Page 108 of Fortress of the King

“I’ve got to deal with an urgent matter.”

“Of the blonde female variety?”

“Very much so, yes.”

“Might I remind you they’re out for your head, and they won’t rest until they’ve got it, if Ma gets a hold of this...”

“Ma isn’t to know anything just yet,” I bark back at him. “I have security tight, and Valentina is with Ma at Fortress. They think it’s to do with the raid, so better for them to keep thinking that.”

“This is some serious shit, Angelo, even for you.”

He’s right, but it’s typical of Dante to worry.

“There’s nothing to stress about, I’ll be back in the morning. Rocco and Santino are taking care of the location. And I’ve got soldiers here, Lenny on the gate, Darko and Dom at the house. Nobody knows where I am aside from you guys.”

“You of all people should know that nothing’s a secret in this town,” he reminds me.

“I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” I need time to think and the less chatter going on while I figure things out, the better.

His voice lowers. “Is it true she tried to poison you?”

“Goodbye, Dante.” I hang up and run a hand through my hair. By now, they’ll all know.

This is so fucked up that it’s not even funny.

I think back to the brief quality time I had with Rayne and feel like an even bigger fool.

I also feel something in my chest for the second time tonight. I should want to rip her fucking vocal cords out so she can never utter another lie again in her life. I should lock her up, chain her to my fucking basement and never let her out.

Letting her go is inconceivable, but so is killing her.

Oh no, Rayne Michaelson, I’ve got far more despicable things lined up for you to keep me occupied, and none of them are good.

The betrayal, more than the ‘killing me’ part, is what trickles into my blood faster than the poison ever could, it seeps into my very core and turns my soul black.

I’ve never understood disloyalty, not in my past and certainly not in the present day. It doesn’t compute in my brain. You’re either in, or you’re out.

Enzo wants me to go easy on her, but she has to know the consequences of what happens when you double-cross a Medici.

And she will know.

She has no idea who I really am.

Now she is going to fucking pay.

* * *

I pull into the high gates surrounding my expansive beach house late into the night.

The full moon is hung high in the sky, creating an eerie backdrop, menacing as much as it is enchanting. I can’t decide which I prefer.

My hideaway house, surrounded by the Saconesset Hills, is the least used of all my properties, but it’s the only one that brings me the most peace. Nestled high on the edge of a cliff, the elevated peninsula boasts views north of Buzzards Bay to the Little Sippewissett Marshes in the west.

Fuck knows why I brought her here, there are plenty of holding cells at Fortress, yet a part of me wants to do this without my brothers around, without the watchful eyes of my soldiers, and not because I’m soft, but because I want complete control over what I do next.

I don’t want any distractions when the time comes to talk to her.

If I know my brothers, cousins, and best friend by now, they’ll be assembling more security to send to Falmouth, so I figure I have a couple of hours to get what I need out of Rayne.

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