Chapter Twenty-Four
Matteo Costello
“Walking here from the coke drop off was fucking stupid,” Anthony exploded, pointing a finger at my chest. Only he could get away with talking to me like this. “You had a transport set up from your penthouse. Clearly, the Russians aren’t above using snipers, and you wouldn’t have escaped it a second time.”
The ball of fire in my chest seemed as if it would explode at any moment. I’d hoped that walking from the library in Brooklyn would ease that ache, but it had done nothing. Everything she had said—everything she had kept from me…
“Don’t question me, Anthony,” I snarled.
Anthony gave me a look that was worth a million words, but I didn’t bother deciphering it. He wasn’t pleased, and I didn’t fucking care. All I could think about right now was Lilianna and Callum. I had a son. I had an heir to my entire empire, and I hadn’t even realized. It had been the only thing on my mind for days, and every time I thought my anger couldn’t possibly become more potent, it did.
“Last night, we finally found the hotel where the Russians have been congregating,” Anthony said as a clear means of distraction. “The front desk lady took a bribe, and there were nearly three dozen of them busted.”
This was good news. We knew there were a ton of them in the territory, and we knew they had headquarters nearby. It had been a lucky break to find the hotel, but it was a step in the right direction.
“How many were caught?” I asked.
“Five of them are in the basement. Twenty-six were taken down by our soldiers. Two escaped.” His tone dropped on the final words.
“How the fuck did two of them get away?” I demanded.
“Marcus checked the cameras in the hotel to count numbers, and two were missing. They were probably out patrolling last night when the rest were sleeping. We have guys looking for them, but they probably went back into their territory when they caught wind of what happened.”
I released a long, drawn-out breath. “Do any of the five have anything valuable to say?” I pushed.
“Diego has left them alone for the last three hours. He said they were ready to break. Seeing you will have them pissing themselves, boss. They’re primed.”
“The mess is taken care of?” I verified.
“Nothing left behind. All the bodies were disposed of in the Hudson.”
When we wanted to hide a body, we took it to a funeral home in the Bronx—one owned and operated by my company. They were cremated, and their ashes were scattered among those of legitimate patrons. But these lowlifes deserved to wash up eventually. The crimes would be linked to the Russian mob scene, and Vlad would see precisely why not to cross me.
We pulled beneath the hotel into a parking garage before the driver let us out of the car.
Anthony led, heading toward a large door in the back of the lot.
I ground my teeth as I approached, considering the methods I’d use to extract information from the prisoners. We pushed through the metal door, and I allowed it to slam closed behind me. I wanted to let them know I was coming.
Anthony began speaking again. “We can’t leave them alive. There’s a risk that they heard something while we brought them down. A few of the soldiers were talking about a bar your guys frequent, and if that information gets to Vlad—”
“I wasn’t planning on leaving them alive,” I asserted.
I heard them before Anthony led me to the door. It sounded like two of them were shouting for help.
I needed this. I needed to distract myself before I went back home. I’d planned on bringing Lilianna along with me, but after our conversation, I knew I couldn’t risk her being here. I wouldn’t be able to control myself with the constant reminder of her betrayal.
I needed to question these men before killing them.
I grabbed one of my three guns and cocked it before storming into the room.
I saw immediately which of the men were screaming, and I lifted my gun, firing twice.
Both of their bodies went slack, the chains at their wrists holding them upright and preventing them from falling to the ground.
The other three went still and silent as I took them in.
The room was muggy, clinging to the minimally warm day outside. A few water pipes around them dripped, leaving a tapping sound on the concrete. Tap. Tap. Tap.
Nobody said anything, but their wild gazes were fixed on me.
It looked like someone had already done a number on their bodies. One man was missing a shoe, and three of his toes had been amputated. Scratches and bruises spread across every inch of their exposed bodies, and the stains across their shirts told me that they had similar injuries beneath their clothes, too.
These men would be ready to talk.
After seeing their friends killed, I didn’t doubt they would spill any snippet of information to keep them alive.
I needed to let off some steam.
“Where should we begin?” I asked, clapping my hands together before taking a step forward.
***
Only two men remained standing. One had passed out, dripping blood from every crevice of his face. He was still alive. Barely.
I held a serrated knife in my hand, and I twirled the tip of it over my finger, allowing it to draw a small prick of blood. I rubbed my fingers together and looked between the final two men.
“We’ve told you everything,” one of them rasped in exasperation. He shook his head slowly, his restraints holding him upright. I supposed that was because of the sliced tendons in his ankles. “Just kill us.”
I clicked my tongue as I wiped a bead of sweat from my forehead. “Not until I learn something useful. ”
The other man noticeably shook before heaving and vomiting bile tinged with blood on the floor in front of him. He coughed and spit the rest out of it from his mouth.
“Please!” he cried.
Had I broken them too efficiently? Neither seemed at all inclined to beg for their lives. I had certainly taken out my rage on their bodies, slicing and punching and kicking until I felt an ounce of my tension ease. As I continued, I threw more weight behind my blows in hopes of easing more of the pent-up anger.
“Do you want this to be over?” I pushed.
They both nodded, defeated by my ministrations. I didn’t think I’d ever broken someone so efficiently, and I’d tortured my fair share of people. This was the first time they’d ever begged for death.
