Chapter Twenty
A disturbing buzz wakes me up from my sleep.
I don't remember falling asleep and I certainly don't remember falling asleep in a bed, next to Althea.
Her body faces mine and her legs are tangled with mine. Althea's hand is on my naked chest and sleeps without a care in the world. I admire her beautiful face and her relaxed figure.
She's so fucking breathtaking and I swear my heart can't take it.
The buzz comes again and I look at the bedside table on Althea's part. How isn't she waking up? That thing is loud.
I try to clear my vision, the darkness in the room making it harder and I lean over Althea trying to not wake her. I take the buzz realizing that is her phone. The number is foreign and my blood start to boil.
What if that bastard Ivan is calling her?
I answer and I'm ready to let out a series of curses when a small cry calls for something.
"Sorella?" His sob takes away his words.
Vincent.
"What's wrong?" I ask loudly, my heart beating like crazy. I look at Althea and she's still asleep.
Is she fucking dead?
"Keaton?" He asks like he's trying to remember my name.
"It's me, bud. Why are you crying?" My voice is soft. I need to remind myself that he's five and not a heartless human like his father.
He says something but his sobs are too powerful and I can't understand anything.
"Take a big breath and tell me what's wrong." I say to him in a calm tone.
"Please come and take me, I'll be good I swear." His cries are making me go feral. He's scared. His voice is desperate and I think about the only possibility.
Hanibal.
I will kill him if he touched even a lash from Vincent.
"Are you in danger, Vincent?" I say the words with a nod in my throat.
"H-he's angry and there was b-blood," His stutter is all I need to snap.
"Stay where you are, we'll be there." His sigh of relief is all I hear then. "If anything happens, call me. You understand, Vincent?" I make sure he gets it.
"Okay." His little voice whispers.
With tight muscles and fists I grab my own phone to call my private pilot to get the jet ready to leave for Italy.
I almost broke the wardrobe doors as I take some clothes of mine and Althea's and put them in a bag. I take from our bathroom the things we need and then go straight to my wife who is still fucking sleeping.
"Althea?" I shake her a little and nothing. Not even bombs can wake her.
I shake her more and I start to get anxious because she doesn't even move. I lower until my head is on her breasts and when I feel her chest moving, I let out a sigh.
I move my eyes to her bedside table and my eyes grow at the box that has Italian titles, but the sleeping moon on it makes me realize what the box is for.
Sleeping pills.
Why is she taking them? How many did she take?
Knowing that not even water can wake her, I run to the garage to take one of her heavy dogs. I enter it and the sudden voice makes the dogs unsteady and ready to rip me apart.
I give them one of Althea's tops to smell it and then their tails are wiggling in excitement. Before to run again to my sleeping beauty I stop at my BMW in horror.
What the fuck happened?
My car is scratched in white lines that form at the ending in a fucking heart. And I know instantly who did it.
Oh, little fox, you like to play?
I let all my dirty thoughts aside when Anubis barks.
I take them to our room already cringing when I see their dirty paws on my floor and bed. The dogs lick Althea like crazy, putting all of their weight on her.
She groans and tries to move her precious babies off her.
"We need to go to Italy, Althea." I say serious and she stands immediately.
"What? Why?" She asks with wide eyes. I look at her knowing that she'll go crazy no matter what way I use.
"Vincent called." And the fear is alive in her eyes. She looks at her phone and sees that he indeed, called.
Althea starts getting ready, her face almost
breaking. I can see that she blames herself for not answering to him in the first place.
"Althea." I grab her arm trying to make her look at me, but she's stubborn like that.
"Let's not waste time, okay?" Her voice is weak, hoarse.
"It's not your fault." I say confident. She looks at me finally, but I wish she didn't.
The hurt on her face breaks my heart. I can't stand seeing her like this. I'd rather be stabbed a hundred times than see her in this much pain.
"I missed his call because I was sleeping, Keaton!" She snaps at me. "He never called before because he knows I would freak out." Her chest is moving fast and her hands grab a black hoodie of mine. Althea wants to move past me but I take her face between my hands and force her to look at me.
"I know you're angry at yourself but I answered, Althea. We're going right now to him. It's okay." She looks at me with her glossy eyes that makes my knees weak.
"It's not enough. I wasn't there to calm him down." Her voice gets angrier and weaker. Althea moves out of my touch and grabs her phone and dogs leaving the room.
I'll get Vincent out of there even if I have to start a war with his snake of a father.
The hot Italian air makes me sweat with the first step out of the plane. The hours we spent in the air felt
like years. I tried to convince Althea that Vincent is fine and that he is scared, but she's not having it.
She needs to see with her own eyes that her little brother isn't hurt.
I walk down the steps of the plane and see my bodyguards with their faces covered in purple and green streaks. I remember the interrogation from last night like it just happened.
"I'm asking you this for the last time, Harper." And I smash my fist into his bloody face. He groans and looks at me with everything but hate. "Do you know where Ivan is?"
He takes a few breathes and then with a whisper he says the same thing as before, "I'm loyal to you, Boss. I don't know where Ivan is and I definitely don't know about his moves."
I did the same thing with all my guards. I let Ivan near Keres, near fucking Althea without seeing anything suspicious. I curse myself again and again because if something happens to Althea I'll burn this world until I know her ghost is at peace.
