She pulled me into her arms, squeezing me.
“But you do. Your mind just has to catch up to your heart. But if it doesn’t, I’m still going to be here with you. Always remember that.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Sergio
My new purpose, my new obsession, beyond Seraphina, was hunting down Dorian Drakos and making him bleed. And now that Finley was stable, but in critical condition and Seraphina was safe behind the iron gates of the Puglisi estate, there was nothing left to hold me back. No distractions. No mercy, nothing but pure vengeance.
I just didn’t know where to find the motherfucker. He was somewhere out there, polluting the air with his very existence. As long as he was alive, he would always be a threat to her. And that was something I couldn’t have. I would find him. I would rip apart every place he could hide and tear down every wall he thought could protect him. He thought he could disappear. Hethought he could escape what he did. Not while I still had breath in my body.
Let him run. Let him beg. Let him pray to whatever gods he believed might save him because I was coming. And when I found him there wouldn’t be a trial. There wouldn’t be forgiveness. There would only be death.
I looked at Lorenzo, who was texting someone on his phone with a painful expression on his face. My brother who was head of the Family had a shit ton to deal with at home with his wife. I didn’t know why he tried to downplay Martina’s mental illness even after she tried to kill him.
Lorenzo worked hard to keep shit normal for his son, Enzo. But I didn’t see his marriage lasting much longer since Martina’s behavior was getting more erratic. He needed to get her out of both their lives.
“Are you good?” I asked.
Lorenzo looked down at his phone again, before looking back at me. “Malika just sent a message that Martina’s having another episode.”
“I can do this if you need to head back and take care of that. Dante’s with me.”
Dante was our younger brother. I didn’t have much of a relationship with any of my brothers but if I was close to any ofthem, it would be Dante. He was the quietest out of all of us. He was a family man like Gianni, doting on his wife and three kids.
Dante looked up from his phone and nodded “Yeah, we got feelers out. It’s only a matter of time before we find him.”
“No, it’s fine,” Lorenzo said. “I just had Malika take Enzo to a hotel until we get back.”
Malika had been their live-in nanny since Enzo had been born. She had been more of a mother to Enzo than his own mother. I knew Lorenzo had a thing for Malika even though he tried to hide it. But he was a married man. He would never break his vows no matter how much he wanted to end things with his wife. I just didn’t understand why he continued to torture himself and Enzo. But I guess he had his reasons, and it wasn’t any of my business.
I nodded, then stared out the SUV window as the sunlit coast of Crete blurred. A tip had come in an hour ago that Dorian had been spotted at a strip club last night and no one had seen him leave the area.
My fists curled in my lap. Finley was still fighting for his life. Seraphina was barely holding herself together. And Dorian? He was tossing cash at dancers, drowning in booze and perfume like none of it mattered.
I hadn’t called Seraphina to touch base, but I did called Gianni to check on her. However, I asked him not to let her know. I didn’twant to hear the questions. I’d tell her everything she wanted to know once I got home.
“I’m going to kill him.”
The rage was thick in my throat. I wanted to rip him apart and listen to him scream and plead for me to kill him.
“You’ll get your chance,” Dante said.
And it couldn’t come soon enough.
We pulled up to a bar just off the main street. We exited the car, keeping an eye on our surroundings. People passing by looked at us like they couldn’t figure out if we were there to cause trouble or to drink.
When we reached the front of the bar, I shoved the door open harder than necessary. The place reeked of stale beer and cigarettes. I scanned the room, ignoring the bartender’s raised brow. One dancer was slouched at the counter, swirling her drink like she had all the time in the world. Another one was on stage, nude, spinning around the pole like this was just another Tuesday, looking bored out of her mind, as she performed for a few people sitting near the stage.
The music grated on my nerves. The lights were too dim and too red. Everything about the place made my skin crawl and pissed me off even more knowing that while Seraphina and Finley suffered, that motherfucker was living it up in this dump.
“Anyone come in yesterday dropping a lot of cash?” I asked, not bothering with pleasantries when I walked up to the bar.
The dancer blinked, then smirked. “We always have tourist come in dropping a lot of cash. You and your boys looking for some fun?”
“Where is he?” I asked, cutting through her flirtation. “And you know who the fuck I’m talking about so don’t play dumb.”
With a sigh, she wrote on a napkin with a tube of red lipstick then slid it across the bar along with a key card. The hotel name and room number were smeared across the napkin. “He’s not alone.”
