Chapter Thirty-Eight-Luc
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT-LUC
N ico is driving, and in my rearview, I see Angel following us in his big, suped up matte black SUV.
“Do you have her location?” Nico asks.
“Yeah, they’re headed down West Side Avenue,” I growl.
I watch as the little dot that signifies Maria is getting farther and farther away from me and a tidal wave of emotion slams into me.
It is cold and hard. And it’s trying to drown me.
It’s fear.
I have to work at it, but I finally push it away.
I have no room for fear. No room for error.
I close my eyes and I exhale.
Fear can’t help Maria now. She needs me to be strong.
And what stronger force is there on this earth besides love?
“We’ll get her,” Nico says.
“I know we will. We have to. I love her,” I say it for the first time out loud.
It’s not enough. She needs to be the one to hear it. But it is a start.
And it frees me
“They stopped,” I practically shout.
I run off the address to Nico, and he adjusts our course.
“We don’t tell Anna any of this. She has enough to deal with.”
I nod. Anna is his wife, and he can ask anything he wants of me where she is concerned.
My blood is roaring in my ears. I feel the need for violence well inside of me and it’s like welcoming an old friend.
Matteo has no fucking idea what he’s brought down on him and his whole family.
Business is one thing.
It’s like a game of logic and chance and whoever has the biggest balls, the most money and power wins.
But he came for my woman. My Maria. And that makes this personal.
This is about attacking the Vipers. Our family. Our loved ones.
That’s a big fucking no-no.
“Angel is calling everyone in. We’re convening at the location,” Nico says.
“We’re gonna get her back, Luc,” he adds, and I nod.
The Vipers are moving as one. We’re getting into position to ambush our prey.
I feel rage pumping through my veins. Some people say it’s poison, but now it’s not.
It’s fuel. It is exactly what I need to get through this.
I focus. I make a list of who I am and what Matteo Sanchez did.
I am Luc Batiste.
Lawyer.
Businessman.
Tycoon.
I am the Council for the motherfucking Vipers.
And this piece of shit took what’s mine.
Now, I’m out for blood.
He attacked me on my turf. On our turf.
The Vipers are an organization that thrives on loyalty.
When one is under siege, we all feel the insult. And we all deliver the punishment together.
It’s been a while since we acted. Since we hit back inside the city limits. Hard and out in the open.
Matteo Sanchez fucked with the wrong woman.
I will get my Baby Girl back and when I do, I will make sure everyone knows just how fucking impermissible it is for anyone to fuck with my woman. With any of our women.
Our kingdom might be forged on lies. But there is one truth in all of this. There is one thing that no one can refute.
It’s the one thing circling my brain.
One absolute certainty. And it goes for everybody.
You fuck with a Viper, you get bit. And no one walks away from that.
Matteo Sanchez is about to be wiped from the face of the planet. How he goes will depend on what I find.
He better fucking pray I find her whole.
Unmolested. Safe and sound.
I can’t believe she was taken right off the street. Anger fills me and I know I am being irrational.
But I’m mad at everyone.
At the driver, who wasn’t at his post.
At my girl for walking off alone. At me for not being there.
At this piece of shit I’m about to kill.
It’s a waste of energy and I force myself to stop. Fact is, she is gone. Taken. He has her.
And I am going to get her back. I have to.
Fear pierces my heart, and it’s sharp as a hollowed bullet.
Motherfucker just took her. Like a flower. He just plucked her from the street.
My mind is made up. I exhale and it ends in a rolling hiss.
I'm going to kill Matteo Sanchez.
There is no sanctuary for him.
Today, the absolute destruction of the Sanchez cartel has been etched in stone.
I already have my team moving to push them out of all their legal businesses.
Dozens of tips and files are being sent to the authorities. And leaks of Sanchez’s involvement with drug and arms running have been sent to the local authorities.
Their putrid little existence is over.
This is their end.
They just don’t know it yet.
It all starts now.