Page 52 of Legacy
I text my pilot and head off to the hangar to get a flight out as soon as possible.
***
South Florida is way too fucking hot, and as soon as I’m done here, I’m never coming back.
Nico’s missing, so I brought Giovanni with me.
It’s not the same.
Nico doesn’t talk unless he needs to. Doesn’t ask questions. Doesn’t fill the silence just to hear himself think.
Gio does.
He drives like he’s in a movie—one hand on the wheel, sunglasses too expensive for someone who still answers to people like me. He’s been with us for a couple years now, clawed his way up from runner to shadow. He wants more. I can feel it in the way he watches. The way he listens when he thinks I’m not paying attention.
But I am.
The gates to the Castillo estate loom ominously ahead, a grand display of wealth and power.
A guard appears from a booth, scrutinizing us carefully before stepping away to make a call. After what feels like an agonizing eternity, he waves us through.
I shouldn’t fucking be here.
Gio whistles low as we approach the mansion.
“Nice place,” he mutters.
I don’t respond.
Stepping out of the SUV, I’m hit by the intoxicating scent of blooming orchids and salt water from the nearby sea.
I wonder if that salt sticks to her skin.
The mansion itself is impressive. A display of Spanish colonial architecture, sprawling terracotta roofs, large courtyards with lush greenery, and splashes of vibrant colors from flowering bushes everywhere you look.
Fucking tropical nightmare.
Way too much color.
A servant opens the door and leads us into a sprawling receiving room.
Luciano Castillo stands near an open balcony.
If this is his idea of a breeze, the bastard really might be the devil.
He turns at our entry.
The man doesn’t age. He looks the same as he did when I saw him five years ago.
He’s only a couple years older than me, but he’s been at the helm of the cartel longer than I’ve been at the head of Cosa Nostra.
I know he’ll use that.
That’s my weakness. Makes me look inept.
His eyes narrow at me, he smirks.
Smug bastard knows I need something and if he lives up to his name‘El Diablo,’he’s going to make me go through hell to get it.
