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Thirty
Damian ignoredthe pain in his hand and threw another punch. He’d lost count of them after the first hour, lost in a trance fueled by Aria’s face and the beating heart of theirchild.
All the control he’d forced himself to have for Aria’s sake in the hospital, the commands he’d given Cole and the other men at the house… it had all fallen away with the swing of hisfists.
Now it was just him and Cole and Danny Galanos in an old warehouse by the water, the metal door creaking in thewind.
The bloodied man in front of him hadn’t armed the drone that had dropped the explosive on the Westchester house, but he’d ferried money to Gatti so hecould.
“Damian… Maybe give it a rest for asecond.”
Cole’s voice came to him as if from far away. He shook his head, turned to Cole and saw him flinch when he looked at Damian’sface.
Cole held up his hands. “I’m just saying you might want to give him a chance to talk before he passes outagain.”
Damian stalked the area in front of the chair where they’d tied Galanos, trying to let loose some of the energy that still remained, that demanded to be released in the form of moreviolence.
When he thought he had himself under control, he stood over the beaten man, yanked his head back by hishair.
He was almost alarmed by the man’scondition.
Almost.
One eye was swollen shut, the other half-shut. He’d lost a few teeth along the way and his nose was bent, hanging on like it had been broken so many times it had finally given up clinging to hisface.
Damian had left his bodyalone.
Mostly.
He needed some leverage for later if he couldn’t get the asshole totalk.
“Where is Gatti?” Damian kept his voice steady, forcing his rage into a silver stream of calm. “Tell me and I’ll spare the rest of you the same treatment I gave yourface.”
“I… I don’t know,” Galanos said, the words distorted through his swollen lips. “Iswear.”
Damian stared down at him. “That’s unfortunate. For you, Imean."
“I swear, I swear… I haven’t seen him for over aweek.”
Damian raised his fist and the man criedout.
“Wait! I heard he might leave the country. That he was joining up with some othergroup.”
“Where?” Damiandemanded.
“I… I don’t know,” Galanos said. “I don’t even know if it’s true, but that’s the word on thestreet.”
“Are you lying to me?” Damianasked.
“No! Iswear!”
It fucking figured Gatti would be the coward who ran after he tried to killAria.
Damian straightened and paced back toCole.
“Do we have anyone in Customs?” Damian askedquietly.
Cole thought about it, then nodded. “We’ve got a guy at JFK who can access the system for the rightprice.”
“Run it,” Damian said. He thought about Aria. He’d hate to leave her alone while he traveled overseas to track Gatti, but it would be easier to get it done while she was in the hospital. Once he brought her home to Nico’s apartment, she would be exposed to all of his planning, have the opportunity to overhear every phone call. She’d want to participate, would probably want to come with him even though she’d just been in the hospital. “Tell them to make it quick. And have our guys ask around about this theory. I want to know if Gatti’s said anything to anyone, if he made any mention of places he might go, made any plans that might point to a certain destination, if he’s been associating with foreign criminal elements besidesAnastos.”
“What about him?” Cole asked, his gaze straying to Galanos, slumped over in thechair.
“Give him some water and get someone to watch him while we run down this lead,” Damian said. “If it pans out, cut him loose. He’ll be a cautionarytale.”
“And if itdoesn’t?”
Damian headed for the creaking door. “Then I’ll beback.”
