Sovereign Oaths (Velez Mafia Shifters #2)

1. Emilia

CHAPTER 1

I tiptoed back to bed and put my phone back on the charger before slipping under the sheets next to Alessio. He hadn’t stirred. No one in the house had. I listened for movement or voices.

Nothing.

So far, I was the only one aware of the intruders.

I told Javier to go because I wasn’t willing to give up all the work we’d done. I hadn’t come this far, gotten this close to Alessio, to throw it away in one night.

Whoever was coming would be dealt with. Just not by the guys. Or me.

Which meant Alessio’s guards needed to wake up.

I reached over and shook his tanned shoulder. He didn’t move, so I pressed harder. “Babe?”

“?Amor?” His brown eyes snapped open, and he sat up, his dark hair mused. “?Qué pasa?”

He’d never spoken to me in Spanish. Was I supposed to understand? I couldn’t remember if I told him I could or not. He clearly wasn’t in his right mind, and I didn’t have time to play dumb.

“I think I heard something.” I pushed fear into my voice, hoping that would spur him into action.

“Está bien.” He took my hand and kissed my knuckles.

No está bien. ?Es malo!

“Vuelve a la cama.” He dropped his head to his pillow.

No going back to sleep, amigo!

“Alessio, please. I swear there’s someone or something outside.”

He sighed and sat up. “If there were anything, the guards would have seen it already. If they didn’t raise the alarm, then there is nothing to worry about.”

Unless the guards have already been taken out.

“Could you just ask them to look? It would make me feel better.”

The raw panic in my voice finally made him take me seriously. I sent the guys away, so they weren’t coming to our rescue. If his men didn’t see the intruders, they’d be inside within minutes—if they weren’t already.I wasn’t only worried for my safety at this moment. Against my better judgment, and training, I was also concerned for him. My unwelcomed feelings of attachment to him were a problem to worry about later. I could mule over what they meant and how disloyal I might be to the guys and my Pack when I wasn’t positive we were under attack.

“Sure, amor.” He rolled toward his nightstand, picked up the landline, and pressed a button.

The ringing went unanswered. His brows pulled together as he hung up briefly, then pressed a different number.

“Boss?” a male voice answered.

“Why isn’t the guardhouse answering?”

“I’m not sure.” Muffled grumbling followed his answer, as if he was talking to someone else. “I’m sending someone to check now.”

Alessio pulled on his pajama pants with the phone tucked between his cheek and shoulder. “Run a full visual on the perimeter now.”

“Yes, sir.”

Alessio set the phone down and held out his hand. “Come with me.”

I didn’t hesitate. He led me out of the room and down the hall to a door with a tablet next to it on the wall. He put his hand against the screen, and the system scanned for a few seconds before it changed to a pin pad. He typed in the code, and the door clicked a few times, unlocking, before he slid it open.

“I’ll check on things. I’m sure it’s nothing, but I want to be sure.” He gave me a reassuring smile that didn’t meet his eyes.

“Alessio.” I clung to his arm. “What’s going on?”

“Probably nothing. I’ll send mi madre to sit with you. No one else will enter. If they try, she knows what to do.”

He kissed me and turned before I could ask anything else, like what the hell he meant by that.

The door closed, and several distinct clicks filled the room, locking me in. I turned to take in the space. It was smaller than Alessio’s room, with a queen bed, couch, two armchairs, and a cabinet about three feet wide, seven feet tall, and a foot deep. No windows. No closets.

I examined the cabinet. It didn’t have a lock, so I tugged it open to reveal four monitors and a row of shotguns hanging above three handguns and four drawers. I peeked into each. Ammo, water, nonperishables, and a satellite phone.

This was the panic room.

I’d just shut the cabinet doors when the clicks sounded again.

Maria rushed in and pulled me into her arms. “Siento, Millie.”

I pulled back. “You have nothing to apologize for.”

She shook her head. “This is my home. You should be safe here.”

“So should you.” I squeezed her hands. “Alessio didn’t seem too worried. He’ll be back in a second and tell us it was nothing.”

She didn’t seem convinced but patted my cheek and went to the cabinet. “Don’t be scared.” With the precision of an expert, she pulled out a handgun and loaded it. “We’ll be fine, but just in case.”

