Page 78 of Corrupted Heir (Mafia Kings: Corrupted 1)

I slipped my arm back around her. She didn’t fight me this time.

“I have to go,” I said, gritting my teeth. “Are you going to be okay,limone?”

She shook her head, then nodded, then shook it again.

“You’re strong, Fallon. This didn’t break you. Nothing ever will.”

Maybe I said it as much for me as for her.

I looked around for Leo, who was standing nearby. He approached once I caught his attention.

“Take care of her, Leo. Take her home and make sure she gets cleaned up and comfortable, then call me. We have a bit of a situation in our hands.”

“Si, fratello,”Leo said. His face was covered in soot. “Good luck.”

“Vivere.”

I squared my shoulders and walked away. I was doing what needed to be done. That’s what I did. That’s what I would always do.

I let the McLaren stretch her legs, speeding toward the address Dante had texted me. But it was Fallon in my head the whole time. I couldn’t get her out no matter how hard I tried. She was always there, pissing me off or making me laugh or driving me fucking crazy. I didn’t want to care for her, but I couldn’t help it. It seemed she’d written herself onto my soul and there was no erasing the mark she’d made.

I squealed to a stop next to the address Dante had given me. I’d been so caught up in my thoughts, the flames seemed to come out of nowhere. They leaped from the building, and even inside the car, I could hear the crackling and the occasionalcrashas another window shattered.

Burying everything inside me down where it belonged, I got out of the car. Dante waited near the curb, a handkerchief covering his mouth and nose.

The scene was similar to Fallon’s clinic, a building on fire, this one was roaring, and still very much alive. Dante didn’t waste any time briefing me on what was going on.

“I’ve gotten reports from our men and associates that any and all businesses that are pertinent to the operation of our family are being taken out. They started with the Laundromats.” Dante pointed at the building behind him.

“Fucking Nova,” I cursed, imagining exactly what I would do to him when I got my hands on him.

“This is a fucking disaster, brother. Everyone on our payroll is being hit—hard—and they’re going to want compensation.” Dante moved the handkerchief out of the way and lit his cigarette. “The Laundromats being destroyed means we have lost millions. According to my sources… Brother, they’re hitting businesses all across Queens. This is a coordinated attack to weaken us for the final blow.”

“Why aren’t you telling our father this?” I leaned against the vehicle and looked up at the sky. My ears honed in on the sounds of the city. People screamed, and cars raced across the streets. A few shots were fired here and there, and the occasional window exploded from the heat. The city was playing an orchestra of absolute chaos.

“You know Dad’s sort of… rusty these days. You’re basically running things while he sits at the head of the table. It’s been like this for years, Dominic. You’re the first person I’d come to for this,” Dante said.

“Considering what Nova’s up to, we’ve got hundreds of weak points across the city. We need to start moving our assets to secure places so we don’t lose everything. Weapons first. Money second,” I said.

“I’ll make a few calls. Send it along the grapevine. Where should we store everything?”

I sucked through my teeth, trying to figure things out.

“The house is big enough. We’ll have to make space. The bedrooms are all filled up, but we have a few offices that our soldiers use as meeting rooms and sleeping quarters. I’m sure we’ll find space. We also have the pool house and the additional maid’s quarters at the back of the property. We’ll worry about cleaning cash when things get back to normal. Call Douglas to send in reinforcements where he can.”

“Right,” Dante said. “I’ll get some trucks ready and start—”

Something exploded. The sound was so loud it nearly knocked me off my feet as I stumbled to the side. Dante grabbed onto the car to steady himself. The ringing in my ears became deafening. I could see his lips moving, but I couldn’t hear what he was saying.

“What?” I practically shouted. “I can’t hear you.”

Slowly, my hearing came back as the ringing died down.

“Fucking bomb at the Italian place down the street,” Dante said. He looked past me to inspect it. “Fuck, man, they made thebestmeatballs.”

“Every Italian place makes the best meatballs.” I scoffed.

“Yeah, but every time I bring a girl there, I get laid. That place had sentimental value,” Dante said. He threw his cigarette on the ground and stomped on it. “I’ll see you around.”

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