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“Maria,” I said quietly.
She lifted her head and there were tears in her eyes. While it was easy to tell how weak she was, she reached out, taking my hand while lifting her gaze toward Daniel. “I’m sorry. I was the one who suggested the charade. Please don’t blame Margot. Please, Daniel. Save my father’s house, the rest of his men and women working for him. You can have everything. Everything. I just…”
I twisted my head toward him, concerned he wouldn’t do the right thing, but as he’d done so many times before, the man I’d married, the one I hoped to spend the rest of my life with surprised me yet again.
“Kane. Have a plane standing by, at least ten soldiers. We’re headed to Italy. Ensure that Ms. Rossi and her bodyguard are well taken care of inside my home where they will have everything they need. Get me the contact information of the doctor I know at the Mayo Clinic. I’ll handle that call myself. We will be bringing Mrs. Rollins back home where she’ll receive the best care available in this country.”
I shivered from hearing his orders, trying to hold back any additional emotion.
“I’m coming with you,” I told him.
“No, you’re not. You’re staying here where it’s safe.”
“You may not want to hear this, Don Thorn, but Margot’s presence posing as Maria is needed. There must be a visible presence of the daughter of Giovanni Rossi or there won’t be anything you can do to stop the bloodshed. There will be people watching.” Leonardo’s voice boomed into the room. “I’ll need to come as well. I can introduce you, what you Americans call smoothing the way.”
“He’s right, Daniel,” Maria added. “My father’s men are extremely loyal. They’ve yet to be told about your commitment. They need to hear it from… me. Margot is perfectly capable of handling this. You fell in love with her. I can see it in your eyes.” As Maria tilted her head, trying to smile through the pain and grief, for a few seconds we were connected as if we were sisters. However, I would never forgive her for threatening my mother.
Daniel took a deep breath, chuckling under his breath. “Yes, Maria. I did. However, from now on, I will not be lied to or there will be dire consequences.”
“Agreed,” she said, her breathing ragged.
“She needs rest,” I said.
“Understood. Make the arrangements, Kane. I want to leave within three hours. Leonardo, make contact with the people you can trust to meet us on the ground. I want a debriefing on what happened, what I can expect, and any evidence of who killed the Rossis. I need to know what the fuck I’m dealing with. And I promise you. If this is some kind of ambush, I will bring the wrath of God down on you.” He took long strides toward Leonardo, his entire face full of tension as well as conviction.
“Will you promise to care for Maria as if she was your wife?” Leonardo refused to back down, something I’d admired about the man.
Daniel looked from me to Maria and finally back to the bodyguard. “You have my word.”
“Then you have my allegiance, Don Thorn.” He offered his hand to Daniel who took a few seconds to accept.
I shuddered from what this all meant but there was no other choice, no recourse. And I knew without a doubt Daniel would wipe the world free of his enemies to keep me safe.
“I’ll make the arrangements.” Kane left the room almost immediately but not before doing something else that shocked the hell out of me. He smiled at me.
CHAPTER 27
Daniel
No excuses.
There would never be a single excuse decent enough that I could ever accept taking the lives of women, children, or animals. However, bad men, those who’d sworn their allegiance to criminals of any kind were fair game.
What limited plans I’d managed to form up to this point given the details Leonardo had provided were in motion, Kane spending time on the phone making certain arrangements clandestinely. I’d learned Betty Rollins’ location hadn’t been compromised, the round the clock soldiers keeping a watchful eye. Leonardo had also arranged for the Learjet that had brought him and Maria here would return to collect Betty Rollins, bringing her home. Now it was just about forming another alliance with men who had no reason to trust me, using the contacts from the Brotherhood to try to determine what in God’s name had happened and how someone had managed to get through the tight Rossi security, killing them just outside their well-protected home.
I’d seen pictures. The mafia kingpin and his wife had been shot multiple times, at least a dozen soldiers as well, let alone the guards who’d been killed at the clinic Maria had been secured in. Their estate was little more than a fucking graveyard at this point, fear of the unknown keeping the remaining soldiers and other employees on edge. I was beginning to think whatever game was being played had been lying in wait for months if not years, the person responsible waiting for the right time. My wedding and to whom hadn’t been kept secret, which had allowed the perpetrator to form the perfect plan. For all the caution my family had exercised through the years, it had never dawned on either Constantine or me that the marriage could be used as a weapon.
What I continued to wonder was whether the infamous Death Squad had their hands in this. It stunk of the same kind of fun and games that had been played with Diego Santos only months before. The main difference was the lack of real threats tossed my way. That left me questioning whether the entire situation was all about gaining control of the Cosa Nostra and the Thorn Empire had been pulled into the dangerous situation inadvertently.
Kane stood quietly in the corner, going over the reports on the Rossi organization Leonardo had brought with him.
“Who do you think is really behind this?”
I glanced in his direction. “At this point, I have no clue, and I don’t like being in this scenario as you well know. A mole in Italy, the only surviving member of the Rossi family dying. A wife who looks exactly like her, which places Margot’s life in significant danger.”
“The Italian Stallion hasn’t located the mole yet?”
“Not yet. However, Leonardo insists it’s only a matter of time.”
