Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 73953 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 370(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73953 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 370(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
“What do you want from us?” Vince asked.
“O’Shea is desperate to get his daughter back. This is an opportunity to force his hand with the CIRA.”
It was also a chance for my family to get revenge. O’Shea was lucky we let him live this long. And he would only continue to breathe until we bled him dry. Conor O’Shea strong-armed my father into making deals that didn’t suit our interests, all because of what Marcello had done to save the ungrateful dickhead’s daughter.
It was time the Irish paid for their sins.
The line was silent for a moment before Enzo said, “Arrange for O’Shea to visit my home this weekend with Arlo.”
“I will let my father know.”
“I’ll have an update on the Albanians in the next twenty-four hours,” Vince said before he dropped off the line.
The other men hung up afterward, leaving me feeling like I was sitting there with my dick in my hand. My mistakes were costing me a fortune. And if I didn’t find the men who wanted Alex in time, they would take something more valuable than money from me. Without Alex, I would become someone unrecognizable. I would turn into the man my father had groomed me to become. She was the only reason I hadn’t turned into a full-blown psychopath. I struggled with the rage and bloodlust every single day.
“That went well,” Damian deadpanned.
“I feel like I’ve just had a root canal and a colonoscopy at the same time.” I raked a hand through my hair. “Fuck, that was brutal. I’m going to owe favors to the Five Families for the next decade.”
“You don’t have a choice,” Bastian said.
Some of our family’s power came from the help of our associates. I hated we needed them to find the Albanians and whoever was vying for the bounty on Alex’s head. But none of our attempts to locate the bastards had proven successful.
A loud beep pierced through the silence. I glanced at the security monitors on the wall beside my desk, shaking my head at the sight of Aiden Wellington on my doorstep. Two guards gripped his shoulders with force. Determined to get inside, Aiden thrashed in their arms, desperate to break free.
“Find out what he wants,” I told my brothers.
As they rose from their chairs, Aiden banged on the front door, screaming at the camera. I clicked the sound button on the remote.
“They took Alex!” Aiden slammed his fist into the door. “Open up, Salvatore!”
My jaw dropped at his words. A rush of heat shot down my arms, anger pumping through my veins.
What the fuck is he talking about?
Alex was one floor below me with Marcello. I never had a reason to doubt my brother. He’d always been trustworthy, but I had to see for myself.
I stood in front of the screens and found Alex’s bedroom. A dim light cast a shadow across the room. Marcello slept in the armchair by the window with his head slumped to the side. Alex should have been in her bed working on a new Devil sketch. But her bed was empty, the sketchpad on the comforter, the sheets untouched.
I hit the button on the wall. “Let him in,” I told the guards.
The men stepped to the side, opening the front door for Aiden, who gave them a nasty scowl. I flew past Damian and Bastian, down two flights of stairs to pry the story out of Aiden. My heart raced so fast I could hardly catch my breath. She had to be somewhere in this fucking house.
I stopped in front of the ballroom doors.
Out of breath, Aiden slumped against the wall, his blond curls all over the place. Sweat slid down his forehead and cheeks. He looked as if he’d run to my house.
“Where the fuck is she?”
“My sister,” Aiden choked out, shoving a hand through his sweaty hair. “She came to see me. I tried to explain. She ran into town and… A black van. Someone took her.”
A cold shiver crept down my back, burrowing deep in my bones. I grabbed Aiden by the collar of his shirt, his face inches from mine, my body trembling with fear. For the first time in years, I was afraid of something. If we couldn’t find the Albanians, how would we locate Alex?
“Tell me everything. Don’t leave out a single fucking detail.”
I released Aiden and shoved him into the wall, where he crumbled like a sack of laundry on the floor.
“Alex knocked on the door. We got into a fight. She said she never wanted to see any of us again. Then she took off down the street. She was always a faster runner than me. I was so close…” He blew out a deep breath, holding his hand over his heart. “I almost had her. But they were faster.”
I moved my hands to my hips, glaring at him. “A black van? What kind?”