Page 150 of Vicious Little Princess

“She’s technically got more power than him, especially if the guys are mercenaries like you believe,” Milo said.

I didn’t like this, all these assumptions.

We needed more concrete intel.

“Put me through to your guys doing recon,” I ordered Dante. “I want a location on Caterinanow.”

“Jesus,” Julian uttered, tugging at his hair, really fucking distressed for her.

I was right there with him on that. All three of us were.

But I had to fight through it and focus. Too much was at stake.

And right now, I needed information before I sent my soldiers into a potential massacre situation. Especially if Caterina had managed to turn the mercenaries, and they were now protecting her, sending in the cavalry could be assumed to be Leone reinforcements and they could end up gunned down as a result.

“Hold up,” Dante said, just as he was about to pass me his phone, and contact came in from his team. He took the call and listened, frowning, and looking shell-shocked by whatever was being reported. “No, don’t engage. Stand by for further instructions.” He eyed me and reported, “Caterina’s no longer in danger. But she’s not… approachable.”

Not approachable?Oh, fuck.

I exchanged a look with Milo and Julian, the two of them understanding what he was getting at.

“Stay here. Watch for incoming,” I told Rocco and my soldiers. “And call in a cleanup crew.”

“Got it,” Rocco said, pulling out his phone, then having them stand guard while he called it in.

“Come,” I told the boys, and the three of us headed off into the mansion.

We stepped around the boarded up front bay window that was still under construction, and the scaffolding near the entrance doors, then pushed inside.

The moment we did, familiar snarls and shrieks inundated us, echoing through the otherwise deathly quiet house.

Deathlywas definitely the word for it.

Because as we took in our surroundings, a carpet of dropped bodies lined our way.

First, one downed from a shot to the skull between the foyer and the main space where we’d had our wedding ceremony, then several more actually in that space itself, much more bloodied, speaking to a brutal battle having taken place.

I caught sight of Dante’s men and they gestured down a corridor to our right.

The screams grew louder. Thuds and sounds of a whole lot of destruction, too.

“Santino’s office,” Milo spoke.

We burst down there and in through the open door.

And the sight inside even hadmepulling up short.

More blood.

More damage.

More fucking death.

There were four bodies sprawled out through the room and one hidden over on the other side of the desk.

And there Caterina was, bloodied, her hair matted, her emerald eyes wild, smashing her hands into the shelves of Santino’s cabinet and sending everything crashing to the floor, destroying everything.

The couch was already torn apart, shredded by a knife, it looked like.

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