Chapter 25
Lorenzo
I want to call her. God, I want to hear her voice so badly it feels like a physical ache beneath my ribs. But I need to keep my head on straight.
Because the store owner’s footage—the grainy, shaky security video I nearly dismissed—ended up catching just enough detail for me to recognize the man who hired the thugs that night at the Christmas party.
And it’s him. Il Macellaio. The Butcher.
A sadistic bastard who shouldn’t be anywhere near my territory, let alone near two innocent girls at a holiday party. Worst of all, he’s been seen in Kansas City again. Asking questions. Asking about Elizabeth.
A muscle jumps in my jaw just thinking about it.
Cesaro met me at the airport with the intel in hand before boarding my jet to fly back home.
I’m still not happy that he texted my phone about the birth control pills after we had spoken, but I wanted him there because I need him watching her.
I need someone who understands that if anything happens to Elizabeth, Kansas City and Chicago won’t survive my retaliation.
The moment he left, I stood alone on the tarmac, staring at the city lights blinking in the distance, feeling the shift inside me. Something violent and primal.
And that’s what I’m going to do now. Take care of business.
Not for the sake of my reputation. Not even for the Don I’m supposed to be.
I’m doing this because the idea of that man breathing in Elizabeth’s direction makes me see red.
Because while she thinks I’m choosing someone else, while she’s probably still curled in that damned quilt trying not to think about me, she doesn’t understand. She’s mine. And no one touches what’s mine.