“No.” Victor sounds pleased. “I think I can scare you with memory.”
Adriana.
Elena.
Amelia.
Olivia.
Four names slam through my head until I can barely separate past from present.
Victor lowers his voice.
“You failed once. Let’s see if grief taught you anything.”
The line goes dead.
For several seconds, no one speaks.
Foster breaks the silence first.
“Call bounced through too many relays. I couldn’t get a location.”
I don’t answer.
“Maverick,” Spike says.
Still nothing.
Every man watches me.
Maybe expecting rage.
Maybe expecting orders.
Maybe expecting theDon.
But inside my head, I see Amelia smiling over cute animals.
I see Olivia calling herselfDonLivy with her chin lifted and her eyes bright.
I see all the children living on estate property laughing and running through the halls and all over the grounds.
Then they all disappear.
All the children. All the women.
My family.
Olivia.
Amelia.
Not fucking happening.
“Move every child into the main estate,” I say. “Double the guards. No school. No outside activities. No one enters or leaves without my approval.”
Stefano nods.
