Page 80 of Isle of Beauty

Andrea, Giulia and I scoured the entire fleet of cameras spread all over London and came up empty. Igor confirmed his brother is a conniving piece of shit with no moral compass who probably took more precautions than any trained spy in the entire world.

I haven’t stopped my services for Petrov and Luc to keep our advantage but even that angle gave nothing. They’re using a new firewall system that both Andrea and I haven’t encountered before so we’re in the dark, with no access to them. Luc is my only chance to get Lana back. The more we wait, the worse her fate.

The only thing we were able to hack into is Luc’s security system on his property and his phone.

“Did everything go as planned?” Petrov asks my uncle while we watch through the camera in his office.

“Smooth as a baby’s skin. The package will be delivered as agreed, ready for the auction.”

They hang up and my blood comes to a boil. I’m 99% sure “the package” is my wife and they’re going to sell her like cattle. We need to act tonight. God knows where they’ll ship her to.

Silently, Andrea and a few of his men dress in technical gear. Giulia’s going to be the one monitoring our operation as they storm Luc’s compound later tonight and end his lackeys. His fate is mine only. I’ll be entering by the front door, luring him into believing his plan succeeded. I have to trust Andrea to follow the plan but I’m pretty sure his new wife will cut his balls if he doesn’t. Literally.

I’ve always known Luc was into some shady shit but the skin trade is fucking next level. My grandfather married his two daughters to more powerful families in order to gain influence with the underworld but it never actually happened. Both the Moretti and the Capaldi knew they were marrying below their station to avoid their wives' families taking over. And Luc could never stand to be left in the shadows.

When I was young, he was always insisting I spend more time with him. I refused and studied relentlessly instead. Our contacts were limited to a couple of times per year, while he was always working on his next big step. Until I agreed to help him on what I thought was a legal venture and he stabbed me in the back in payment.

Giulia comes to me, attaching a small mic to one of the buttons of my shirt. Her movements are gentle but I see her fingers tremble with unspoken fear. “Remember, I’ll be able to listen to everything and can communicate with Capaldi once we know where she is.”

“Capaldi, uh? Not even going to dignify your husband with the use of his name?” I ask with forced amusement. Anything to keep my mind off my task, until it’s time to get into the wolf’s lair.

She just rolls her eyes at me. Half an hour ago, I signed a marriage licence with Giulia Moretti and Andrea Capaldi’s names on it, bearing witness to the craziest union I’ve ever had the displeasure of attending. Giulia officially became Mrs. Capaldi and Andrea wasted no time to call on his best men and lend me his strength.

If I didn’t know better, I’d have thought Andrea is smitten and would do anything for his wife, and therefore his wife’s family, but I was there when they met for the first time barely two hours ago. They hate each other. I don’t know what his plans are or why he actually needs Giulia but I’m not about to look a gift horse in the mouth. Now for the matter of telling my wife we lost our chief of Intelligence and the person she loves most, that’s something she can be mad at me for when she’s safe and back on Kalliste. I will take her ire over her death every day.

Luc opens the door and welcomes me with open arms, jovial and genuinely happy to see me.

“Come in, son.” I wince but he doesn’t notice. “Your call couldn’t have come at a better time. I’m so glad you finally decided to accept my proposal. We have much to discuss.”

He directs me to his office and sets a whiskey in front of me. He’s thicker than the last time I saw him. Getting in business with the Russian Bratva seems to be treating him well. I control my breathing through my nostrils, trying to get my anger under control and letting him dig his grave before I finish him.

I notice a gun carelessly laid on the mahogany desk and vow to put every single bullet in his body before he dies.

“How’s that little wife of yours?” he asks, a devilish gleam in his eyes.

“I’m not sure, we avoid each other most of the time.”

Making Luc believe I don’t care about Lana is key to have him reveal to me where she is on his own. If that doesn’t work? Well, he’s about to get acquainted with his kitchen utensils.

“That’s too bad but I’m sure Kalliste is filled with gorgeous women who’d be happy to take her place in your bed. Maybe even at your arm, one day.”

“I have my eyes on a few.”

“Excellent. So, now that you’re the Head of the Moretti-Bartoli, I’m gonna need you to ship me some Y at least once a week. I can supply the whole country but we’ve got to start small and stay focused on London first. Misha’s taking over some other side of the business but that will be my focus for now.”

“What other business?”

“Don’t worry your pretty head about this for now. You’ll meet Misha soon enough, he’ll explain. He’s quite the genius in what he does.”

Revulsion burns at my insides but I swallow it down.

“Keep a calm head, Lisandru. We need him alive.” Giulia’s voice comes through the small earpiece I wear. She never uses my given name and it just reminds me enough of my wife and my purpose here to take a calming breath and tamper down my rage.

As we move to the dining room, I scan the tables for weapons. Knives. Forks, that shit will hurt. The corner of my lips imperceptibly lifts at the prospect. A meat cleaver. My fingers buzz with the need to hold it and bring it down Luc’s body, cutting him piece by piece.

A couple of candles burn on the table and we take a seat, him at the head and me on his right. He really believes himself the mastermind and I his puppet. I can’t wait to burst his little dream. The anticipation makes my blood pump faster.

Luc and I remove the cloches to reveal our meal of juicy meat and crispy vegetables but nothing but violence and retribution matters to me right now.

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