Of course she knew how to use one. As the wife and mother of the leaders of an organized crime family, it made sense.

But Millie wouldn’t be calm about seeing her boyfriend’s petite, gentle mother whip one out.

“You can use that?” Enough adrenaline coursed through the nerves in my body that I didn’t need to fake the quiver in my voice.

She dipped her head. “Yes. It’s wise to be able to defend yourself, especially as a single woman.”

Right. That was a great explanation. As if she didn’t have two dozen armed guards to protect her and her home.

Millie stayed in shock mode, too rattled to question the woman with the gun.

“Come sit.” Maria moved to the couch and patted the spot next to her.

I glanced at the monitors as I passed. “Will those show what’s going on?”

“Yes, but it’s best to leave it to my son and our men for now.”

Did she not want me to see what was happening? Probably. Sweet, innocent Millie from California wasn’t used to seeing guns or killing, so she’d try to shield me from her family’s dark truth.

“I hope Alessio is okay.” I stared down at my hands, rubbing my thumb over the area he kissed on my knuckles.

His mother gave my knee a gentle squeeze. “He will be just fine. He’s just waiting on an update from the guards. I’m sure it’s nothing though. The alarm would have sounded.”

I wasn’t sure if either of them truly believed that or if it was something else to try to make me feel better. Alarm systems were nice, but more often than not, any pro with a brain could navigate easily around them. At least, I had to assume these intruders were professionals and not fools.

“You have a panic room.” I couldn’t pretend this was normal. I sat and angled to face her. “Has this happened before?”

“Unfortunately, yes. A house like this is often a target for thieves.” She patted my knee again as if that would comfort me after her ominous admission.

Did she really think this was a regular home invasion? I couldn’t read her expression. She was a master at controlling her emotions and reactions.

“Often?”

She bobbed her head. “Less than you’re probably thinking, but enough that my husband had this room built.”

Fair enough.

“And this is normal in Cuba?”

“Unfortunately.”

Her face didn’t betray her, but I knew she was lying. She could claim this was just about living in a nice house, but she had to think I was a fool to believe her.

“Why don’t you move in with Alessio then? It would be safer.”

Her spine straightened. “This is my home. I will not be moved.”

No, she’d rather sleep while armed men scaled the walls and murdered her security team.

Turning on the monitors and figuring out what was happening was tempting, but I couldn’t. Hopefully, we wouldn’t be in here long. It shouldn’t take more than five minutes to get the situation under control with how many guards they had on the property.

What would Millie do in this situation?

Should I be more nervous? Cry? Ask more questions?

So far, I’d followed Maria’s lead, staying quiet and calm. Was that the appropriate response for someone who’d never been in a situation like this?

What was I supposed to know? I’d heard a noise. The guardhouse wasn’t answering, and Alessio wanted to check on things. Maria thought it was a burglary.

Those things alone shouldn’t cause a full panic attack, not without having seen something like a body. We hadn’t been chased, and Alessio and his mom both kept treating this as just a precaution, nothing to fuss over.

Yet.

Her eyes flashed to her phone between us on the couch a dozen times before the locks clanked, and Alessio stepped inside with two men behind him.He hurried to me, only checking his mom briefly before taking my hand and helping me to my feet.

“We need to go.”

“What? What’s going on?”

Maria rose and stood between the men. “?Qué pasó?”

“Eran doce hombres. Italianos. Todos estan muertos, y dos de nuestros hombres,” one of the men told her.

I turned to Alessio. I couldn’t pretend like I didn’t understand all of that. Twelve men were dead, plus two of their own. But one thing stood out in the worst way. “Italians?”

Anger flashed across his face. “We need to go. Now.”

“Why would Italians be breaking into your mom’s house?” I demanded before looking at her. “You said it was probably a robbery. By locals, right?”

Her lie didn’t rattle me, but news of the Italians actually put my nerves on edge.

“I don’t know why they were here.” He tugged on my hand, but I stood firm.

“Italians like your buddy Brazzi? Is this him? Is he here?”

Alessio lifted his chin and blew out a breath. “He’s not, but we believe they were his men.”

I stepped back, pulling my hand free from his. This was no longer acting. What the fuck was going on?

“Why? Why would he send them here?”

