Page 51 of Stolen Dove

“Yes. If I were you…I’d take my time.”

“I plan to do just that. Congrats on the new bride.”

“Same to you,” he says, pulling me in for another hug before leaving with his men. The men pull away, and I turn to Avanti. “It’s so good you could make it.” I punch him in his gut. He doubles over in the chair with a grunt.

“You piece of shit. All of this because I should have pounded Dove’s cheeks. She’s not worth it,” he spits out, so I break his jaw in one smooth cross.

“She’s worth everything to me. I thought you realized it, but I guess you’ve realized it too late. I’ve had months to decide what I want to do to you and now that I have you here, I’m not sure you’re worth the trouble. You know what? I’ll let you sit here and suffer.” I walk out with my men and leave Avanti in the chair. I could string him up, but that would be no fun. Instead, I’ve slackened the rope on his wrists. Smiling, we all go to our vehicles. We drive back to my estate. I go inside and wash up and give Dove a kiss before excusing myself.

“He’s on the move. Not very fast, but he’s on the move.” He’s slack jawed and walking in patent leather shoes through the uneven hills. There’s nowhere for him to go.

“Pick him up and promise to take care of him.”

Hector laughs on the other end and then I hear him talk to Avanti. “Necesitas ayuda?” He’s spitting but can’t get any words out. “Let me help you,” Hector offers.

He opens his vehicle and lets him climb in the back. “I’m Hector. Is your jaw broken?”

“Ssss,” is all I can hear over the phone. He locks the doors after he gets in the driver’s seat. “Hold on. I’m on the phone with my brother.” He starts to drive and then says, “Victor, I’ve found this guy on the road with a fucked-up face.”

“Really.” I could just imagine Avanti’s eyes widening as he groans and shouts, tugging on the door. I can hear Hector revving his engine, speeding up. “Are you okay?”

“He’s trying to get out.”

“Abra la puerta.”

“Okay.” He does, and there’s a groan and grunt. “Oops, he fell out. I think I ran over his leg.”

“I’ll deal with it. You can go home now.”

“Thanks. I don’t want to ruin my driving record,” he says with a chuckle.

I pull up seconds later to where Avanti lies in the road, bleeding and broken. “Did you think I’d let you get away that easily?” Avanti looks up at me with pure fear in his eyes. “Get him inside.” My men come and pick the bastard up. We drive to the northwestern part of Spain into the middle of the wilderness. When we’re out of sight, we locate a pack of Iberian wolves and dump a naked, almost completely dead Avanti in the middle of them. Driving away from the scene, we set up a spot and use binoculars to watch the wolves circle their prey. Slowly they work on tearing apart the old, sick bastard. His strangled cries can barely be heard as he dies.

“I guess he doesn’t like being prey for a bunch of hungry wolves,” I say, watching the wolves attack.

“I guess not,” Fernando laughs. For the next two hours, we watch them pick the bones clean. Then we come and scare them away while we clean up the mess. Three hours later, we’re on our way home with nothing but a small bag of bones left of Avanti. Once we’re in our warehouse, he’s wholly disposed of and the place is cleaned.

Now it’s only a matter of time for hell to break loose in New York when no one can find the head of the Avanti family. Although none of that’s my problem. At least I know he can’t come after my wife again.

Epilogue

Dove

“Victor,” I call out, but he doesn’t answer. I know exactly where he is. For a super bad-ass crime boss, my husband is putty in the hands of our son. I open the nursery door and see Victor whispering to Alejandro. I stand there, leaning on the door frame with my arms crossed. I spent the day out with Luisa at her jewelry shop. Of course I had security with me the entire time, but they stayed a distance away.

After what happened with Vicente, they made sure never to touch me. Still, I behave so Victor doesn’t have to make that kind of choice.

He looks up from our son and says, “There she is. My queen, your queen. The most beautiful woman in the world. She’s back.” Alejandro coos. He’s almost three months old and a big boy both in length and width. I’m sure he’ll take after his father. My heart’s so full staring at my little family.

“My two favorite men. I’ve missed you both,” I kiss Alejandro’s cheek which makes him crack a smile.

“Did you have a good time?” Victor asks, drawing my attention back to him.

I nod with a huge smile. I’m so grateful that Luisa and I met and have become great sisters. Even his mother has grown to get along with her. We all know that it’s not Luisa’s fault, but the damage Victor’s father did stuck with all the ladies involved. “I did. Luisa’s new shop is so perfect, and she was swamped. By the time she closed up, I think she sold out of almost all the pieces on display.”

“That’s fantastic. I’m so proud of her. How many pieces did you buy?” he questions, lifting his brow because I don’t have a limit on my cards and Victor lets me have whatever I want.

“Only one.” He raises his brows, knowing that I have a thing for jewelry. I didn’t know until he bought me a dozen pieces from Luisa. “Okay. She gave me two other pieces for free. She refused to take my money. I had to do it on the sneak tip.”

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