42. Manuel
FORTY-TWO
MANUEL
M y phone rang again and I let it go to voicemail— again . I didn’t tolerate interruptions when I was on a call with the Omertà members. Today’s topic was particularly tense as we discussed the status of the Romero girls who were still missing. Their father was ready to wage all-out war to bring them back—not that I could blame him.
The sheer terror of someone causing harm to my unborn child or my wife caused a tightness in my chest. I’d lived among violence my entire life and it had never bothered me.
Until now.
Now it made me paranoid that destiny would catch up to me and it’d be my family that would pay for my sins. And that wouldn’t fucking do.
I drummed my fingers restlessly. Athena was in town right now and I regretted not going with her, but this call couldn’t be rescheduled.
My cell rang again and I flicked a glance at the screen. The moment I saw Umbrio’s name, a feeling of dread took shape in the pit of my stomach.
I muted the call.
“What happened?” I barked into the phone.
“The Triads,” he wheezed, his breathing labored. “Someone must have betrayed us. It was an ambush. They knew we’d be there.”
“ Cazzo . Where is my wife?”
“They grabbed her.” I squeezed the cell in my hand. “I’ve been shot, but the bulletproof vest eased the hit. Before I could get myself together, they were gone.”
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
“Did you see who took her?”
“No. I made it near the emergency exit and then I was down. The moment I was up, I called you.”
Dread spread through my body like poison, the voices on my call nothing but white noise as I attempted to think rationally.
“Does she have her wedding ring on?” Unbeknownst to Athena, I had a tracker inserted in her ring even though I hoped I’d never have to use it.
Umbrio coughed. “I don’t know.”
I disconnected the Omertà call, then put Umbrio on speaker as I pulled up the tracking app. The software instantly connected and a red dot blinked, displaying my wife’s whereabouts.
Cazzo , the distance was growing by the minute.
“They didn’t waste any time. They’ve taken her off the island,” I gritted. “Can you get back to the castello or should I have someone pick you up?”
“I’ll be back in thirty minutes.”
I cut the line and called my men in. Time was of the essence.
I replayed the video of the masked men barging into the doctor’s office a thousand times, searching for any clues I might’ve missed. Something was nagging at me, but I couldn’t put my finger on what. Their intel was from someone close to us because they knew exactly where they were going, bypassing all the other doctors’ rooms until they reached Athena’s.
How did the Triads know she was on this island? Nobody, not even the Omertà, knew I had a place here. Did they have a contact at the hospital? Did someone alert them of her appointment?
“There’s someone here to see you, Signore Marchetti,” one of my men announced, cutting into my spiraling thoughts.
“I’m not taking visitors,” I barked, shoving a gun in my ankle holster.
I continued to stare at the red dot flashing on my phone screen, terrified it would disappear if I so much as blinked.
“I’d say it’s a perfect time for a visit.” A familiar voice had my head snapping up. Danil Popov and Soren stood in the doorway of my office, dressed for combat.
Something dark and hungry for destruction awakened inside my chest. In the blink of an eye, I was on him, my gun shoved against his throat.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” I bellowed. “Who are you working with?”
Nobody was supposed to find us on this island. Fucking nobody.
A black hole threatened to swallow me at the thought of losing Athena. An abyss of darkness unleashed, eager for slaughter and punishment.
“You need my help,” Danil stated calmly, ignoring my gun pressed against his Adam’s apple.
“Did you betray your own sister?” I hissed.
“I didn’t,” he said matter-of-factly. “I told Enrico her mother was not to be trusted. You should have heeded my warning.”
Soren’s hand came to rest on my shoulder and I wanted nothing more than to slice it off.
“Manuel, be practical. Why would we be here if we were working with the Triads?” He was making sense, but when it was my wife and unborn child who were in danger, it was impossible to keep a level head. “We’re here to get Athena back.”
I glanced between the two men, the sheer terror of losing Athena setting my teeth on edge.
“Forgive me for not believing a word coming out of your mouth,” I said, snarling at him like a wild dog. I still remembered the words of the Triads’ man we tortured in the dungeon.
To his credit, Danil remained calm, unaffected by my temper.
“The only thing I want is for Athena to be safe. She’s been through enough.” The haze of fury slowly cleared and I could hear the sincerity in his voice. “I’ve watched over her from the shadows since she was twelve. Since the Triads tried to bury her alive.”
I took a step back, still clutching my gun but no longer aiming it at Danil.
“Explain,” I hissed.
