Page 86 of His Cursed Heart

I take them to our room already cringing when I see their dirty paws on my floor and bed. The dogs lick Althea like crazy, putting all of their weight on her.

She groans and tries to move her precious babies off her.

"We need to go to Italy, Althea." I say serious and she stands immediately.

"What? Why?" She asks with wide eyes. I look at her knowing that she'll go crazy no matter what way I use.

"Vincent called." And the fear is alive in her eyes. She looks at her phone and sees that he indeed, called.

Althea starts getting ready, her face almost

breaking. I can see that she blames herself for not answering to him in the first place.

"Althea." I grab her arm trying to make her look at me, but she's stubborn like that.

"Let's not waste time, okay?" Her voice is weak, hoarse.

"It's not your fault." I say confident. She looks at me finally, but I wish she didn't.

The hurt on her face breaks my heart. I can't stand seeing her like this. I'd rather be stabbed a hundred times than see her in this much pain.

"I missed his call because I was sleeping, Keaton!" She snaps at me. "He never called before because he knows I would freak out." Her chest is moving fast and her hands grab a black hoodie of mine. Althea wants to move past me but I take her face between my hands and force her to look at me.

"I know you're angry at yourself but I answered, Althea. We're going right now to him. It's okay." She looks at me with her glossy eyes that makes my knees weak.

"It's not enough. I wasn't there to calm him down." Her voice gets angrier and weaker. Althea moves out of my touch and grabs her phone and dogs leaving the room.

I'll get Vincent out of there even if I have to start a war with his snake of a father.

The hot Italian air makes me sweat with the first step out of the plane. The hours we spent in the air felt

like years. I tried to convince Althea that Vincent is fine and that he is scared, but she's not having it.

She needs to see with her own eyes that her little brother isn't hurt.

I walk down the steps of the plane and see my bodyguards with their faces covered in purple and green streaks. I remember the interrogation from last night like it just happened.

"I'm asking you this for the last time, Harper." And I smash my fist into his bloody face. He groans and looks at me with everything but hate. "Do you know where Ivan is?"

He takes a few breathes and then with a whisper he says the same thing as before, "I'm loyal to you, Boss. I don't know where Ivan is and I definitely don't know about his moves."

I did the same thing with all my guards. I let Ivan near Keres, near fucking Althea without seeing anything suspicious. I curse myself again and again because if something happens to Althea I'll burn this world until I know her ghost is at peace.

One of the guards gives me the key to the car and the other is opening the door for Althea and Venus.

It's the first time I see Venus quiet. I know she blames herself for leaving Vincent alone, but if Hanibal wants to do something to his son, he'll do it.

A mafia huntress won't stop him.

I get behind the wheel and I start the engine without a second thought. I step on the gas pedal and hear the wheels squeal under the pressure and speed. We're going way over the limit, but I'd like to see someone dare to stop me.

I look over at Althea and I see her legs anxiously shaking. She looks at the city like she can't recognize it. Calculating my next moves carefully, I put my hand on my wife's thigh and squeeze the soft skin that hides under the white sweatpants.

The touch makes her jump a little bit and wake her to reality. Althea looks at me and I want to ask her so many things, but I know her too well.

"Will he come with us?" She asks with a little voice. I frown and she adds quickly. "Will Vincent come with us in Chicago?" And in that moment, I know that she needs to know what will happen next.

"I won't let him stay here for another day, Althea." With a little nod, I see the way her chest calms down. A red traffic light is in front of us and I look around seeing the city pretty free and I accelerate. There are a few horns but I don't give a shit. And neither are the girls.

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