Page 69 of Where the Wind Whispers

“Hmm.”

Her soft hum made him smile. She was still practically asleep on her feet.

A selfish part of him thrilled in the comfort she offered, even as he knew he was going off to do something that would hurt her—but he couldn’t help but think of these moments in the future when he would come home to her.

Those were the times he was looking forward to the most.

“Let’s get you to bed,” he said as he swept her up and carried her back up to their bedroom.

Somewhere, in the minute and a half it took to get her there, Violet had fallen back asleep. Before long, he was shutting their bedroom door and going down to the front entrance where his men waited.

“Guard her with your lives. Anything happens to her, and I will have your balls eaten by dogs, understand?”

His threat was clear.

Rus was waiting for him outside, covered in black from head to toe, not to mention the sheer number of weapons he had on him. At Kaz’s look, he explained, “Italians are a wild bunch—I have to be prepared.”

Shaking his head, Kaz went around to the passenger seat and hopped in. “Let’s get this done. Did you get everything else we needed?”

Rus slammed his door shut, driving off almost immediately. “All gate codes were taken care of, the boys are already in place, and the only thing we need now is the ‘okay.’”

How many times had he thought about venturing out of Brighton to find Alberto or even just one of his men? But with the truce in place, he’d been forbidden. It was amazing, the difference a year could make.

Kaz hadn’t given much thought to what the Gallucci family home looked like—he only cared that once he left it, the patriarch of the family would no longer be breathing.

His heart rate kicked up a bit as Rus entered the code on the panel—the guard inside already having been shot before they rolled up—and Kaz watched the rolling gates slowly slide back a moment before they were driving up the hill toward the sprawling mansion that was at the top. Two other cars followed.

It was quiet as they exited the cars one after the other, too quiet in fact. He wouldn’t put it past Alberto to have a trap waiting for him, knowing that he was next on Kaz’s shit list. That was why he was being cautious, taking his time rather than barging in.

There was no need to rush.

Alberto would be dead soon enough.

Rus used his skills to get the lock undone, and the door opened, and then he stepped back for them to go on ahead. The minute they were inside, chaos erupted.

The rapid-fire gunshots exploded, screams started, and the coppery scent of blood quickly filled the air. Kaz ducked out of the entryway, barely missing a bullet to the side. But spinning around just as fast, he aimed and fired, watching heated metal burrow a hole into a man’s head, taking a chunk out of it as it ripped free from the back.

Going up the stairs, Kaz cocked the hammer back as he went. The minute he cleared the landing, a door was thrown open violently. A girl around the same age as Violet came stumbling out, her wild eyes settling on Kaz as recognition flared.

It took a moment for Kaz to remember who she was—Nicole, he thought her name was. The one with Carmine.

Kaz almost smiled—two birds, one stone.

“Where’s your man?” he asked Nicole, pointing the gun at her face.

Very slowly, she raised a finger, pointing to the room she had just come out of. When Kaz took a step toward her, she took one back, and he continued this dance until they were back in the room and he could just see the gun Carmine had aimed in his direction.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing, Russian? Do you have any idea what my father will—”

“Good, actually. Where is the man? I have a bone to pick with him about that fucking bruise he left on my wife.”

A muscle worked in Carmine’s jaw as he glared at Kaz, but he didn’t once look at the woman Kaz was aiming his gun at.

Interesting.

“Where’s your father?” Kaz repeated the question, his finger wrapping around the trigger.

“None of your fucking business.”