Less than twenty-four hours ago, Alba had opted not to save her sister, and I didn’t care about her decision. Chiara was a toxic bitch, and I knew she had been the one sent to me. I told my men they would make a play soon, and when they did, we needed to be ready. That play was now, and I was more than ready.
Alba looked calm, but I knew the time would come when it would hurt. I loved killing the first time, then the reality of what I had done set in, and for a short time I hated myself. That hatred had grown for a time, but then I realized I didn’t have a choice. No one was willing to stand up to these monsters and make them learn a lesson. I was the only one to do it.
She gripped my forearm. “You’ll come back?”
“We have a life to live together.”
She nodded.
“I know you’re in shock right now, but it’s not your fault. I don’t want you to blame yourself.”
She reached out and cupped my cheeks. “I don’t, and I know that might bother you, but Chiara … she hurt people, Odin. This is not the first time she’s done something like this. I’ve seen her hurt a lot of people, and she always enjoyed it. She probably jumped at the chance to be the person used to find us.”
I pushed some of Alba’s hair out of her eyes. I wanted to tell her I loved her. She had no idea that amongst all this darkness, she had been my angel, my guiding light. I felt myself getting sucked deeper and deeper into that pit of evil, but one name kept pulling me back.
Alba. From the moment I helped save that first woman, and Alba was the name they gave me, I had felt a glimmer of hope. She had saved me, and for that, I was eternally grateful.
“I could help you,” Alba said. “I can be a lookout or something.”
I kissed her lips and pressed my head against hers. “Do you remember I told you that the Serra Mafia made a mistake when they killed my sister and parents, as well as my dog?” I asked.
She nodded.
“They made a man who had nothing to lose. I don’t want them to realize that they gave me something I don’t want tolose.” I looked into her warm brown eyes. “I love you, Alba Kemp. I have loved you for a long time, because you have given me more than you even realize. I cannot do what I’m about to do and worry about you. I need you to stay here, where it is as safe as it’s going to be.”
Alba had tears in her eyes, and I swiped them away. “Don’t cry,” I said.
“You love me?” she asked.
“With all my heart. You own me, Alba.” And I couldn’t resist kissing her again, but I knew we had to stop. I had no choice but to pull away, because I had a job to do.
“I love you,” Alba said. “I’ve loved you for a long time, and I think you’re an amazing man.” She threw her arms around me. “And I know you don’t break promises, so come back to me. I’ll be waiting for you.”
Pulling away and walking out that door was one of the hardest things I had ever done, but I also knew she was surrounded by friends. Fellow men and women who would take care of a woman that defied her family.
I climbed into my car, where several of my soldiers were waiting. None of them said a word, and I pulled out of the driveway, knowing they were as secure as they were ever going to be.
The studio apartment would always be a battleground. While the Serra Mafia were moving into place, thinking they were outsmarting me, I was already several steps ahead of them. While they were obsessed with learning my location in the past week, I’d been picking away at the whole operation. I found several men and women within law enforcement who were not on the Serra payroll and would not hide what they were doing. I’d given them the location of not just the drugs and guns, but the shipments of people. The illegal fighting rings that spread out a bunch of money. Along with that were the details ofwhere they laundered the money as well. Piece by piece, using their own businesses against them, I started to work through them. Several men who were present at those locations had been arrested.
My first stop was Roberto Marini’s home. On the way there, I couldn’t help but think about Alba. She knew what was about to happen and had given me her blessing.
Pulling out my cell phone, I saw the alerts coming in from my contacts, that they also had Serra’s location specifically. I pocketed my cell phone, because there was going to come a time when that happened.
Once we arrived at Roberto’s home, my men had already secured the location, and I saw several of his men dead on the ground.
Stepping over the threshold that I hadn’t been to since the night I took Alba away, I walked into Roberto’s office and found his family tied to chairs. Alice was there, as was Viola, and I let out a tut. The shock on Roberto’s face was priceless.
“Did you really think you could use your daughter to bring me down?” I asked.
“Bastard,” he said.
I shook my head. “You knew my parents were married when they had me, so you can call me all the names you like.” I took a step back and leaned against his desk. “You know, I paid close attention to you.”
“Whatever you want, just give it to him, Roberto,” Alice said. “We already lost one daughter.”
“Chiara’s not dead,” Roberto said. “He wouldn’t kill her.”
I stared at Roberto. “Chiara’s dead. Alba broke her nose and told me to leave her as my studio apartment exploded.”