“Tell me what Vlad has planned. Rumors. Facts. Tell me anything, and I’ll end this. What’s his endgame?”
Neither spoke. They had likely only ever met the big boss once, when they swore themselves into the mafia. But I knew how quickly rumors spread. It wasn’t hard to glean at least an ounce of information.
“There’s a rumor,” one man said. “He’s sick of the turf wars and battles that have been waged by you and your men, and he plans on coming to the source. I don’t know if it was just other soldiers talking shit or if it came from Vlad himself.”
“What do you mean?”
“There’s nothing else,” he moaned, a tear falling from his eyes and mingling with the blood there. “It’s just a rumor, and I don’t know any more information. They know where you live with your family. They know everything, and rumor has it, they’re going to take you out when you least expect it. At home.”
At home. I considered the ample guards and cutting-edge security system that protected my home. It would be next to impossible to infiltrate. They would be much better off striking elsewhere.
But all rumors were based on some level of truth.
If Vlad planned to come into my home, I’d make sure it wasn’t easy for him.
The crying man shook his head. “They’re all rumors. I haven’t heard anything else. I swear.”
I holstered my gun and turned toward the door, meeting Anthony’s eyes. His face had gone pale, but he still stood guard.
“Take care of it,” I demanded before striding past him and leaving him alone with the three survivors.
I was nearly down the hall when three shots rang out, muffled by the brick walls and thick cement of the basement. The heavy metal door swung shut behind me as I stepped into the awaiting car and pulled a handkerchief from my pocket. I wiped the blood from my knuckles with a deep exhale. I pulled my phone up to my ear and called the lead guard on assignment at the penthouse, and he answered on the first ring.
“Boss?”
“Everyone is on shift, correct?” I asked.
“Everyone, sir. We all finished our rounds five minutes ago, and everything is looking good.”
I nodded to myself. “I want everyone doubled up until I say otherwise. Bring in more people and make sure everyone’s armed.”
I ended the call and leaned back as the driver took a vicious left turn. Honks arose from outside, but we continued forward. On the street stood a young boy, maybe five or six years old, holding a man’s hand as he crossed the street.
My mind circled back to the same place it had been for days. No matter how I distracted myself, nothing could fully take my attention off the issue at hand. From what Lilianna had done.
I’d trusted her. I would have done anything for that woman, and she had still kept a secret like this from me. Lilianna was more than a good fuck. She was everything to me, and I could have seen myself staying by her side indefinitely. We could have had a partnership that would have conquered empires. We’d finally be a united Italian mafia in New York, and we’d have the world at our fingertips. We would have one another, and nothing could have changed that.
I would have loved the boy as my own and raised him to be a leader.
Knowing that he was mine changed nothing about those plans, yet somehow… everything felt like it was collapsing around me.
I’d always wanted a child. I’d wanted an heir. Not right now, and maybe not soon, but it had been something I’d always planned to have one day.
I huffed as the driver pulled into the garage of my penthouse.
I was out of time to think. She’d done what was best for her and Callum, and I saw that. Lilianna had made the best decision for them, but she hadn’t bothered considering me. I would have never done her such a disservice.
But I’d also never been a father, and I didn’t have that perspective yet.
I guessed I was now, though.
I moved through the lobby, examining each of the guards on all sides of the room as I made my way to the elevator and hit the button for the top level, inserting my individualized PIN for security.
It was dark and silent when I walked inside. Lilianna and Callum must have gone to bed early for the night.
A bit of relief filled me as I realized I had some extra time to consider what to say. I needed to talk to her before I went to bed. She’d been pushing me to talk to her for days, and I’d ignored her. I’d pushed her away and refused to talk. I hadn’t been ready to have a conversation. If we had spoken about it immediately, I knew my carefully leashed temper would have gotten the better of me.
Instead, I showered the blood from my skin.
I sat with all my thoughts and considered the best way to tell her the truth. I wanted to be a father. I wanted to be a part of their lives. But I didn’t want to feel that level of betrayal again. Never again. I wouldn’t accept another lie, and I wasn’t sure if I could trust her after this one.
I made my way to my office and began going through the mountain of paperwork that had piled up over the past few days.
How did I tell her everything without losing my temper?
Lilianna was mine, and she’d always be mine. I wouldn’t let her get away again. I needed time to accept what she did, but I wouldn’t miss another moment of my son’s life.
After what felt like hours, night had entirely fallen over the city, and I stood from my seat, striding toward their bedroom. I opened the door quietly and looked toward where I expected to find Callum and Lilianna lying in bed together.
Only, it was empty.
The pillows had been carefully arranged, and the bed was expertly made.
I glanced around the room and found all their clothes and belongings missing, as well. The room was as empty as it had been before they came.
I rushed toward the only thing left behind. A piece of paper.
Matteo,
I’m sorry for hurting you. I wanted you to understand, but I don’t think you’re going to. I stayed for you. I swore myself to my father’s men to get the justice my family deserves, but I only planned on staying for you. Everything is in motion to get the revenge Silas is owed. My father’s men will follow you.
We’re going to the airport to catch a plane back to Italy. I’m not going to stay where I’m not wanted.
With Love,
Lilianna
Everything around me came crashing down as I reread the letter again before it slipped through my fingers onto the floor.
She wouldn’t be leaving me again. I wouldn’t allow it.