Page 89 of His Bride

“Caelian,” Nicoli starts, “rewind, lay it out. And start with the kidnapping of a goddamn minor.” He raises his voice at the end.

“Cristiano is safe. I simply took him out of the equation.”

“By kidnapping him?” Nicoli crosses his arms.

“Fake kidnapping.”

Nicoli nods at the other two. “And this lot helped?”

“While you were busy selling Alexius and Leandra, I had to think on my feet, and it just so happens these two thought it was a pretty solid plan.”

“Until your solid plan hit the asphalt in high heels?”

I blink. “I have two guns and an overwhelming urge to pull both triggers. Do not fuck with me, Nicoli. Not tonight.”

This is the part where Alexius would probably threaten me, take me down until I could convince him what I’ve done tonight isn’t as off-the-cuff and foolhardy as it seems.

I might be a vessel bottled up with sarcasm and quick-witted comebacks, but I’m capable of seeing the bigger picture. I take wild risks, within reason. I can also think outside the box. Be creative.

“I think we can agree,” I say, choosing my words carefully for one of the few times in my life, “that with Alexius on downtime, we’ve all found we can adapt, find new places to help him and the family. We can hold it together. And I think I’m good at doing all the risky, out-of-the-box shit. So, yeah, I took the kid and made Isaia and Maximo help me organize it.”

Nicoli’s scowling at me, cigarette pack in hand, so I continue.

“We made it look like Aurelio took baby Belucci.”

“Baby Belucci?”

“Cristiano. Keep up. Aurelio is known for kidnapping and murdering when he doesn’t get his way. And Polaroids are his thing. My guys took a few and left them for Giana’s father to find. Operation Frame-The-Cunt, done.”

“This helps us how, Caelian?”

“It helps us turn shit on him, rock his foundations, and expose him for the snake he is.”

“And if it backfires?”

“It won’t.”

“It already did, man,” Isaia chirps from the side, and I give Nicoli a look.

“Please, can I kill our brother?”

Maximo steps in, arms crossed, muscles bulging, looking mean as fuck. “Cristiano came willingly. Didn’t take much to convince the kid to play along. He’s all for saving his sister from the hands of that cocksucker.”

Nicoli gets a drink and downs it. Then he lights a cigarette. “So, with her brother out of the way, Giana wants to kill Aurelio? What the hell is this woman thinking?”

My heart skips a beat. “My guess is she’s thinking she’s got nothing to lose now.”

“What about her dad?”

I shrug. “I dunno. Maybe she’s finally seeing through his bullshit, and I don’t care. All I need to do right now is find her.”

“Or find Aurelio before she does.” Isaia crosses his arms. “If we find him first, take care of the problem, Giana is safe and Aurelio’s no longer a threat. It’s a win-win.”

Maximo grunts, a rumble of approval from deep within his chest. “And we get to squeeze out the competition. Killing two birds with one stone.”

Nicoli takes a long drag from his cigarette, blowing out the smoke slowly, deliberating. “Alexius will want Aurelio’s death for himself. And it’s rightfully his.”

“That cunt touched my wife,” I snap. “He might have put a bullet in Alexius’ chest, but he touched my wife and left a goddamn mark. You know as well as I do that trumps every card Alexius might have.”

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