DANTE’S POV
They didn’t cuff me gently.
Metal bit into my wrists, cold and strong.
I didn’t resist.
Not because I couldn’t but because Luca was watching.
Every instinct in me screamed to break free, to burn the world down until there was nothing left that could touch my family. But I’d learned a long time ago that brute force wasn’t always power.
Sometimes power was knowing when to stand still.
The patrol car door slammed shut, sealing me inside a cage of glass and steel. Red and blue lights washed over the interior in pulses, painting my hands in violent color. I stared at them, flexing my fingers once.
Still steady.
Good.
Across the lot, I saw Elena being guided toward another car, Luca bundled against her chest. His face was pale, eyes swollen from crying. He looked small. Too
