Page 149 of Vicious Little Princess

Nothing butneedingto watch my prey, my despicable father, die right before me.

I needed to see the light go out of his eyes.

I needed to see him fuckingdead!

Finally, it happened. And the last thing he focused on was me, knowing that I’d stolen his life away, that I’d fucking ended him, that he’d failed to do the same to me, that through everything he’d doneI’dwon.

I spun back to face what amounted to four of his security personnel now. I’d apparently dropped two with my wild firing.

They were stunned, taking in the sight of their Boss, the almighty Santino Leone, now dead to the world.

I yanked my blade from him and spun it in my hand, eyeing the fools who’d pledged their loyalty to a madman.

And then I stepped forward with a snarl.

It’s not over yet.

32

~Nico~

I tore into the courtyard of the Leone Estate, Milo just behind me on his Harley and Julian ripping in too in his Porsche.

I’d barely come to a complete stop before I bolted out of the car, rushing over to Dante and Matteo, feeling the boys just at my back.

“Shots fired,” Dante was speaking calmly into his cell phone. “Yes. Proceed cautiously. Search for the hostage.”

He might have been managing to put forth a calm and controlled front on the phone to the few soldiers he still had in his pocket who were infiltrating the mansion as we spoke, but it was obvious from just glancing at him that he was anything but. He was tapping his foot frantically and shoving his free hand through his hair.

Meanwhile, even the usually stoic Matteo was showing a visible reaction, dragging on a smoke, his eyes darting every which way as he tried futilely to make out what was happening inside.

Shortly after I’d arrived home with Milo and discovered there had definitely been a home invasion that had both taken out four of my soldiersandled to Caterina being taken, we’d put out feelers, beginning our search for her, only to have Dante Rivera contact me. He’d obtained intel from one of his insiders that Santino had sent hired guns to retrieve Caterina and brought her here to determine where she’d hidden his funds.

To determine through torture.

As if that hadn’t been bad enough, he’d also discovered that a kill order had been given.

The screeching of tires caught my attention just as I reached Dante, and I watched as Rocco arrived with my soldiers. They were piled into two unmarked black vans and as soon as they made it into the courtyard, he and twenty of them rushed on out, pulling automatic weapons, decked out to the hilt.

I’d been able to deploy and have them ready so quickly without my father’s resources at my back because of Caterina. We’d used that storage facility that she’d taken us to and kitted them out that way.

We’d been under the impression that we’d be taking on a fucking army of security personnel and several Leone soldiers.

But as I took in the scene, including what I’d heard Dante report to his men, things clearly weren’t as we’d been expecting.

First off, no one had come out to give us one hell of a violent greeting, even though I, now a known enemy, was right on their Boss’s turf.

“What’s the status?” I demanded of Dante.

He and Matteo spun toward me.

Dante informed me, “There was an SOS call placed from the mansion by one of Santino’s security guards twenty minutes ago, but to bring in reinforcements, protocol dictates that the Boss has to verify it. That verification never came.”

“He’s not living here at the moment because the place is still under restoration after the Lone Gunners attack on your wedding day,” Matteo added in. “But he came here with a few soldiers and two unknowns—mercenaries, we think. It’s possible the mercenaries turned on him, hence the SOS call. Maybe Caterina got to them? Do you think that’s possible?”

Did I think that was possible? “Of course.”

“She has control of Leone Family funds,” Julian told them.

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