Page 23 of Corrupted Empire

But this is Alexis’ best friend. She begged me to find Clara, and considering all that Clara has been through because of Alexis’ connection to me, it feels like my responsibility.

“If the police were going to do anything about it, they would have done it already,” I reply. “Do you think we are the only ones who can afford to buy help on the inside?”

“I still—”

I slam my fist on the desk. “Dammit, Silvano. We’re going after her. Get a team together and meet me in front of the mansion in thirty minutes.”

“Yes, sir.”

I end the call. If nothing else, maybe this rescue mission will help me blow off a little steam. I obviously need it.

* * *

The house is a nondescript rancher with one boarded-up window and a rusty bicycle sitting in the middle of the front yard. The front porch light is on, as if welcoming us inside. It’s quiet. I don’t like it.

My men split up, with Gio and Mirko going around the back and the rest going through the front with me. We approach the door, guns drawn, and Dom kicks it in. We rush through the entrance into the darkness.

It smells putrid inside, like cats and feces and something dead. I reach for the light switch, but it doesn’t turn on. Dom aims a flashlight at the ceiling. The bulb has been removed.

“Here!” Mirko calls from further in the house.

I leave Dom and the others to clear the rest of the front while I follow Mirko’s voice. I find him in a small boxy room off what looks to be the kitchen. That’s where I find Clara too. The small blonde is tied to a chair, her head hanging forward, her arms pulled tightly behind her so that it looks like her shoulders are seconds from popping out of their sockets.

Mirko is bent behind her, working on the restraints. It’s only when I enter the room that Clara seems to notice she is no longer alone. She lifts her head, looking up at me with bleary eyes, rimmed with red and purple.

“Gabriel,” she says, her scratchy voice thick with surprise.

“I’m a little surprised, too, if I’m being honest,” comes a husky female voice from behind me. I would recognize that voice anywhere.

I spin on my heel and aim my gun, but Felicity Huffman and her two men already have guns trained on Mirko and me. Fuck.

My father’s former concubine looks just like I remember her—an elegant woman in her forties with blonde hair cropped into a prim pixie cut and blue eyes sparkling under the golden bangs at the front. She has high, elegant cheekbones and a pert mouth that always lends her the appearance of someone who knows a secret that she cannot wait to share.

I always wondered what happened to her after my father’s death. She disappeared in the middle of the night, presumably never to be seen again. If only it were that simple.

“Felicity,” I growl. “What the fuck are you doing here?”

“I thought it was time for a chat,” she coos, leaning one hip against the doorframe. “I hear you’ve been demanding to have an audience with me all over town.”

I frown. “I didn’t even know you were alive.”

“Oh come now, Gabriel.” She rolls her eyes, chuckling. “Don’t be so dense.”

The pieces click together in my mind. But no…It can’t be.

I grit my teeth. “You’re leading the Cartel?”

Felicity laughs, an airy sound that seems so out of place in this den of horrors. “Don’t look so surprised, darling. You knew I was ambitious.” She cocks the gun. “I did have my sights on the Italian Mafia, but some little shit got in my way and took it for himself.”

My lip curls in disgust. “So who did you have to kill to get this job?”

“I barely had to kill anyone,” she says with a weak shrug. “Filipe Montoya was already an old man when I met him. His sons were the only ones who I knew would contest me when I took over after his death, so I set them against each other, and they took care of that problem themselves.” She sighs. “Anyway, I do apologize, my darling, but it absolutely stinks in here, and I have tickets to the theater tonight, so if you wouldn’t mind getting on your knees, I’d like to get this over with.”

I look over her shoulder. Where are the rest of my men?

Felicity tracks my gaze. “Oh, I wouldn’t expect your men to burst through and save you,” she says. “Kevin Lynch and his men have them shored up on the other side of the house. They’re just awaiting my word.” She grins. “Kevin is such a little darling, isn’t he? I’ve found mob bosses to be terribly malleable. It’s the ego, I think.” She sighs. “Anyway, it has been lovely to catch up, but I’m afraid I must insist—” She steps closer, expression souring. “Get on your fucking knees.”

My jaw tightens, and I begin to slowly lower, mind whirring as I try to think my way out of this.

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