Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 65433 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 327(@200wpm)___ 262(@250wpm)___ 218(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 65433 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 327(@200wpm)___ 262(@250wpm)___ 218(@300wpm)
“Nephew,” he says in that grating way he has.
“Where is my wife?”
“How the fuck would I know?” His smug grin tells me he does know. He looks me over. “You look a little worse for wear.”
I’m sure I do. I barely slept on the flight back and am wearing the same clothes. But I could give a fuck. I reach into the breast pocket of my suit jacket, and Sonny’s expression changes quickly as his men step forward, drawing their weapons.
I ignore them, take out the older model phone, and scroll to what I need.
They relax.
“You need me to buy you a new phone, nephew? That looks like it’s from the last century.”
“Not quite but it is old,” I tell him. “The Reaper only had one use for it.”
My uncle’s face pales as he glances at his soldiers.
“My wife,” I say.
He looks at me with such contempt, it’s a palpable thing.
“As with the earlier attack on her, it wasn’t me. You’d do better to spend your time tracking down the brother. I hear he flew in recently.”
I make sure he can’t see any change in my expression, but I am fucking surprised. Lucien is in Italy?
“So you had nothing to do with the attack at the villa,” I say more a comment than a question and he shakes his head with that too-smug grin on his too-smug face. He’s lying. And he wants me to know it. That’s why mom wasn’t hurt. That was his calling card.
“Even if I did, I am the rightful heir.”
“This isn’t a fucking kingdom.”
“The family would support me.”
“You know the death warrant stands on the man who killed Angelo even though Grandfather is dead,” I remind him.
I see the infinitesimal change come over his expression.
“I’m going to ask you one more time. Where is my wife?”
“And I’m going to tell you one more time you should ask her brother,” he says, standing to move out of the way as he signals to the soldiers. Before they get to me, I hit play on the phone, and Sonny’s voice rings out, always recognizable, as he strikes a deal with The Reaper to assassinate his own son. And in the moment that the soldiers hesitate as they hear the recording, I reach into my boot and take Vittoria’s pretty little knife, advancing on my uncle and plunging it into his gut as I pull him to me, driving the blade to its hilt and hearing the gurgling sound of him choking on his blood.
I tug his head backward, draw the knife up to slice his gut and look him in the eye as I do it, as, in the background, he laughs as the deal is struck, the date agreed.
“Bastian was right. I should have done this years ago,” I say and thrust him away, letting his body fall onto the couch, then slump to the floor. I turn to the soldiers who look beyond me to Sonny’s body. “Get the word out. Sonny Caballero is dead. Anyone who wants to join me is welcome. Anyone who stands against me will meet with the same end Sonny just did.”
24
BASTIAN
After settling my mother and Emma in Palermo, I go straight to Uncle’s apartment in the city. Word is breaking about what Amadeo has done. Bruno is already here and waiting upstairs, and there are more soldiers than I’ve seen gathered at one house since the death of our grandfather. The elevator is blocked by our men. I ride up, and once the doors open to Sonny’s floor, I see half a dozen soldiers armed with automatic rifles standing in the hall.
Eyebrows raised, I bypass them, enter, and am directed to Sonny’s study, where I find Bruno. He’s the one who called and alerted me to what happened. What my brother did. I’m only sorry I wasn’t there to see the life bleed out of that bastard’s eyes myself.
Bruno is on a call. I nod in greeting and walk over to where Sonny’s body is splayed half on the floor, half on the sofa. I lift the blanket covering him and whistle at the amount of blood.
“New bag?” Bruno comments.
I cover the body and turn to him. I’m carrying Vittoria’s tote, which I’d found in the library. I set it down.
“Vittoria’s. Where is Amadeo?”
“Sent him to take a shower.”
“Find anything on Vittoria’s location?”
Bruno shakes his head. “Not yet but I’ve been busy trying to head off the cops.”
“Word travels fast,” Amadeo says from the door.
I turn to find my brother standing fresh from a shower, hair still wet dressed casually in jeans and a dark sweater. I’m guessing Bruno had the forethought to bring a change of clothes. Amadeo glances at the body, then at me.
“How are Mom and Emma?”
“Fine. Good call to send them to Palermo. Emma took to Gabriela right away.”