CHAPTER XIV
“ W here the hell are we?” Alphonse’s eyes darted around as we stepped out of the vehicle with my men, scanning the landscape with a mix of impatience and irritation that was almost comical. I couldn’t help but chuckle at his discomfort.
Alphonse shot me a glare that could have melted the snow around us. “Something funny?”
“Just a bit,” I said. “You act like I’m going to off you. Come on, Alphonse, you’re the most notorious motherfucker out there. If anyone’s going to off someone, it’s you.”
A flicker of amusement danced in his eyes as his lips curled into a smirk. “Is that what you kids are calling it these days? ‘Offing’ people?”
Before I could come up with a smart-ass comeback, Luca, Matteo, and Lo came to stand in front of the house.
I instructed my men to proceed ahead to secure the area as we were unfamiliar with the location Enzo had selected to hold Davina.
“How’s our guest?” I asked while tightening my jacket around me.
The corners of Luca's mouth twitched with dark amusement. “She’s been threatening to cut off my dick if I don’t let her out of here.”
I wanted to laugh, to release the pressure building inside me, but the reality of the situation had me tightly wound up, like a jack in a box ready to pop out and shoot a motherfucker.
We ventured into the house with Alphonse and his men trailing behind us.
Davina was sitting in the living room in a wooden chair, dressed in dark jeans that clung to her like a second skin; her black boots looked scuffed.
The stupid fluffy hood of her coat hung around her shoulders, and her hair was a tangled mess, sticking up as if she’d fought tooth and nail against Enzo’s men.
Tears streaked down her face, leaving smudged trails of makeup.
Enzo stood in front of her. “Remember what we talked about,” he reminded me.
I wanted to punch him in the face and tell him to fuck off, but my priority was to find my girl. So, for the moment, I played along, biding my time.
“What is this place?” Alphonse asked, looking around.
“It’s one of our safe houses,” Enzo replied.
I shot Enzo a pointed look. “I can’t ask her questions with you standing in my way.”
With a heavy sigh, he moved aside, allowing me to take my place on the coffee table.
“Davina.” Her name left my mouth like poison. I glared at the woman, ensuring my disdain was evident. “Do you know why you’re here?”
Tears continued to stream down her face, but she remained silent, her lips pressed together as if sealing away the truth.
“Nothing to say?” I taunted.
When her silence persisted, I leaned in closer, watching her shoulders quake with silent sobs. “Before I killed Walsh, he mentioned you were working with the Puppet Master to betray me. Is that true?” I demanded.
The mere mention of the name sent a shudder through her, and I could see the fight in her eyes waning.
“Davina, it’s a simple yes or no question. Are you working for him?” I asked again.
Davina’s chest heaved with shallow breaths, her eyes darting between me and Alphonse. “No, but I know who was working with him.”
Alphonse stiffened beside me. I could feel the tension radiating off him.
“Who?” I hissed. I clenched my fists tightly, my nails digging into my palms.
She inhaled sharply. “Lana. She told him you and I used to fuck. The Puppet Master contacted me with an ultimatum. To work for him , or he would kill me. But when he revealed that my job was to spy on you and report back to him…” Her voice hardened as she continued.
“When I refused, he slapped me around a bit, then he brought out Lana. After a while, he got a call and left us alone. That’s when she told me everything.
He threatened to kill her family if she didn’t comply.
Her job was to plant a device in your office and keep you distracted.
When you fired her, that fucker came after me .
I pretended to go along with it but ran off instead. ”
The room seemed to shrink as I processed this information, my anger growing with each passing second.
I rubbed my hands down my face. “Then what happened?”
“He came back in and killed her once he realized she wasn’t useful anymore.”
“Sei una stanza malta.” Alphonse hissed.
“You have to help me, Nico.” Davina’s voice quavered as the words escaped her lips. “He’s going to find me and kill me,” she cried. “If you were able to find me, so could he.”
“Why didn’t you come and tell me, Davina?” I asked.
If she had come to me instead of hiding, I would never have doubted Gigi, and that monster wouldn’t have taken the woman I loved as a pawn in his sick game.
“Wait a minute. How do we know this isn’t a trap?” Matteo’s eyes narrowed.
Davina shook her head. “N-no, it’s not a trap, I swear.”
“She’s always hated Gigi,” Luca reminded me. “This could all be a setup to throw you off.”
My gaze remained locked on hers. She clearly harbored a deep-seated hatred for Gigi that stemmed from my rejection of her. This could definitely be a trap.
“Jealousy is a dangerous weapon,” Alphonse added to the chorus of doubt.
“Do you know what happens when people lie to me, Davina?” I pressed, studying her expression for any hint of betrayal.
Davina’s body trembled involuntarily, a soft whimper escaping her lips as if she were guilty.
“DO YOU?” I roared in her face.
Something in me snapped when she still wouldn’t answer, and I wrapped my hands around her neck.
“Nico! Back off!” Enzo shouted.
“I’ll break your fucking neck if you don’t speak,” I snarled at Davina.
In that tense moment, a gun clicked against my skull as my men took aim at Enzo and his team.
“Put the gun down,” Alphonse warned Enzo.
“We’re not your enemy,” Enzo reminded us. “Nico, you promised not to kill her.”
“I lied,” I shot back, meeting Enzo’s gaze with cold defiance, watching as his face tightened into a scowl.
With a violent shove, I sent her sprawling, the chair clattering to the ground.
“If you had anything to do with this, Davina...” I couldn’t finish my threat; the pain was too raw, thinking what that monster was doing to my girl.