He pinched the bridge of his nose. “I knew of Athena from the moment she was born, although my father didn’t. Not at first.”
“You need to speed this up,” I gritted. “Every minute counts and I need to get my wife back.” Or I’d lose my goddamn mind. “And if there’s even a scratch on her, I’m taking down every fucking organization on this planet.”
“Fuck,” Soren muttered, rubbing his eyes with his fingers.
“I’m sure you did your homework,” Danil continued, “so you know about my father fucking over the Triads, the Albanians, and the Cortes cartel, but you should also know we… I settled those cash debts. Except there was one thing that no amount of cash could settle.”
Dread pooled in my stomach. I suspected this was the missing piece that I was searching for.
“What was that?” I asked.
“The death of an innocent child.”
“You’re not making any sense.”
“After Lykos Costello kicked Alexandra out, she set my father’s house on fire, burning it to the ground… along with a baby. Qian Long’s sister.”
I froze, struggling to find the words. I expected a lot of fucked-up shit from Alexandra, but that was unfathomable. Qian Long was the current head of the Triads, and he was as ruthless as he was unforgiving.
“Alexandra killed a baby?” I asked, my voice sounding strange to my own ears. The Triads had the mentality of an eye for an eye. And if they knew of Athena’s pregnancy?—
Porca puttana!
When I got my hands on Alexandra, I would make the vindictive bitch pay. Losing my wife would destroy me—break me—and Alexandra knew that.
“Her mother told the Triads where to find us,” I choked out. “Where to find my wife.”
There was no other explanation. Athena even told me her mother sounded excited when she spoke to her last.
That lying, conniving bitch.
Danil nodded. “It’s how we knew. We had her phone bugged.”
Cazzo.
And I brought that fucking traitor into my home. “And your meeting with the Triads a few weeks ago?”
I couldn’t trust anyone. Not when it was my wife’s life in danger—our child’s life.
“I wanted to arrange a marriage,” Danil explained. “Between the Triads and the Popov family. To bring peace.”
I was surprised my teeth didn’t crack from how hard I was clenching them.
“You were going to marry her off,” I snarled. “ My woman.”
“That was Qian’s conclusion too,” he explained calmly. “He assumed I’m trying to marry Nicki or Athena to him.”
“And you aren’t?”
“No. My intention is to marry the woman everyone presumed dead.” I stared at him, waiting for an explanation. I didn’t have to wait long. “Mei Long.”
“How does one marry a dead person?” I said, my voice cool and detached.
The room went silent as we stared at each other.
“See, that’s just it,” he said, throwing his arms out. “Alexandra let the Triads believe she killed the girl, when in fact she’d taken the baby to the States.”
I frowned at him. “Why would she do that?”
“Haven’t you learned yet?” Danil stated, his expression dark. “Alexandra Kosta is a vindictive, spiteful bitch. Think about it, what better way to get back at my father than to make him a permanent target?”
“Except it backfired,” I pointed out. “She became the target too.” And so did Athena.
“It did,” he confirmed. Something was still off. Alexandra wasn’t that stupid to think the Triads would have let her live. The Triads knew Atticus wasn’t anywhere near Greece when his home was set alight.
“I’m assuming Atticus told them Alexandra did it?”
“Yes. When the Triads learned Atticus’s mistress had started the fire, they went after her, but she had long disappeared. Then she reappeared in Italy with a child, and they went after Athena. It was only then that my father learned he had another daughter.”
“Because they stopped coming after him.”
Danil nodded. “Instead, they got their hands on Athena while her mother was on a fool’s errand to get her lover back… You.”
“I was never her lover,” I gritted. “And if you did your homework, you would know that.”
He shrugged. “Honestly, I didn’t give a shit back then and I still don’t now. My sister was all that mattered; she’s innocent in all this.”
“You’re the one who paid Nico Morrelli to wipe all traces of Athena.” That was the reason finding her was impossible. Until destiny put her back in my path.
He nodded.
“I did. When she left her at boarding school, I stopped covering Alexandra. It was better that way, what with her being an opera singer and easily trackable.”
“Why didn’t you approach Athena?” It was impossible to miss the bitterness in my voice. “She could’ve used a family.”
“It was safest for her. But then my father, in his own quest to find her, inadvertently exposed the truth that she was alive and well. So the hunt for Athena resumed.” Danil pushed his hand through his hair. “He considers Athena his second chance in life.”
It was incomprehensible that Atticus Popov—the man who traded flesh—had a weak spot, and that it was his illegitimate daughter.
Unless he wanted to use her too.