I am going to fucking kill everyone involved. There will be no mercy, no remorse, and no hesitation on my part.
My hands shake with rage, and I squeeze the phone to halt the tremors. I shoot my gaze over to my men, and they show no outward reaction, as they’ve been trained. However, they both shift, bringing their hands closer to their weapons.
“How do I know you’re telling the truth?” I ask, my voice flat.
“The green of her eyes is quite lovely. The tears in her eyes remind me of a pair of jewel earrings I saw once. Brilliant hue and extremely costly.”
“That is not enough.”
There’s a pause on the other end, and then my phone beeps with a notification. I stare down at it and open the incoming message. A picture of Emilia—tied up with her eyes closed, wearing the same clothes I last saw her in—stares back at me. I’m not one to expose my thoughts, but I must be, since both my men stride to where I stand. They look at the picture and then at me, their expressions grim. I snatch up Dante’s phone and quickly scroll to Gavriil’s name. My enforcer takes the phone and walks away to make the call.
“Is that picture what you were wanting, Silvestri?” the voice on the phone says, taunting and smug.
I close my eyes briefly and do my damnedest to appear unaffected, keeping my tone void of the panic shooting through me. “Yes, and this is Maximus Silvestri. Now that you’ve confirmed my identity, it’s time for me to have yours.”
“I’m a member ofUnione Corse, and we are aware of you wanting to supply someone fromBrise de Merwith weapons. But that’s going to be a problem.”
“Why?” I ask.
“He is part of our rivalry. You Americans know what it’s like, having someone trying to take over your territory. Fontaine will have the means to do that with your help, so call off the deal or we’ll kill your wife. Slowly and after enjoying her to the fullest.”
That same breathy chuckle from before scrapes my ears, and I commit it to memory, because I’m going to hear that motherfucker weep right before I slit his throat.
“What do you say, Silvestri?”
“I want proof of life and assurance she’ll be kept alive and unharmed.”
“Very well,” the man says with a sigh. He mutters in French about tits and cunts, then raises his voice to call over someone else. “Put her on the phone. Hurry the fuck up.”
There’s a shuffling noise, and I’m clenching my teeth so hard to keep from losing my fucking mind that my jaw aches. Because if I hear Emilia cry out in pain, I don’t know if I’ll be able to stop from reacting.
“Someone wants to speak to you,” a different man says in accented English. “But make it quick or I’ll cut out your tongue. Do you understand?”
“Emilia?”
When I don’t hear her right away, I almost crush my phone as adrenaline infused with fear rushes through my entire body. But then the sweetest sound envelops me. “I’m here.”
“Are you hurt?” I ask. My voice is dark like my soul and dies a little bit with each of her panicked breaths.
The original speaker comes close enough for me to hear him. “This is taking too long, Silvestri. You have one final sentence to gain confirmation, and then we’ll return to the real business at hand.”
I’m going to fucking murder him.
The effort to keep from releasing the inferno of rage building within me takes every single ounce of control I possess, and my muscles protest the extraneous tension running through me.
I inhale a preparatory breath, still unsure if I’m actually speaking to her or a recording. “Emilia, I need you to say something out of the ordinary and make sure it’s nothing they could’ve forced you to say so I know it’s not a generic recording and actually you.”
I’m desperate for not just the sound of her voice but the words that will let me know she’s alive. And that motherfucker starts talking again.
“Time’s up, Silvestri. I can’t help it your wife is incompetent.”
Just when I open my mouth to respond, there’s a scream that slices me open, cutting me deep and leaving me in agony.
“Ragazza solare!”
The line goes dead, and my fury overtakes me until I see nothing but red, my hunger for the blood of my enemies coating my vision. Death waits.
But not for long.
