“What do you want?”
“To repay a debt.”
“You have my attention. Use it wisely.”
“I’ve been watching you.”
The room goes silent in a new way.
A colder way.
“You’ve built such a lovely life in Palm Springs,” Victor continues. “A beautiful estate. Loyal men. The Shadows at your side. Children running through your halls.”
My blood turns to ice.
“And then there’s the woman.”
Stefano’s hand closes around the edge of the table.
Victor hums softly. “Amelia Moore. Pretty thing. Soft heart. Works herself to exhaustion trying to save every broken animal that crosses her path.”
Rage begins to hum beneath my skin.
“And her daughter,” he adds breathlessly. “Olivia.”
My control fractures.
Only a hairline crack.
Enough for every man in the room to feel it.
“Careful,” I say.
“I’ve been very careful. That’s why you’re only hearing from me now when I’ve been in your shadow for years.”
Foster scoots the phone over and takes a seat at the table, his laptop open and running scans I know nothing about.
Victor keeps talking.
“When your brother killed my son, he didn’t only take Mark from me. He took my future. My name. My bloodline. My legacy. You Moretti’s understand legacy, don’t you?”
I look at Stefano.
His face is carved from stone.
“So I waited,” Victor says. “I rebuilt. I watched. I let your family grow comfortable. Then you found yourself another woman. Another little girl to tuck beneath your protection.”
My jaw locks so tightly pain shoots through my teeth.
Victor’s voice turns almost gentle.
“I was planning to take out the Shadows, you know,” he says. “I had everything in place. Men. Routes. Timing. All of it. But then I saw you with that beautiful woman and her very pretty daughter.” He exhales softly, like the memory pleases him. “Everything happens for a reason, Maverick.”
Victor’s voice lowers.
“Perhaps God was kind enough to give you a second wife and daughter so I could take them from you properly.”
“You think you can scare me with threats?” I ask.
