Page 73 of My Sweetest Temptation

“I mean—” The guard took a shaky breath. “Someone dismembered a body and left it on your front porch. And there’s a message. It’s from the Puppet Master.”

This fucker needed to die, and I was going to enjoy draining every single drop of blood from his body.

As soon as I received the call, I instructed Enzo to not leave Winter’s side, no matter what.

When I bolted outside, Lo, Luca, and Matteo were already huddled by my car, each of them on high alert.

“What’s going on?” Matteo asked, his brow furrowed.

“Get in. I’ll explain on the way,” I replied tersely.

The guys exchanged uneasy glances, their expressions a mix of confusion and concern as if they were trying to figure out just how bad this was.

“Let’s move,” I demanded and snatched the keys from Miguel.

His eyes widened slightly, but he didn’t question me and climbed into the front seat.

Every mile I drove to my house, my mood darkened like the impending thunderclouds overhead. As I gunned my car’s engine, visions of dismembered limbs danced in my head, along with the grim realization that I was being toyed with. I didn’t like that one fucking bit.

Not. One. Fucking. Bit.

As soon as I pulled up to the gates of my home, I spotted several of my men, armed and guarding the gate.

We jumped out of the car, fury burning within me. “How the hell did they get in?” I barked at my men as I stomped forward.

One of my soldiers stepped forward. “Boss, we think there might be a blind spot in the camera feed. It?—”

“Not an excuse!” I barked. “Find out how they got onto my fucking property!” I pushed past him toward the box.

I opened it, revealing a variety of mangled body parts. Hands severed at the wrists, feet with rough, uneven edges, and a pile of ears and tongues. Amidst the horror lay a note, scribbled in black ink.

The strings are tighter than you think.

—The Puppet Master.

“He’s getting desperate, Nico,” Lo said.

I shot him an incredulous look. “Desperate? No, Lo, this isn’t desperation. This is a declaration of war. They think they can walk right into my domain and spit in my face.”

My heart raced as I glanced again at the body parts. Each piece represented a failure—a failure in my empire’s security, a failure to protect those under my command.

“Get everyone here,” I ordered sharply. “And the doctor. I need him to identify who the fuck is in this box.”

“Right away, boss,” Miguel said with a nod and pulled out his phone to make the call.

I turned back to the mess, eyes narrowing. “This Puppet Master thinks he knows how to play. He’s about to learn just how wrong he is,” I said through clenched teeth and marched my ass to my office.

The guys followed behind.

I pushed the heavy doors open with a force that echoed through the room. Striding straight to the bar, I snatched a glass, my fingers unscrewing the cap of the whiskey bottle, and poured the amber liquid into the glass. I slammed the bottle down onto the counter. I took a long swig, the burn of the alcohol igniting a fire in my chest, before pouring another one.

“Lo,” I grumbled. “What’s the situation with the security cameras? I need a complete rundown of how many eyes were on that damn box when it got dropped off.”

“We’ve scrubbed the footage from all the cameras in the vicinity,” Luca replied. “One camera caught a deli delivery truck, but the shot of the actual drop-off is fuzzy. You can see a figure, but it’s too blurry to ID anyone.”

I clenched my jaw, irritation simmering just beneath the surface. “What about the timestamps?”

“The drop was around an hour ago.”

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