Page 67 of Desire and Revenge

“Is everything set?” I ask Davide four days later as I sheath my knives into my boots.

“Yes boss,” his voice comes in through the phone. “By the way, I managed to locate Kirsten’s family, and I put her on a plane with my girlfriend this morning. She will make sure Kirsten gets back to her parents.”

“Who?”

He sighs. “The girl Tony had on his boat. She’s been asking about you.”

“Davide,focus,” I bite out. I’m relieved the girl is safe, but I have bigger fish to fry than her whereabouts. After four days of checking and double-checking that all my ducks are in row, it’s finally time to strike.

The past few days have been hell, and not because of my extensive preparations, but because I haven’t spoken to Sofia since I walked out of her room that night.

The night where she had told me quite clearly that she can’t choose me. Even before she had opened her mouth, I had seenthe hesitation in her eyes, and it had cut at me. Did she care about that asshole? The thought alone is enough to drive me crazy with rage, and rage isn’t welcome anywhere near me right now.

I can’t afford to make any move fueled by rage, because I know one wrong step, and all of this will come crumbling down. The way Sebastian has been all over her hasn’t helped to douse my wrath, either.

But even though she’s showed me where her loyalties lie, I still find myself worried about her. Worried that she’ll get hurt in the aftermath, and that thought is somehow worse than me failing entirely.

“I need a favor,” I find myself saying.

“Anything,” he replies.

I’m a fool. A big, bumbling moron. “I want you to get Sofia out of here. Far away from here when everything starts going down.”

There’s a pause on the other end of the line, and I squeeze my eyes closed. “Davide?”

“You mean Mrs. Lucchese? Sofia Lucchese? Sebastian’s wife?”

“She’s nothis,” I snarl, fists clenching. “Can you do it? Or do I need to find someone else?” He’s the only one I trust with a task like this. Davide is the closest thing to a friend I have, has been since he saved me from almost getting killed in a robbery gone wrong when I was eighteen.

“Yes, boss.”

“And no matter how things turn out?—”

“Nothing will go wrong,” he insists. “We are covered on all fronts, and Lucchese has no idea what’s coming.”

I drag a hand through my hair. “Do it anyway. Get her out of here, Davide.”

He hesitates. “Yes, boss.”

When I hang up, I feel the first sense of relief since I made up my mind to strike today. My men have surrounded the docks, and I have a backup team at the ready. The other Capos on my side are ready to start snatching up Lucchese’s businesses and clubs as soon as he goes down.

By the end of the day, nothing will remain of Lucchese’s legacy. I already have people waiting on standby to pick up his relatives. My initial plan was to wipe them out too, but that plan feels too cold-blooded for me all of a sudden.

Damn it all to hell, I don’t even recognize myself anymore.

I reach for the handle of my bedroom door at the same time it flies open. I leap backward and reach for my Glock tucked into the back of my pants.

“Nero,” a soft voice whispers, and I release the handle of the gun.

“Sofia,” I say. “What are you doing here?”

“I had to see you before you left.” She moves into the room fully and shuts the door behind her, pulse fluttering at her throat.

My eyebrows fly up at her appearance. Except for the times when she’s gasping under me in pleasure, Sofia always looks impeccable. Not a wrinkle on her cloth in sight. The woman that is standing before me at the moment looks harried, wrecked.

Her hair is in a single braid down one side of her neck, several strands hanging around her face. Her face is clean of makeup, mouth looking bitten and raw. The brown pants she has on are severely creased and so is the white shirt.

My eyes fly down her body and finally land on her bare feet. “Where are your shoes?”

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