Luca's jaw tightens.
"You think I wanted to leave her? I offered to kill Maksim, consequences be damned, but Alessandro doesn’t have the balls to go to war. I offered to take her away. But she refused, to protect me. I'm not here because I'm running. I'm here because you're our last hope. Her last hope."
“Those are strong words about my brother.”
“Tell me I’m wrong.” I work to rein in my temper since I’m still alive. "I told him he was sending her to her death, but he wants peace and prosperity more than Valentina’s life. She needs you, the one who stood up to Maksim before. Help me save her, or I swear I'll go back and die trying to do it myself."
Luca's eyebrows rise slightly. "Wait a minute. You openly confronted Alessandro?” He gives a low whistle. "I've never seen a soldier challenge him like that and live to talk about it."
I shrug. "Your sister was worth the risk.”
He studies me with new interest. "So you stood in his office, telling him he was wrong to his face? About a marriage alliance he orchestrated?"
I nod. "I told him that if you were there, Maksim would already be dead."
A surprised chuckle escapes Luca's lips. "And he didn't shoot you on the spot?"
"He pulled his gun," I admit.
“And Valentina saved you?”
“Not that time. She saved me when he discovered I was in love with her. He exiled me, something I know you understand.”
Luca's amusement fades. "What exactly do you expect me to do? Alessandro made this deal. If I interfere, I risk starting the war they're trying to prevent."
I step forward, desperation driving me. "Save her. Don’t tell me you’re afraid of war too? Are you really willing to let her die for this?”
“Many other lives?—”
“All soldiers like me who signed up for this. For possible death. She didn’t. She’s worth more than all of them. You could have stopped this months ago by killing Maksim. You had him in your sights."
Luca's expression hardens. "I won’t deny that I regret not ending him, especially when Valentina said she was going to accept the deal to marry him, which is part of the problem, you realize, don’t you? She agreed to it.”
“She didn’t know what you and Alessandro do about Maksim. Now she does, and she’s terrified.”
“I won’t deny that I’d like to kill Maksim… kill them all. But that’s my brother’s territory. I can’t go rushing in. It will be disrespectful to him and start a war he’s trying to avoid. What I’m saying is I can’t initiate anything. I can only respond when Maksim makes a move.”
"So you'll just wait for him to hurt her?" I fight to keep my voice steady, though rage is burning a hole in my gut. "By the time Maksim makes a move that satisfies you, Valentina could already be—" I can't even finish the thought.
Luca pours himself a drink, not offering me one. "I have responsibilities here. People who depend on me. A wife, a son, a child on the way."
I study him. “Another brother abandons Valentina, and somehow, I’m the bad guy for loving her, for trying to save her.”
“Watch yourself.” His glass slams down.
“Why? Why won’t any of you save your sister?”
His eyes flash with danger. "Don't push me, Bonetti."
We stand in tense silence before he continues. "Maksim needs to make the first move. Only then can I justify entering my brother's territory."
He pours a new drink. “Besides, he won't kill her. Not until he has a son."
My son. But what if it’s a daughter?
I realize that if I want to save Valentina, I might have to do it alone.
Luca's expression hardens as he walks back to his desk. "I have a proposition for you, Bonetti. I need men I can trust, and anyone who's willing to stand up to Alessandro for what they believe in has a certain quality I respect."