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“You have to find her Gio! You have to save her!” Liv cried into my neck.
“I will. Trust me. I will. What were you doing here, Liv? Why didn’t I know about this?” I asked carefully, keeping my rage beneath the surface of my skin for now.
Liv pulled back, guilt and concern in her stunning green eyes. “It was meant to be a surprise.”
“What was?” I frowned.
“The baby. I’m pregnant, Gio. Elle knew it was me or her. She saved our baby.” My eyes widened and my lips parted in pure shock. Liv pressed her forehead against mine and I felt a lump lodge in my throat as I looked into her eyes.
“You’re pregnant?” I whispered and she nodded her head. I kissed her lips as the tears flowed down her cheeks. I tried to control the enormity of emotions that took over my body. So much happiness, love and protectiveness. But also rage. Earth-destroying rage at what could have happened. At what had happened.
“We have to get you out of here,” I said, moving back to the car and placing her in the back seat. I turned to Max who was looking just as furious as me. He shook his head, his green eyes narrowed with vengeance as our men started to lift the bodies into cars. “They have Elle, Max. This is the Leones or Barbieris. I know it in my bones. If they so much as lay one finger on her…”
He grabbed my shoulder and held my gaze. “Then we set the world ablaze and we don’t stop until we find her.”
I nodded and climbed in the car beside Liv, pulling her into my side as she nestled herself under my arm. I kissed the top of her head and nodded to the driver to take us home.
They want a war… they will fucking get one.
Old Friend
Opening the padded, soundproof door to the torture room, I stormed inside and straight up to the man who was tied to the metal chair. Our eyes connected and without hesitation, I punched him across the jaw, sending his head spinning in the opposite direction for getting himself caught. He spat blood onto the floor as I stepped back.
“Tutti fuori!” I ordered all Lorenzo’s men to leave me alone with the hostage and as soon as the door clicked shut, he raised his head and our eyes locked once more. A slow, blood-stained smile appeared on his face.
“You still hit like a girl,” Finn smirked and I couldn’t help but drop the ruthless interrogator act on hearing my old friend’s voice.
“Still harder than you then,” I bantered back and he chuckled, shaking his head. I grabbed another chair from the corner of the room and dragged it along the floor. The sound of metal scraping echoed around the room until I was sitting directly in front of my lifelong friend. My smile faded, and so did his, when he realised how pissed off I was.
“What the fuck happened, Finn?” I growled. “You had one fucking job. Keep her safe.”
“I know,” he groaned, failure crippling his features as he avoided my eyes. The disappointment was evident in us both. Nine years. Nine fucking years since I sent my best friend undercover to the Buccini residence to become Elenora’s main bodyguard. Not once had he slipped up. Not once had she been in danger thanks to him. And now this. “I tried to get her out. But she is a stubborn woman. She saw I was seconds away from death and decided to intervene,” he chuckled, lowering his chin to his chest and shaking his head. “No one can tell that girl what to do.”
I leaned back, folding my arms across my chest in frustration. “Sounds like you have let her get too attached to you,” I gritted through my teeth. I knew it was ridiculous to be jealous of a man who only loved dick, but seeing the lengths she went to save him made me angry. It was supposed to be the other way around.
“Sounds like you are jealous,” he grinned, sitting back in his chair.
I scoffed and avoided his curious stare. I was worried he would see straight into my soul and right now, I wasn’t sure what he would find. “I should fucking kill you.”
He nodded once before he frowned deeply, “Now, I’m confused. I know I fucked up, but she is still alive. And you’re not going to hurt her, are you? You obviously weren’t involved in the planning of that attack otherwise I’d like to think you would have given your loyal man a heads up. So, why are you going to kill me?”
I bent forward, resting my elbows on my knees. I wanted to believe him. There were many reasons why I chose Finn for this long-term, dangerous mission. Firstly, because when I was eighteen years old and could no longer take the constant wondering about Elenora any longer, he was the man I trusted most. We had a lot in common, Finn and me. He had grown up on the streets and had a pretty rough upbringing. Dealing drugs at a young age for one of our dealers and being forced to fight in the underground rings, I took pity on him. I vouched for him. I wanted to turn his life around. Diego agreed to let him train as a soldier, one of the youngest we had ever had.
Elenora had been fourteen when I kissed her. But she was already interested in boys. For two years, I obsessed over what was going to happen to her. When she turned sixteen, would she be paraded in front of sleazy men to gain deals? Would she be married off to another family? Like I said, the girl had twisted my mind to believe it was somehow up to me to protect her. Or maybe, selfishly, I was protecting myself.
Finn was desperate to repay me for taking him off the streets and giving him this life and that’s when the idea struck me. To make Finn an undercover spy in the Buccini family. I took the idea to Diego and he ate it up. But it was only Finn and I who knew his real mission. To keep an eye on Elenora. Make sure she was safe and not married off to a vile monster. She deserved more. I knew that from the moment I saw her in that little art studio. She was so talented, innocent and full of life even at such a young age. Mesmerising. Seeing how Isabelle was treated in this lifestyle made me want to ensure the same never happened to her. I had to keep an eye on her, even from a distance. Once a month, I received an update on her from Finn. Was she safe? Yes. Was she happy? Yes. Was she single? Yes. That was it. Nothing more, nothing less. I never asked any more questions and he never gave me any more information. There was an unspoken rule. If I needed to know something, I would know. Otherwise, let her get on with her life.
“Because you have been keeping me in the dark, my friend. I need to know, are you still one of us?” I stared hard into his eyes, scrutinising every line of his face and every flicker of emotion in his eyes. Could I still trust this man? Or had he been corrupted to take Buccini’s side?
“Alessio,” he replied calmly. “Never doubt me. I am loyal to you.”
I held his gaze a few moments longer, but I saw no indication of a lie. I exhaled with relief and sat back, but his promise just raised more questions.
“Then why the fuck didn’t you tell me about the club?”
His face tensed with confusion and his dark eyebrows creased. “The club?”
“La Casetta? Giovanni sent Elenora there undercover. To see if us Barbieris had any involvement I am guessing. And when she saw me there, she tried to get close to me. To get information out of me,” my anger and the feeling of betrayal was growing with every word as I clenched my fists on my knees. I can’t believe I had been played by this girl. I had been such a fool.
