Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 43928 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 220(@200wpm)___ 176(@250wpm)___ 146(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 43928 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 220(@200wpm)___ 176(@250wpm)___ 146(@300wpm)
If she's not the right girl, we tip our hand, letting every enemy we have know he has a missing sister. And if she's with Cascella by choice, well, that's a whole fucking different problem. Before I tell Rafe anything, I need answers.
"Where is she?"
"One of the Cascella properties on the far side of the city."
"Guarded?"
Coda shrugs. "Aren't they usually?"
I nod, my gaze drifting to the gun I just unloaded. I thought my night was over, but it looks like it's just beginning. Wonderful.
Whether she's there by choice or by force, I won't leave her there for a second longer. I'm not an idiot. The Valentinos are the closest thing I have to family. They took me in after my parents were murdered. But this girl might be their blood. I'm not stupid enough to believe they wouldn't kill me without hesitation for leaving her there.
It's what I'd do.
I pour a little more bleach into the sink, rinse it out, scrub my hands, and then turn off the water, drying my hands thoroughly before reaching for my gun. "Let's go get her."
"Just us?"
I glance around the bathroom, one brow arched. "Do you see anyone else here, Passero?" A dark smirk overtakes my face. "Or is that your way of saying you're going soft?"
Coda's expression goes flat as he rattles off a string of curses, telling me exactly what he thinks about that question in both Italian and English.
I laugh quietly as I load my weapon before slipping it back into the holster.
He may be married now, but there's nothing soft about the man. He's as deadly and dangerous now as ever, the most lethal weapon we've got. Hell, if anything, he's more dangerous now that he has a wife to protect. Nothing will stop him from making it home to Karina at the end of the day.
"Let's fucking go," he growls, stomping from the room.
I follow him out, still chuckling.
Half an hour later, we park in the shadows outside of the Cascella mansion. It's a mini-Italian estate with towering columns and intricate carvings adorning the stone exterior. Despite its beauty, there's an air of neglected opulence to it, as if the mansion is rarely used.
If Brio is trying to hide her, he picked the worst possible fucking place to do it. The mansion isn't gated. Hell, it's barely even guarded.
That fact doesn't give me much hope that she's being held against her will.
"Only three guards at the front entrance," Coda murmurs, his hawk-like gaze focused on the mansion. "Seems easy enough."
"Which means it's not." My lips pull down into a frown. Either there's more security than we're seeing, or he skipped security for a reason. Brio Cascella isn't a fool. He's as calculating as they come. If there aren't guards here, it's for a reason.
We're probably walking into a fucking trap.
I glance at Coda, grim determination hardening his expression. He knows as well as I do what's at risk here. Shit. We've risked more for less and lived to tell the tale. I can't remember the last time someone wasn't trying to kill us. Frankly, I'll be more suspicious the day they stop trying.
Apparently, he feels the same because he slides a gun from under his coat as he slips from the SUV. "Are we going in or not?" he asks. His eyes are icy in the dim light, his jaw set in a formidable line.
"We're going in," I mutter, climbing out.
I can't shake the feeling that this is all fucking wrong, but it is what it is at this point. If we die, at least we'll do it with our guns in our hands.
We approach the mansion slowly, sticking to the shadows.
The guards are fucking useless. One is smoking by the fountain. The other two are chatting at the front entrance. All three are oblivious to the problem creeping up on them.
Their lax vigilance would be laughable under different circumstances. Tonight, it's going to cost them their lives.
Coda picks them off with brutal efficiency—two silenced shots and then a swift snap of the neck for the last. The third barely even has time to turn around when his buddies hit the ground before he's dead, too.
The front door isn't locked.
We slip in without a sound, our footsteps echoing against the marble floors.
The lights are off, and most of the house is cast into shadow. Even then, it's opulent—ridiculously so for a home that's rarely used. But then again, the Cascella family always liked to throw their money around.
Despite my worries about a trap, we don't find any other guards. The place is empty.
I jerk my chin toward the stairs, letting Coda know I'm heading up. He nods and points deeper into the mansion, telling me that he'll continue searching downstairs.
I make my way upstairs, staying as quiet as possible.
A flicker of light at the end of the hall draws my attention. I follow it, trusting instincts honed by years of use.