“I didn’t betray you. Please , Nico,” Davina pleaded.
I pulled her up by the neck, my grip firm as I forced her back into the chair. My gaze penetrated hers. “Not telling me and running away is a form of betrayal, Davina,” I growled, my voice dripping with contempt.
“I didn’t betray you! I would never betray you. Yes, I was jealous of her, but that is all I’m guilty of!”
I took a step back. For the first time in a long time, I saw vulnerability in Davina’s eyes—a flicker of the girl I once knew. But even the most beautiful could be dangerous, and I knew I could never trust her again.
Alphonse, his eyes sharp as daggers, interjected, “Can you describe the man who took you?”
“He was older, maybe around your age,” she replied, making eye contact with Alphonse. “Short salt and pepper hair, brown eyes, a goatee.”
Alphonse let out a sharp, exasperated sigh. “Great,” he muttered. “That narrows it down to, what, half the male population over forty?”
I shared his frustration.
“Tell me where they buried Lana.” I asked Davina.
Enzo frowned. “Why should that matter?”
“Because you and your team can collect evidence to determine where he could be.”
“I doubt they would be able to get anything useful. So, far he’s been good about hiding his tracks,” Alphonse replied.
“Maybe he slipped up this time.” I refocused on Davina. “Where is she?”
“The old, abandoned St. Mary's church.”
“Luca,” I called, sharpening my tone. “Search the area for any cameras and secure the perimeters. I want guards positioned miles within the area.”
Luca nodded, determination set in his jaw as he turned to his laptop, fingers flying over the keys.
I got to my feet and stood beside Alphonse.
“Is she telling the truth?” he asked quietly as he stared out the window at the white blanket of snow covering the field.
“I don’t fucking know anymore,” I replied. “But I hope she’s not stupid enough to lie and expect to be still breathing.”
Matteo chimed in, his brow furrowed in thought. “It would make sense that Lana could be the mole. After all, she was taken and sold in exchange to save her family.”
“The perfect victim to manipulate and control,” Enzo concurred.
A deafening barrage of gunfire interrupted our conversation, sending us reeling. The room echoed with the sharp cracks of bullets impacting the sturdy walls.
“Get down!” Enzo shouted, his voice barely cutting through the noise.
Panic ensued as everyone dove for cover.
“Secure the area, now!” Enzo commanded. “We need eyes on the cameras!”
Luca raced to the laptop, hurled himself to the floor along with the computer, and crouched beneath the table, using the sturdy piece of furniture as a barrier against the gunshots that rang out around us.
Miguel shattered the window’s glass with his gun. He crouched low, seeking cover as he returned fire. The rest of our guards joined, firing back fearlessly. The source of the gunfire was still unclear, hidden by the chaotic scene around us.
Alphonse hunched low behind the sturdy wall adjacent to the window, his fingers coiled tightly around the grip of his gun. Cautiously, he peered over the ledge. Bullets zipped through the air like angry hornets, one narrowly grazing the side of his face. He flinched and yanked himself back.
My eyes raced around the room, and my stomach dropped. There, on the floor behind me, Davina lay motionless on her stomach.
I rolled her over, my breath catching at the sight of her lifeless body, riddled with bullet holes.
“FUCK!” I bellowed as my forehead pressed against the floor when the gunfire ceased.
The rage flowing through me crystallized to ice.
I pushed myself off the cold wooden floor to my feet and whipped out my gun.
My beast was starving for vengeance. I burst out of the house, the wooden door flying open with a violent swing, the hinges snapping.
“Get your ass back here, Nico!” Enzo shouted.
“Nico! What the fuck are you doing?” Matteo’s voice boomed, but I was too focused on my mission to heed his warning.
With my gun trained on the field, I stood at the edge of the porch. I searched the surroundings for any movement but didn’t notice anything until a flash caught my attention. I cast a glance to my left, bolted, and fired several shots.
I stumbled across the shooter, his life slipping away as blood formed a pool around his body. I delivered a swift kick to his gun, sending it skittering across the floor. My boot pressed down on his neck.
“Who the hell are you? Did the Puppet Master send you?”
“Fu-fuck you,” he rasped.
Bending down, I grasped his rifle and jammed the barrel into his mouth, feeling the crunch of his teeth under its force.
The pathetic whimper that escaped his lips was music to my ears.
“No. Fuck you .” I pulled the trigger. The semi-automatic roared, obliterating his face. Tossing the rifle aside, I walked back toward the house, my boots crunching against the snow.
“Did you catch anyone?” Enzo asked as I reached the porch.
“Just one. He’s dead,” I declared.
“Did he give up anything before you killed him?” Alphonse inquired as I brushed past him.
Without breaking my stride, I came face to face with Enzo. “I thought this was supposed to be a safe house!” I spat, glaring into his eyes.
“Obviously, we’ve been compromised!” he retorted.
“Or maybe you orchestrated this little ambush yourself,” I countered.
He shook his head, a mocking scoff escaping his lips. “With me and my men still here? I’m not behind this bullshit! What do I gain by jeopardizing myself and my men?”
“Which could only mean one thing. You have a traitor in your ranks,” Alphonse interjected sharply, his eyes narrowed.
Enzo’s gaze swung to him, disbelief flashing across his face before he turned back to me. “I trust my men.”
“Whatever the fuck is happening, we need to get the hell out of here before whoever’s behind this decides to come back and finish us off,” Matteo urged.
I needed answers before this nightmare escalated any further.