Page 8 of Savage Knights (Princes of Devil's Creek 3)

My father aimed his stern expression at me, arms crossed over his chest. “How did this happen? Only a handful of men knew the location of the safe house.”

“I don’t think it’s corruption within the Knights,” I assured him.

“No?” Carl’s eyebrows rose a half inch. “Because it sounds like you can’t control your own men.”

“This wasn’t the Knights,” my dad said in our defense.

“There will be an investigation into every man at the safe house.” Carl clenched his jaw as he aimed his hardened gaze at me. “I blame you. If you weren’t such a spoiled brat, you would have put your pride aside a long time ago and made this work with my granddaughter. I didn’t have to agree to this marriage. I didn’t have to make this right.”

“It’s my fault.” I nodded in agreement. “I should have done a lot of things. But it’s too late to dwell on the past.”

“Do you have Alex’s location?” Carl asked.

I bobbed my head to confirm. “Drake is coordinating with the pilot as we speak.”

A long beat of silence passed between us, with nothing more than the sound of the chopper’s blades rotating filling the air. Everyone was on edge. Even Marcello, who was always in control, looked like he was ready to jump out of his skin.

Damian and Bastian were still feeling the effects of the drugs and not quite themselves. They leaned against each other by the helicopter like they needed the other to hold themselves up.

“Lorenzo is going to marry Alex,” I said without a single doubt in my mind. “That’s what I would do.”

If we didn’t find her in time, she would have to marry a Mafia Don. Lorenzo Basile was my great uncle and the leader of the family in Calabria. My mother’s parents had fled from Italy to get away from the violence. They made the right choice, but my mom never got away from them.

Carl scrubbed a hand across his jaw. “How does he know about the dowry? That’s not information I share with outsiders.”

“My mother was close with Lorenzo,” I pointed out. “She was his favorite niece. It’s possible she mentioned it to him.”

“No.” Dad shook his head. “Your mother knew better than to discuss our business with the Basiles.”

I rolled my shoulders. “I guess we’ll never know.”

I considered myself a patient man. I’d waited years to claim Alex. To get her back, I had to exercise the same patience. One wrong move, and I would never see her again.

Drake crossed the helipad with Marcello and Sonny at his sides. He looked determined, walking with a purpose as he strode toward me with the iPad in his hand.

He shoved the screen in front of me. “They’re on the move again.”

Carl and my father leaned over me to get a better look. A man carried Alex toward a yacht. Two more men dressed in dark suits followed. He dropped her onto the dock as if she were insignificant. Alex’s eyes slightly opened as she struggled against her restraints, the ties binding her arms and legs.

My insides set on fire, rage bubbling up inside me.

I pointed at a dark-haired man with a scar that ran down the length of his neck. “I know him. He’s a Capo in the Basile crime family.”

“I didn’t see Lorenzo anywhere on the feeds,” Drake said.

“He’ll be at the final destination,” Marcello interjected.

“What about Aiden?” Sonny asked.

Drake nodded. “He’ll be there, too.”

Carl held my gaze for a moment with a menacing glare in his eyes. “You better find my grandchildren. If any harm comes to them, you will pay the price.”

Iwoke up to the sound of water splashing the side of the boat. Thunder boomed so loudly my heart raced at the sudden bolts striking the water, one after another. I rolled onto my side, surprised to find my hands and legs free from the restraints.

I glanced around the room in search of water. My tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth, lips chapped and cracked from dehydration. The disgusting taste of bile crept up the back of my throat.

I clutched my stomach and fought the wave of nausea and the stabbing pains in my stomach. I squeezed my eyes shut, desperate to make the pain go away. Between the migraine working its way to the back of my head, and the sickness washing over me, I could barely move an inch.

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