Chapter 44 #2
"Okay, I have a plan, and I need you to hear me out." My voice was steady despite the danger of what I was proposing. "Your father's men are looking for Rhea. They know her car, her routines."
He leaned back a smidge and asked carefully, "What are you suggesting?"
"I take her place," I said simply. "I'll take over her routine. Get a wig so I’ll look like her. Dress like her, behave like her, call in sick to work, answer her text messages, and drive her car for the next few days. Let them think I'm her."
Gavriel's reaction was immediate and violent. He gripped my shoulders, his eyes wild with fear and rage. "Absolutely not. That's suicide, Elin!"
"It's the perfect distraction," I countered, refusing to back down. "They'll take me to your father's compound. Once I'm inside—"
"Once you're inside, they'll realize you're not Rhea and they'll kill you! If the guys who kidnap you don’t." We stared at each other for a long moment before he continued, “Besides, it won’t work. Everyone knows what Rhea looks like.”
“Rhea mentioned once—” He lifted an eyebrow in question, but I continued, “She mentioned that the new guards she’s had recently are new hires.
” I placed my hand on his chest, feeling his heart hammering beneath my palm.
"I can handle myself, Pretty Boy. And I have my own reasons for wanting your father dead. He killed mine, remember?"
His hands slid down to my waist as he pulled me close. "Elin . . ."
"Your father pulled the trigger that killed my dad, and he has done nothing but torment you and Rhea your entire lives."
Gavriel turned away, running a hand through his hair in frustration. "I can't let you do this. The risk is too great."
"It's not your decision to make," I said firmly.
"This is my choice. My revenge. I’m asking you to join me.
I need the person responsible for my father's death, the man who thinks he can use his children as objects and not humans, the man who treats his son with such disrespect that he believes he can’t make his own decisions, eradicated from this earth. "
"I’m not fighting you on whether or not he dies. I agree, but there has to be another way," he insisted, desperation creeping into his voice. "We can draw him out, set a trap—"
"Your father never leaves the compound without an army of guards," I reminded him, steeling my resolve. "We have to do this inside. This is our best chance."
Gavriel paced, his mind clearly racing through scenarios, looking for alternatives. Finding none, he stopped, fixing me with a gaze so intense it nearly took my breath away.
"If they hurt you . . . ," he began, his voice thick with emotion.
"They won't get the chance," I promised. "I'll have a tracker on me. Your men will be ready to move in once I'm inside. It's the distraction we need. They will announce they have Rhea, and you can meet me there when they go to deliver me to Juarez."
He shook his head, still resistant. "The compound is a fortress. Even if we get inside, the odds of getting out alive—"
"Are better than the odds of your sister escaping Juarez," I finished for him. I knew the risk I was taking. "This ends now, Gavriel. One way or another."
For several long moments, he stood silent, the weight of the decision visibly crushing him. Finally, his shoulders slumped slightly in surrender.
He closed the distance between us, cupping my face in his hands with unexpected gentleness. "I can't lose you too," he whispered, his voice breaking slightly.
The vulnerability in his eyes made my chest ache. I leaned forward, pressing my forehead against his. "You won't. I promise."
His lips met mine in a desperate kiss, as if he could somehow keep me safe through sheer force of will. When we broke apart, the Owl’s Talon had returned, his eyes cold and calculating, his posture rigid with deadly purpose.
"Let's make some lunch," he said stiffly, heading for the kitchen. "We have work to do."
A sense of relief went through me that he was on board. Don Ezequiel Azzaro would die, and with him the ghost of my father could finally rest. The price might be steep, possibly my life, but some debts could only be paid in blood.
"I need to know Rhea's driving routes. I can deviate from them knowing he’s looking everywhere for her so it looks like she’s trying to stay hidden. It shouldn’t take too long for them to find me.”
Gavriel's hands tightened on the knife he was using to make sandwiches. "Harley can provide her schedule and the routes she typically takes."
"I'll need her clothes too," I continued. "Something she wears regularly that they'd recognize."
He nodded, his mind clearly racing ahead. "I can get her red coat from her apartment. She wears it almost daily. And her sunglasses."
"Good. What about the car? Where is it now?"
"Parked downstairs. I had Harley move it."
I leaned back against the counter, closing my eyes briefly. "Once they take me, you'll have a limited window to move. They'll realize I'm not Rhea quickly."
"I'll have teams stationed at strategic points around the compound," he said, slipping into the tactical mindset that had earned him his reputation. "Harley's already identifying which guards are loyal to me versus my father."
"And Juarez?"
Gavriel's expression darkened. "He’s staying in one of the guest homes at the Azzaro compound. He dies too. If not, we hunt him down afterward."
I nodded, satisfied with his answer. "Once this is done, you'll need to secure your position as Don. There can't be any question of succession."
"There won't be," he promised, his voice cold with certainty. "By the time we're finished, the Azzaro family will be mine to command."
The implications of what we were planning settled between us. This was not just revenge or a rescue, but a complete reshaping of power. Gavriel would emerge as Don Azzaro, with all the influence and responsibility that it entailed.
"And after?" I asked quietly. "What happens to us when you're Don?"
His eyes met mine briefly before returning to the plates. "Everything changes," he admitted. "And nothing does. I'll still be yours, Goddess. Always."
The sincerity in his voice made something flutter in my chest. "Then we end this, once and for all."
As we sat with our lunch, I silently prayed that I wasn't leading us both to destruction. But some risks were worth taking and some vengeance worth dying for.
Don Ezequiel Azzaro had taken everything from me once. I wouldn't give him the chance to do it again.