Page 15 of Wrathful King
“You know full well that if you killed Angelo, the Omertà would put you on trial and end you. Then the Leone family would lose their seat at the table.”
He shrugged. “I was willing to take that chance.”
“It would’ve been suicide, and you know it.” But then again, Dante had been on that dark path for a while now. Ever since his own kidnapping. “Angelo was never worth throwing away your life.”
His jaw clenched and his blue eyes turned to dark blue pools, the flicker of resemblance to my wife’s lingering in them.
“You know the Omertà—especially Marchetti—won’t forgive Reina for the murder. They don’t want to have a war between patriarchies and their offspring on their hands.” Dante was right. Enrico was the biggest upholder of the fucking law in the Omertà. He was convinced those rules prevented brothers from killing brothers, sons killing fathers, the works.
“Fuck,” I muttered. If it was Aiden Callahan or even Giovanni Agosti, we’d be able to mitigate it, but Enrico Marchetti was a by-the-book kind of guy.Fuck, fuck, fuck.“We’ll have to solve one problem at a time. First things first: Reina.”
“If she’s found—” My dark look had him altering his statement. “Whenshe’s found, they expect her to answer for it. You know it won’t be good.”
I gritted my teeth. “I don’t give a shit what they expect. They won’t get her.”
“Brother—”
“They. Won’t. Get. Her.” And that was final. “We’ll tell them I did it. Or I’ll step away from the Omertà. None of it means anything to me anyhow, not unless it remains a way for me to protect her.”
Dante met my eyes and nodded. “I’ll stand by you. After all, she’s my half sister, and I caused this shit.” That he did, however unintentionally. “God, she was a Leone for all of one second, and then just like that, she’s back to being a Romero.” I shook my head at his comment, but pride filled my weakened heart. “We’ll save her, Amon. No matter what.”
“No matter what,” I repeated with conviction. “We’re bringing her home.”
I had never been the type to wait for shit to happen or for my enemies to make the first move. I preferred to obliterate everyone and everything in my path to keep those I loved safe. And yet here I was—failing. Going out of my mind with possible scenarios.
It was the reason I promised heaven and hell to Kian in the hopes of recruiting his help.
“Where in the fuck is Kian?” I needed to get our plan laid out and go after her. I had my best men searching for her, and it still wasn’t enough. Perez Cortes and my motherfucking cousin were nowhere to be found.
“He’s on his way,” Dante assured me, sitting on the couch with his feet propped up on the coffee table. He was dressed like a beach bum—flip-flops, white Armani shorts, and a black T-shirt. He was the picture of relaxation, except for his sharp expression and the gun tucked into his waistband. “Darius is coming too.”
Great.“Is Darius the only fucking guy working with Kian?”
He shrugged. “Blondie insisted. He says he cares about her and won’t rest until she’s safe.”
I liked Darius until I didn’t. His fondness of Reina still pissed me the fuck off, but I couldn’t deny he was highly skilled, and no matter how reckless he could be, I would need him on my team.
“And before you say anything, Kian anticipated your protests and stated that if you refuse Darius’s help, he’s out,” Dante chimed in. Darius was a nauseating pill I’d have to swallow.
I narrowed my eyes on my brother while reining in my temper. “The moment I have Reina, I’m sending him packing,” I muttered.
“Maybe Darius will sweep Reina off her feet,” Dante chirped. He really did have the worst sense of humor, not to mention an inability to read the room. My jaw tightened, my knuckles burning with the need to drive my fist into his face. “And then maybe he’ll kidnap her from the bad guys and marry her.”
“Not unless he wants to die,” I muttered. Maybe I was being immature, unreasonable, considering he’d never touched or slept with Reina. But he’d had her attention and smiles for the past three years, and that alone pissed me the fuck off. I held grudges. Fucking sue me. “Besides, polygamy is illegal in most western countries.”
Dante lit up his cigarette. I noticed he was smoking more than usual lately, a clear sign of his stress levels. “Yeah, let’s not waste our breath on minor details,” he drawled. I reached for the document Illias had given me what seemed like months ago now. “Have you heard from Romero, your newfound father?”
I paused with the paper in my hand.
“No, why?”
“I told him I want Phoenix, since Reina ran off and married you.” Well, he didn’t waste any time.
“What makes you think Phoenix will agree to the arrangement?” I questioned. “After all, you called her lacking. I’m sure Romero shared your sentiment with his daughters.”
His eyes narrowed. “I found Phoenix lacking, but only in information.” I wasn’t the one who needed the mix-up explained, but I didn’t think Dante would be grateful for my input on the topic. “Phoenix won’t know what really happened.”
I didn’t follow his train of thought. “What happened?”
