I don't think you'd ever be able to top this gift." I said playfully as I raised my eyebrow. 

"Watch me." He said as a smirk stretched across his face.

"I'm thinking about marrying you, and having the ceremony of your dreams. Seeing you in a white dress, waking down the aisle, looking as beautiful as ever. Seeing you carry our child, and watching your belly grow with each passing day. I want to be able to be the best father I can for our children, Rebel. I want them to be able to celebrate holidays and birthdays. I want to be able to give them the affection my father never showed me, and I'm going to need your help and guidance with that." He said as his eyes softened.

"Although, God forbid we have a girl." Dante said as a shiver traveled through him.

"Hey, what's wrong with a girl?" I asked as I furrowed my eyebrows. 

"Nothing. If we had a girl, she would be the most spoiled child on the planet. She also wouldn't be able to date... ever." He said as his face morphed into one of disgust. 

"I feel so bad for the poor soul that ends up dating our daughter."I said with a smile before sighing. 

"So do I." Dante said as his expression changed to a serious one. 

With each word he spoke, it was as if I could physically see our lives unfolding together, and my heart began to swell with happiness. 

"You know, you're going to make an amazing father one day, Dante." I said sincerely. 

"Only because I have the right woman beside me." He said as he leaned forward and kissed my forehead tenderly. 

"Promise you'll come home to me, darling." He said as he pressed the bridge of his nose against my forehead. 

"I promise my love." I said just above a whisper as I leaned into his chest. 

"Rebel." I heard Natalias voice call out from behind us. While still in Dante's arms, I looked over to see Natalia and Isa looking at us with a sad smile across both of their faces. 

"It's time." Isa said as she looked at me with furrowed eyebrows before looking down at the floor. They quickly turned around and walked away, most likely to give us some privacy. 

Dante let out a large sigh before he intertwined our fingers together. 

"I don't want you to go." Dante said just above a whisper. His eyes screamed sadness as he looked down at me, making my heart sink at the sight. 

"I'll be back before you know it." I said as I gave him a small smile. 

We walked in silence to the front of the house, where my car was waiting for me in the driveway. Dante held my hand tightly as we neared my Dodge Demon. 

"Stay safe my love." Dante said as he wrapped his arms around me once more. "I love you more than anything in this world." He whispered before he pressed his lips against mine. His hand slid to the back of my neck, pushing me towards him so he could hold me closely against his body. 

"I love you more." I said as I smiled up at him. 

"Unlikely." He said with a smirk as he grabbed my car door, opening it for me before he stepped to the side. 

I looked at the love of my life for a moment before stepping into my car. I turned the keys and brought the vehicle to life, filling the air with the roar of my engine. He closed the door and stood there for a moment, as if he was having some sort of an internal conflict, before he took a step back and put his hands in his pockets. 

I blew him a small kiss before pressing on the gas and driving past him. I looked in my rearview mirror to see him holding his hand out in front of him in a fist, before placing it back in his pocket once more. I watched him in the mirror until he faded off into the distance, making my heart feel heavy, but also reminding myself why I am doing this. 

I'm doing this for my mother, and I'm doing this for Vino's. I'm doing this for Stephan. I'm doing this Natalia. I'm doing for Isa. I'm doing this for Giana and Harry. I'm doing this for Angelo. I'm doing for Florence. I'm doing this for the man I love. I'm doing this for my family. 

I sped through the city of Venice until I reached the Ports in Pavlovski's message. I drifted into the parking lot, and slid into a spot next to the pier. I put my car in park as I looked down at the clock: 2am, on the dot. 

I looked around the dark and barren port as my engine hummed, breaking the ear piercing silence that surrounded me. 

I grabbed my keys and turned them, killing the engine before I opened my door and walked out. I locked the car behind me and hid the keys in the front passengers side tire, hoping that it would still be here after this ordeal is finished. 

I walked towards the pier when I heard footsteps rapidly approaching from behind me. Before I had the chance to turn around, I felt a familiar pinch in my neck. 

"Fuck." I mumbled as my vision began to blur. Losing my motor functions, I fell to the floor, hitting my head in the process. The last I saw was the tires of my Dodge Demon before everything faded to black.