Page 68 of Cruel Knots

“Fucking hell, Lil!” Mikhail’s screech breaks me out of my thoughts.

Looking his way, I find him on the floor with Lilja beating a cushion on his face. The phone they’d been fighting over lies forgotten on the couch. My siblings love being a pain in my ass during the direst of situations.

My vibrating phone catches my attention. Picking it up, I glance at the flashing screen.

“Leon,” I say, answering immediately.

My siblings freeze on the floor, both of them staring at me.

“They’ll attack us at any moment,” Leon’s voice is heavy with urgency.

“Who’s about to attack us?”

“The Morellis,” he says. “I’m guessing Mikhail didn’t give you any info about them rallying their men to attack us.”

“Yeah. He said that everything was quiet on the streets. No one has been recruiting soldiers anywhere.”

“That’s because the Morellis are bringing in men from Chicago,” Leon says in a bitter tone. “I’ve been scouting Gabriel Morelli and his sons the whole day and just beginning to understand what they’ve been planning. To avoid being detected, they’re getting their forces from Chicago. On the surface, everything looks calm as glass but they’re planning a fucking rebellion underneath it all.”

“Where are you right now?”

“I’m at Morelli Mansion,” he mutters. “I need to stay here to find out more about their plans. Besides, we’ll need more info.”

“Info for what, Leon?”

“We can’t let this go without a retaliation of our own. Any group that wants to shake hands with Callum Baldwin must know of the consequences they’ll face.”

I rub my face and stare at Lilja and Mikhail with a desperate look. They eye me curiously, noticing the change in my emotion.

“Don’t worry,” I say. “We have good security around our grounds. We’ll be fine.”

“No, Damien,” he says in a deadly grim tone. “Our grounds are not secure. Callum threw a wad of cash with his contact card near the gates when he was leaving. There are two traitors among our guards who’ll be letting them inside any second. They’re probably doing so as we speak.”

“What?!” I bark.

“Listen to me,” Leon says in a grim, commanding tone. “You’ve got to stay calm. You know why they’re coming. Lucia’s going to be their target. They’ll be aiming for her. No matter what happens, make sure you protect her. I don’t want her ending up in Callum’s hands again.”

My mind whirs while Leon continues warning me. I have to ensure my family’s safety as well as Lucia’s from whatever is about to happen.

“No matter what happens, you’ve got to protec—” Leon’s voice is drowned by a sudden explosion.

“What the hell was that?” Mikhail shouts, hurrying toward one of the windows.

“It’s started,” I tell Leon. “Don’t come back here until I call you back.”

“But you’ll let me know if you need me?” Leon asks hurriedly.

“Yeah. Just stay alive.”

Soft chuckles sound on the line before it gets disconnected.

The windowpanes rattle as more explosions go off, each sounding as if they’re getting closer to us.

“There are people out on the grounds,” Mikhail says, staring out of the window. “They’re fighting and shooting at each other. Just what the fuck’s happening here?”

The thunderous roar of gunfire assaults my ears. They’re closing in and will be inside the manor within minutes.

“Mikhail, stop!” I shout, spotting my brother racing across the room to get to the door.

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