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He wouldn't even be that for much longer. Benito would be lucky if I didn't banish him from the clan. He had crossed the line so many times, I shuddered to count them all, and worst of all he had caused my mate's family unimaginable pain.
I was going to bury him.
Once the plane landed and taxied to a hanger at the airport, I waited for it to come to a stop before unbuckling my seatbelt and standing up. I waited for René and then headed for the main door.
There were three large SUVs waiting for us on the tarmac inside the hanger. It would be a little bit of a tight fit, but I doubted René wanted to be separated from his parents, so I ushered all of them to the backseat of the vehicle in the middle.
My people—minus Tashi and Paolo—would ride in the SUV in front of us and the one behind us. Tashi and Paolo almost always rode in whatever vehicle I was in.
"My estate is only about twenty minutes outside of town," I told everyone once we got underway. "When we get there, I'd like you all to stay in the car until—"
"No, Alessandro," René said. "We're a family, and we need to do this as a family. Besides, Pierre is in that house, and if you think my father is going to wait on anyone to get to him, you're nuts."
I chuckled as I reached for René's hand. "I wouldn't wait either, but..." I turned to look at his parents. "It would be best if you let me and my guards go first. Sisko is keeping an eye on Pierre, but I don't know what to expect from Benito anymore."
"We can do that," René said.
Armando and Antoinette both nodded their agreement. I wasn't thrilled that they planned to go inside the house with me, but I also knew I couldn't deny them, especially Armando. His true mate was in there. He had every right to go in with me.
Frankly, I was a little surprised he hadn't dove out of the vehicle already and flew to the estate. I would have. Nothing would have kept me from going after René if he had been taken.
The same could be said for René. He wasmytrue mate, so he had every right to go in with me as well. And I doubted there was any way that Antoinette was going to be left behind. I'd just have to make sure we were all surrounded by plenty of guards.
We reached the estate faster than I had anticipated. When we pulled up to the gate, I rolled down the window as a guard came out of the guardhouse.
The man snapped to attention as soon as he saw me. "Prince Vitali, sir."
"Open the gate and inform Sisko that we are here. No one else."
"Yes, sir." The guard rushed back into the gatehouse and a moment later, the large double gate began opening.
We drove through the gates and up the long driveway to the massive villa that was the home of my estate. I glanced at René, wondering what he thought of the place. I knew he wouldn't be awestruck as he had grown up with money, but I wanted him to like the place. This was his new home after all.
"You live in a castle," René whispered.
"It's actually a villa."
René snorted as he shook his head and pointed. "That's a castle, Alessandro."
I guess it sort of was. It was taller than a normal Italian villa and it had round turrets like a medieval castle. The entire thing was built with white sandstone on the outside, wood and sandstone on the inside.
It wasn't like I could give it up if René didn't like it. The villa had been in the Vitali family for generations.
"What do you think?" I asked. "Do you think you could live here?"
"As long as you can live in my loft part of the time."
It was a good compromise, but I wasn't sure it was possible.
"You do realize I might have to spend a lot of time here due to work, and I travel a lot, right?"
René nodded. "I realize we'll have to spend a majority of our time here, but I still expect time with you at my loft."
"A secret love nest, huh?"
René chuckled. "I guess you could call it that."
I wagged my eyebrows lecherously. "I promise we will spend as much time there as we can."
