Page 123 of The Devil's Deal

I hear him mutter something to her, but I’m too far now to hear it. Seconds later, his sneakers are trudging behind me.

“Are you finally done?” I ask, pulling the door open.

“My woman needs a lot of convincing where I’m concerned. A man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do. She isn’t leaving me, and I’d rather her stay willingly instead of hearing me demand it. I don’t want her to hate me.”

“And she won’t hate you once she realizes you’re going to kill her father?”

“She’ll understand.”

“Sure, she will.” I’m being a dick, I know that, but I’m in a bad headspace right now.

As I reach my house, my burner vibrates in my pocket. I stop short, pulling it out, causing Dante to stop short.

“Is it him?” he asks as I retrieve my phone, finding a number I don’t recognize.

I stare at him, anxiety shooting up my neck before I press a button. “Who’s this?”

“Is that how you treat your friends?” Faro’s vile voice wraps around my throat, my pulse quickening to an unnatural pace.

“Where the fuck is she? I swear, if you killed her—”

“What will you do, hmm?”

He waits for my answer as my exhales turn wildly ferocious.

“Yeah, that’s right.” He chuckles. “You’ll do nothing.”

“Tell me where she is.” My voice is low, every syllable punctured with a threat.

“Dom!” she screams. “Don’t come for me! He’ll kill you. He has people all—”

A loud thud erupts through the phone, and then I hear her cry.

“Faro, you fucking coward!” My voice thunders, my palms tingling, my heartbeats slamming in my temples. “I’ll slice off every limb on your body and feed it to your fucking dogs. You’re already dead.”

“Really? Because I’m still alive. And always a step ahead, aren’t I? You didn’t even know I had my man with you the entire time, playing you like a fool.” He takes a deep, casual breath. “It’s pathetic how easily I deceived you. But I’ve waited for this very moment. Waited for the look on your face when I took her from you like I took your father and brother.”

Rage pulses to a beat of its own, my hand squeezing the phone until my palm stings, reminding me of the gash. But I only squeeze harder, wishing it were Miles’s neck.

“You want her?” Faro asks, carving through the wrath filling the marrow of my bones. “Then come and get her. I’ll even let you say goodbye before I put a bullet in her brain.”

Chiara sobs, and my heart clenches.

I’m coming, baby.

“Tell me where, you son of a bitch,” I spit out, my hand rattling around the cell.

I hear a ding come through the line. Lifting the phone away from my ear, I find an address.

“I’m coming for you. You’re a dead man.”

“Good lu —”

I cut the line, stuffing the phone back into my pocket.

“Let’s get the men ready. All of them. We’re going to war.”

Chapter Thirty-Two