His Merciless Redemption novel Chapter 83

Chapter 83

Chapter 83

Isabella’s POV

The dinner table felt too large at night.

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Not physically, Dominic’s long oak table always did that, but emotionally. Like there was a hollow stretching between us that no amount of candles or warm food could fill. Mateo sat between us, happily demolishing his pasta, blissfully unaware of the quiet tension humming beneath the surface.

I tried to focus on him, on the way he slurped his noodles, on the tiny smear of sauce on his chin, on the way he wrinkled his nose when Maria told him to eat his vegetables.

But my mind kept drifting.

To Alessia’s smug smile.

To those photos.

To Dominic’s arms around me not even a night ago.

Everything inside me felt knotted and raw.

Dominic noticed. He always did.

“Isa,” he said softly, across the table. “You’ve been quiet all evening.”

I lifted my gaze to him, forcing a small smile. “Just tired.”

It wasn’t a lie. It just wasn’t the whole truth.

He looked like he wanted to push, but Mateo chose that moment to launch into a story about his school project that I’d helped him complete, and the moment slipped away. I was grateful for the distraction, grateful for anything that kept Dominic from seeing too far inside me right now.

By the time Mateo was tucked into bed, the quiet inside me had only grown heavier.

I stood at the kitchen counter, pretending to clean a mug that was already spotless, when Dominic came up behind me.

“Hey,” he said gently. “Can we talk?”

I swallowed, my chest tightening. “About what?”

“About whatever’s going on in that head of yours,” he replied.

Before I could answer, my phone buzzed in my

hand.

The sound was sharp. Wrong. No one texted me this late. My pulse spiked even before I looked.

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Chapter 83

Vitelli:

If you’re done playing house, we’re still waiting. Don’t forget who holds the leash.

Cold flooded my veins as I stared at the text, unmoving.

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I’d been waiting to hear something from them for days now. But now that a message had finally arrived, it unsettled me in the worst way possible.

“Isa?” Dominic’s voice sharpened. “What is it?”

Silently, I turned the phone towards him. “It’s them.”

His jaw hardened as he read it. “Bastards,” he muttered.

I hugged the phone to my chest like it could protect me. Or Mateo. Or both. “They’re getting impatient.”

“That was always going to happen,” he said quietly. “They think you’re valuable now.”

“That’s not a comforting thought,” I whispered.

Silence fell between us, heavy and dangerous.

I forced myself to think, to not spiral, to not imagine Mateo’s small body in their hands.

“We have to give them something,” I said suddenly. “Something to keep them focused on you instead of us.”

Dominic’s eyes snapped to mine. “No.”

“Let me finish,” I said quickly. “I could tell them about a shipment. Something believable but not critical.”

“That won’t work,” he cut in. “They’ll test it. And if it doesn’t pan out, they’ll know you lied. Then they’ll just come after you out of spite, if nothing else.”

“I can’t just sit here and wait for them to come after Mateo,” I shot back, panic clawing up my throat. “I won’t.”

His expression softened. “I know.”

Then he inhaled slowly, as if making a decision he didn’t like. “There’s another way.”

I frowned. “What?”

“You give them real information.”

My heart dropped. “What?”

He held my gaze, steady and sure. “We give them a shipment. One I’m already prepared to lose.”

“That’s insane,” I whispered, shocked at his suggestion, at the way he was so casual about it. “You want me to set you up?”

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Chapter 83

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“I want you to sell them something they can bite into,” he said calmly. “And I’ll be waiting for them when they do.”

I shook my head. “No. They’ll hurt you.”

“They might,” he admitted. “Some of my men might get injured. There might be damage.”

“That’s not-”

“But they won’t get what they want,” he continued. “And we’ll take out some of theirs in the process. More importantly, they’ll think you’re telling the truth.”

I stared at him, my stomach twisting. “You’re asking me to put you in the line of fire.”

“I’m already in it,” he replied. “This just lets me control where the bullets come from.”

My chest ached.

I hated this world. Hated that this was how problems were solved. With blood and risk and lives treated like chess pieces.

“I don’t want you getting hurt,” I whispered. In that moment, it didn’t matter if he had lied or not, if he had a kid with Alessia or not. All that mattered was him. His safety. I knew this was what his life was, a life of danger and crime. He was used to this, yes. But that didn’t mean I liked it. Not one bit.

He stepped closer, cupping my face gently. “I’ve done this more times than I can count. I know how to survive.”

Even though his words were meant to be reassuring, they didn’t make me feel any better.

“I just…” My voice trembled. “I don’t want to be the reason something happens to you.”

“You won’t be,” he said softly. “You’ll be the reason I win.”

God, how could he make it sound so simple?

“So what do I tell them?” I asked.

Dominic turned away, already thinking. “There’s a transfer scheduled in two nights. Weapons. Legitimate enough to be worth their time, You tell them when and where.”

“And you’ll already be there,” I said quietly, slowly accepting it, and trying to come to terms with that fact how willing he was to put himself in danger just to keep me and Mateo safe.

“Yes.”

“With snipers and backup and traps.”

“Of course.”

I imagined him walking into danger because of a message I sent. Because of my fingers on a screen.

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Chapter 83

My throat closed.

“I don’t like this,” I said.

“I know.”

“But you trust me?”

“I do.”

I looked down at my phone again.

My hands shook as I started typing.

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“They’re moving a weapons shipment tomorrow night. Dockside, after midnight. He’s been protective about it. If you want proof I’m on your side, that’s it.”

I paused, then hit send.

My heart felt like it went with it.

I looked up at Dominic, fear and resolve warring inside me.

“They’ll come for you now.”

He nodded. “Good.”

I didn’t feel good.

I felt like I’d just stepped off a cliff, hoping the man in front of me was strong enough to catch me and everything I loved before we both hit the ground.

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19:47 Wed, Jan 21

Chapter 84

Chapter 84

Dominic’s POV

…

The next night when we worked, the shipment yard was too quiet.

The silence wasn’t the peaceful kind, just wrong.

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Floodlights washed the concrete in harsh white as trucks were unloaded, men shouting codes and ticking boxes. Crates were being rolled towards the warehouse doors. The night air smelled like salt and diesel with something metallic beneath it.

A normal transfer.

That was what it had to look like.

No ambush. No trap. Just good, heavy Russo security doing its job.

Because if the Vitellis realized this was staged, Isabella would be in danger again. Mateo would be back on their radar, too. Then the whole point of the talk she had had with the Vitellis would be nothing.

I stood on the catwalk above the yard, jacket open, gun holstered but ready. Eduardo was beside me, eyes constantly moving.

“You sure about this?” he muttered.

“No,” I replied flatly. “But it’s happening.”

Isa’s message had done exactly what we’d expected, given the Vitellis a reason to strike. Not Mateo. Not her.

Me.

I would take that heat a thousand times over.

I heard a crackle in my earpiece.

“Movement, south side. Vans without plates.”

Eduardo’s head snapped up. “They’re here.”

“Let it look real,” I said. “No fancy moves. No traps. Just defend.”

The first shot shattered the night.

Then chaos erupted.

Vitelli men poured out of the vans, guns blazing. Bullets sparked against concrete. One of my men went down screaming as a round tore through his thigh.

“Cover left!”

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