For the second time in my life, I was a victim of man’s desire to inflict vengeance for something I had nothing to do with.
Unfortunately for me, this time I had no hope of surviving.
The voting had ended.
I was the new pakhan of the Bratva.
Looking at my reflection in the mirror, I couldn't help but clench my fists from the rage constantly consuming me after Vasya’s death. I didn't need his place, nor did I want it.
But for the sake of the organization running smoothly, I would do it.
Who would have thought I would end up here after the hell I went through? Sure as fuck, not me.
Never me.
An hour and a half later
Dominic
The car stopped abruptly as we arrived at our destination. An old house appeared in front of us and we hopped to the ground. Based on the description Connor got from the database, the building was a two-bedroom home with a one-car garage. A white picket fence surrounded the brown brick building, while the grass needed some serious gardening. This whole picture reminded me of the moviePscyho. The hotel she stayed in had the same creepy vibe. It stood right on the edge of New Bern. Why the fuck he would have his torture pad in this state when he lived in another was beyond me.
“Dominic, do not act without my permission,” Connor ordered, while pulling on his vest and adjusting his guns on his side.
Getting right in his face, I snarled, “I’m supposed to stand here and wait for him to chop her up?”
“If you do something to scare him, she might get hurt in the process.” So the FBI agent had awakened in him. Funny how he remembered about him, only when it was convenient.
“She is already harmed. Fuck this.” Pushing him aside, I stepped in the direction of the front door, when a strong arm stopped me, blocking my way.
“Dominic, trust me, I understand like no one else. That’s my child in there. But let those people do their job.”
Don’s firm voice did nothing to calm me down. “You are a fucking Cosa Nostra boss, and now you decide to work with law enforcement?” The Cosa Nostra never even ate in the same restaurant if a cop was present, and the one time he decided to side with them was when Rosa could be killed any moment by his man? I should have never brought her here. Damian and Sapphire be damned, with their wedding and happily ever after.
“I will, if they ensure her safety.”
Looking at Damian, Connor, Don, Luke, and even my fucking right hand, Vitya, I understood everyone agreed with this plan. They all wore grim expressions on their faces, while refusing to meet my stare.
“Each man present here loves her, son,” Luke stated calmly, but I cut him off.
“I’m not your son. And no one loves her like me.” Only when I said those words aloud, I realized I never told them to her. She never heard them, because they seemed too abnormal, and so small compared to my feelings for her. I didn’t think it was important.
But how I fucking wished in that moment she had the comfort of knowing she was so deeply loved, loved by a man with a broken soul, loved by a man who couldn’t imagine life without her.
Fuck all these so-called friends of mine. Their women weren't inside alone with a sociopath who raped and tortured women. Protecting her was solely my responsibility. Everyone else seemed to fail at the task.
I relaxed my shoulders and leaned on the hood of the car, while the FBI agents lined up in positions to attack, and I watched them with zero interest. As the pakhan, reading people kind of came with the job description. They would buy my calmness, thinking I saw the logic in their explanation. Slowly, the men around me shifted their attention on something else, not blocking the path anymore. Once their sole focus was on Melissa, who rolled open the blueprint and pointed out everyone’s job, I raced to the house to the song of curses and shouts of people behind me. I hadn't made it far, however, as the garage doors rose.
Alfonso emerged from the house, his shirtless body covered in blood, holding Rosa in his arms, his gun pressed to her temple, naked, with blood spewing from her nose, lips, and various wounds. Her face was slightly blue and swollen from all the torture he inflicted on her. My brows furrowed, as some of them weren't fresh. How could they have healed within thirty hours? Her dark eyes held fear and terror as she screamed, her voice hoarse, “Help,” to no one in particular.
Why wasn't she locking her stare with mine? Like she was looking straight through me. What the hell did he do to her? “Drop the gun, Alfonso.”
The fucker laughed. “Not in this life.”
“Whatever you have against me or her father, hash it out with us.”
He hopped excitedly, pupils dilated as if he were high. “You don’t even know what’s going on here. The real forces running this show.’’Grinning like a fool, he licked Rosa’s cheek and she flinched as tears slid down. I advanced, hands on my gun, but he tsked, “Nah-ah-ah. You move, she dies.” He glanced behind me. “Don, a pleasure.” He almost beamed. How the hell was this fucker not on medication or locked up? He must’ve been a great actor to cover up this level of madness.
“You’re a disgrace to thefamilia,” Don snarled, his footsteps crunching on the grass as he approached. “Raised by us. Given everything by us. And that’s how you repay us?”
