Page 27 of His Tesoro

I threw the empty glass against the wall, bits of glass and liquid shattering against the floor. I needed something to distract me, to make me feel in control again, and I wouldn’t find it in this room.

I picked up my phone and dialed.

“Romeo, meet me outside the Star. We’re going hunting.”

It was dark as Romeo turned the car off the road, concealing it behind a copse of trees.

He cut the engine, and the night’s silence surrounded us.

“This is one of the more stupid ideas you’ve had recently,” he said.

I pulled another gun from under the seat and checked that it was loaded. “Stay here, then.” The cool night air cleared my head as I got out of the car. This was what I needed. Focus. Control.

Romeo followed me, muttering curses as he cocked his gun. “You know, some men buy sports cars when they’re having mid-life crises. Or a private jet. They don’t go ambushing Albanian safe houses for the thrill of it.”

“I already own a private jet.” I set off towards the small house ahead, a lone light in the window the only thing illuminating the way.

“Oh, he’s practicing his comedy routine now,” Romeo huffed.

“If anyone else spoke to me like that, I would have killed them by now.”

“Yes, but if I were anyone else, I’d be tucked away in bed with a sexy woman on my cock. Not here on some suicide mission.”

I rolled my eyes. “It’s only a suicide mission if you fuck things up.”

We kept to the shadows as we approached the house, but there was no one outside and no visible alarms. Franco’s intel suggested this previously abandoned house was being used by the Albanians—probably low-level soldiers. They were unimportant, unlikely to have any helpful intel. Arben might be an idiot, but even he wasn’t stupid enough to tell foot soldiers his plans. That didn’t matter, though. I wasn’t here for intel.

I shot the door’s lock and burst inside, Romeo covering my back.

Three men sat in a dingy living room—two in just their underwear and the third in a dirty t-shirt. They shouted, reaching for the weapons they had carelessly set to the side, but I was too fast. I shot the first in the hand, the second in the knee, and the third in the shoulder. Screams of pain filled the air.

“Why the fuck did I even need to be here if you were going to get all of them yourself?” Romeo grumbled.

“Go clear the rest of the house if you need something to do. You three, on the ground.”

The Albanians collapsed to the floor, their cries filling the air. I quickly removed their weapons. They were obviously young and unskilled. Of no real value to me.

I would still enjoy toying with them.

“Matteo.” Romeo’s voice carried from one of the back rooms. “Ci sono due ragazze qui.”

Shit.

Romeo returned to the living room, fury in his eyes. “Fucking scum.” He spat at the soldiers and trained his gun on them. His eyes flashed to mine. “Back room to the left.”

I braced myself for what I would find as I pushed the door open, revealing two girls huddled together in the corner. They looked young—seventeen? Eighteen? Their clothes were torn, and long, dirty hair fell in their faces. Metal cuffs were attached to their too-thin ankles.

A dirty mattress was the only thing in the room.

Only a lifetime of practice hiding my emotions allowed me to keep my face blank as white-hot rage churned in my stomach. My uncle had revived the skin trade for the brief time he was in power, but I had put a stop to it when I ascended as Don. This was a direct affront to my authority.

I crouched down, hoping it made me less intimidating. The girls’ blank stares met mine.

“What are your names?”

They said nothing.

“I’m going to get you to safety,” I murmured. “How did you get here?”

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