One of the guards gives me the key to the car and the other is opening the door for Althea and Venus.
It's the first time I see Venus quiet. I know she blames herself for leaving Vincent alone, but if Hanibal wants to do something to his son, he'll do it.
A mafia huntress won't stop him.
I get behind the wheel and I start the engine without a second thought. I step on the gas pedal and hear the wheels squeal under the pressure and speed. We're going way over the limit, but I'd like to see someone dare to stop me.
I look over at Althea and I see her legs anxiously shaking. She looks at the city like she can't recognize it. Calculating my next moves carefully, I put my hand on my wife's thigh and squeeze the soft skin that hides under the white sweatpants.
The touch makes her jump a little bit and wake her to reality. Althea looks at me and I want to ask her so many things, but I know her too well.
"Will he come with us?" She asks with a little voice. I frown and she adds quickly. "Will Vincent come with us in Chicago?" And in that moment, I know that she needs to know what will happen next.
"I won't let him stay here for another day, Althea." With a little nod, I see the way her chest calms down. A red traffic light is in front of us and I look around seeing the city pretty free and I accelerate. There are a few horns but I don't give a shit. And neither are the girls.
I hear Venus sigh angrily and then a fist appears in my back.
"Cazzo!" She says repeatedly.
"Venus it's not your fault. He's not your responsibility." Althea tries to calm her friend down.
"I promised you I'll take care of him and look what happened." Althea doesn't argue back. She looks tired. Fucking done with her life and that brings an uneasy feeling in me.
The castle appears in our vision and when I park the car, the doors fly away and the girls run to into the house. I see the servants looking at me with wide eyes as I enter the snake's den.
"Uccellino, what a surprise." I hear the growl in Hanibal's voice and my steps are bigger. I find them in the big old library that the Luciano's have and I see Hanibal looking at Althea with hateful eyes. Venus
is next to Althea, ready to turn Hanibal into little pieces.
"Where's he?" I smirk at her voice. Not even a tremble.
"Chi?" His dumb question doesn't play anyone.
"Playing dumb and innocent isn't your thing, remember?" Althea snarls at him. Something about what she said makes his eyes darken and his palm turn into fists. I see his hand rise and that's when I lose it.
I move quickly and grab his collar, smashing him to the books behind.
"If I see you raise your hand at her again, I'll cut it and throw it to your precious snakes." I snap in his face. He grabs my shoulders and tries to take me off him, but my guards are faster and they immediately pin him down.
I turn toward Althea and she looks at me with a raised eyebrow. I go in front of her, blocking her vision on her father.
"Go find him and pack all of his necessities." I say and she quickly leaves with Venus behind her. I motion two of my men to go with them and I turn to my dear father-in-law.
His eyes have fire in them and I know if looks can kill, I'll be in my grave.
"If you take my son away from me, I'll kill every single member of your family." Hanibal yells like he has some power over me.
I crouch down in front of him and look in his eyes.
"Your threats are useless. You lost your son the moment he called for help." He begins to fidget but to no avail. "Vincent is my heir. He needs to be strong and merciless, but he turned out just like his whore of a sister." At his words, I feel my blood boil and my beast coming out.
My fist meets his face in a powerful punch that almost breaks his jaw. I grab his blond hair in my hand and I smash it against the floor.
"I'll make you regret your words until you wish to have your tongue removed." I growl in his face. "And I'll start with taking Vincent away." And I smash his head again.
Taking Vincent away from him is a hit to his pride. And I want him down on his knees in front of me.
In front of her.
I punch him again when the image of his raised fist takes ahold of my memory again. I'll kill him right now if I could.
But he knows things that I don't.
I hear steps coming near us and I turn a little to see Venus with a bag in her hand and Althea with her hand on Vincent head. The little boy has his arms wrapped tightly around her legs and he looks shyly around him.
Vincent starts to be more clingy to his sister when his father looks at him with hatred.
I smack him a third time and this time his head stays on the floor. I see stains of blood on my hands and I wipe them with Hanibal's white shirt.
"Ma che cazzo!" A new voice is heard and we all turn to the door and look at Enrique.
The other snake joined the party.
His angry look makes me want to punch him too. His gaze goes to Vincent and Althea and he starts going in their direction and before I can move, I hear a growl.
A shadow from behind Althea comes slowly out making Enrique stop. Vincent takes his head out from Althea's legs and touches the shadow with his little fingers.
"On your guard, Scarface." He whispers and the shadow starts to growl more. When it's in full light, my men and Enrique start backing down when the black panther makes room for Althea and Vincent.
You're kidding, right God?
Ain't no way I'll be sheltering a fucking panther now.
Where the fuck did she find a panther?
They move behind as the panther leads them outside of this prison.
I shake my head and I go toward the door feeling a hand stopping me. I look at Enrique and I raise my eyebrow at him.
"If you don't want to be like your Capo, I suggest taking your hands off me." His hand squeezes my arm harder.
"Ask your wife what happened on her twenty-first birthday and you'll see my Capo is right." And he lets me go.
I look at him angry and I leave before I do something that will make me regret.
I exit the mansion and I look at Althea's soft face as she puts Vincent in the car.
What the fuck happened on her birthday?