Page 133 of The Enforcer

I took a deep breath, concentrating until I heard a click. Once inside, I remained silent as I headed for the house.

The door leading into the mudroom and pantry was unlocked. As soon as I stepped inside, I had a sense of danger. There were no sounds. When I flicked on the light over the stove, I had my answer.

The power had been cut.

Somehow, they’d cut the lines to the generator as well. The attack had been well planned and my guess was for a later time when I’d arrived at the house. My gut also told me the same type of attack had been planned on every home in Athens. At least we knew what to look for.

There were ways of remaining offsite until the last moment, advancing as soon as the power had been cut. I knew what the consoles looked like, the amount of power they generated making them easy to find if you knew what you were looking for.

As I moved through the darkness, I listened for any sounds. I first checked the office and living room, moving silently from location to location. The moment I’d entered the foyer, I heard a single whine.

Magnum.

Then a yelp as if the pup had been hit to keep him quiet.

I threw myself up the stairs, racing down the hallway toward my room. Our room. The location where we’d shared passion and joy.

An adrenaline rush hit me as I kicked down the door, racing inside. My eyes were already accustomed to the darkness. There were two figures in the room, one with their hands wrapped around Valencia’s throat, the other ready to take a shot at Magnum.

“No,” she screamed in a horrible voice as she tried to fight her attacker.

Magnum roared to life, his barks and growls filling the space as he leapt from the floor. The moment he knocked the attacker down, I was on them, easily firing off two shots into the fucker’s brain.

I lunged forward, grappling with the second assailant, pitching him off Valencia. I didn’t have time to check on her, forced to wrestle with the strong asshole who refused to give up his weapon.

“No,” she moaned and I sensed her trying to get to Magnum. “Luca. He’s… He’s… responsible.”

What the fuck was she saying?

My thoughts briefly shifted to what Carl had said. Had I been that fucking blind?

I heard footsteps just as the power was restored, the room flooded with light just as I issued punch after punch into the assailant’s face.

And I kept punching even as I heard bones crunch and felt the splatter of blood on my face and hands. I didn’t care. I wanted the asshole to suffer.

He grunted and tried to fight me. Somehow, I knew Havros had his arms wrapped around Valencia, allowing me to take out my aggression. I was a madman, blinded by rage from everything our family had gone through.

So I kept hitting him until I felt a hand on my shoulder.

“It’s a cluster fuck, boss. But our men are alive. A stun gun was used. Let me finish him.” Elias’ voice was shaky. Only then did I realize the person lying on the floor beaten to within an inch of his life was a man I’d trusted for years. Fucking years.

“Luca.” I turned my head toward Valencia, thankful my baby was alright.

“He took my phone,” she said. “I’m so sorry.”

“You have nothing to be sorry about.” I stood, pointing my weapon at Luca’s head, shocked to see he was still conscious. As soon as I gave Havros a sharp look, he covered her face, also grabbing onto Magnum.

Both Elias and I drove bullets into the man’s brain. I didn’t care about the reason. All I knew was that he’d betrayed both me and my family.

And he deserved to die.

As soon as the light left his one unswollen eye, I took two long strides toward her, yanking her into my arms. “It’s okay, baby. I’ve got you and I’m never letting you go.”

“Magnum. Is he hurt?” she muttered against me, doing everything she could to pull her head free. I refused to allow that to happen. She didn’t need to see the fucking carnage.

Magnum whined as his answer, immediately moving toward us, placing his muzzle against her leg.

“Oh, my baby. What happened? Why?” She was doing everything she could to keep from sobbing.

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