Why not attack Alessio in Miami?

Was his mom the target?

That made no sense. Not unless I was missing some critical pieces.

Oh, shit.

This was about me.

But why wait? Why come here?

Because Alessio was vulnerable. This was an impromptu trip. He didn’t have all his normal men. He depended on his mother’s staff to protect us.

“Alessio.” I couldn’t stop myself from shaking.

I told the guys to go. Did they know? Where were they? How far away?

No, they couldn’t come in. Not now. If they’d been able to take care of the Italians silently, they would have. Javier called me because he knew they were outnumbered. They couldn’t attack in their wolf forms, and they probably weren’t armed.

Fuck.

I was on my own. As Millie.

I told the guys to go because I wasn’t willing to give up our operation, and that hadn’t changed. I was in too deep to call it now.

“Our bags are packed. The helicopter is waiting. We need to leave.” Alessio held out his hand, and this time, I took it.

The men flanked us as we rushed from the room. I glanced over my shoulder, but Maria wasn’t coming.

“Your mom,” I panted as we jogged through the house to the kitchen where the doors to the deck were open.

“She’s staying.”

“Alessio! It’s not safe,” I cried.

I might have only known her for a day, but I didn’t want to leave her behind. Not when we knew there was danger.

“She’ll be safe. They weren’t here for her.”

And there was the confirmation.

“Where are we going?”

He squeezed my hand. “Home.”

The helicopter on the sand stirred up a storm that bit into my skin. I closed my eyes, letting him guide me and pull me up into the craft. Our bags already sat under the seats, and one of Alessio’s men slammed the door before backing away.

Seconds later, the copter lifted us off, leaving his mom to deal with the mess we created. The one I caused.

He buckled me in, then put headphones over my ears and adjusted the mic in front of my mouth before doing the same for himself. I sat in shock.

“Brazzi sent men for me?” I waited for him to nod and confirm.

“He’s had years to come after me, and he probably doesn’t care about my mom. Otherwise, he would have done something sooner. He clearly knew how to find her.”

I glanced out at the black ocean as it disappeared into the darkness. “Why?”

He didn’t answer, so I faced him and waited.He rubbed his hand over his stubbled jaw.

“I may have understated our feud.”

“What does that mean?”

The captain cut in, giving Alessio a moment to dodge answering. “We should be arriving in a bit over an hour.”

“Why so long?” I asked. “It barely took forty minutes to get here.”

“We’re not going to Miami,” Alessio explained.

My heart dropped. Please, oh please, tell me we’re going somewhere else in the Caribbean. “You said we were going home.”

“We are.” He avoided my eyes.

“My home is Miami, Alessio. Where are you taking me?”

“My house in Mexico.”

Fucking fuckity fucker.

Could I open the door? We were probably low enough that I could survive the fall into the ocean.

Having to keep Alessio alive was a major annoyance, although killing the pilots wasn’t out of the question.

I could knock out Alessio and get their bodies out of the way. . . I didn’t know how to fly, but Rod would find someone to talk me through it. How hard could it be?

“It’s safe. I promise.” He put his hand on my leg, but I pulled away.

“You said your house was safe,” I snapped, “You said your mom’s house was safe. You promised not to let anything happen to me, and now you’re taking me to yet another foreign country.”

Yes, Millie was very much allowed to freak out.

His shoulders sagged. “I know, mi amor. I’ve let you down again, but I promise you no harm will come to you there.”

No.

No.

That was the biggest lie he’d told yet.

My heart was pounding in my chest.

He had to know how much danger he was in if he put one foot down in Mexico. It was absolutely inconceivable he was that stupid or oblivious.

He knew exactly who ran the country, and it wasn’t the Mexican government. It wasn’t even the human drug cartel. No, it was the Velez Mafia.

My Pack, my family. The ones that sent me here on a mission to destroy the man so set on protecting me. The same one I was fantasizing about a life with just hours before. A delusional daydream of an existence free of the wolves who control me.

I dropped my head against the seat.

Javi sensed my hesitation on the phone. He could tell I was putting Alessio first. Ahead of them. Even myself. I told him I was doing it to save the mission, everything we worked so hard for, but that wasn’t the whole truth. At least not in the moment.

I was thinking of how I could save Alessio.