Page 9 of Fall into Savagery

I could feel something in me calming as I took in the sight.

And soon, we would have Damien right here with us, where he belonged. Catalina would speak, Nikolay wouldn’t look so volatile—even more so than usual—and I wouldn’t feel like I was falling apart, a small shred of it at a time.

Catalina pulled away first. Nikolay grabbed her bag from her, watching closely as she made her way over to me.

I knew from the look in Nikolay’s eyes that he was fighting hard not to grab her and keep her close. I knew because I had been feeling the same way for days now. Even the thought of taking her out of New York and to California, to Bianchi’s territory, was making my skin crawl.

But I knew Bianchi had contacted Luca to make the bomb for him.

It made sense.

When Luca survived Damien’s torture, he would’ve needed to go into hiding from us. And what was more, he needed the backing and the resources. It surprised me that he didn’t head down South and asked Agnello for assistance.

Catalina had grown up believing Angelo Agnello was her father for the first twenty-two years of her life. But then, just recently, the Bianchi Famiglia came to New York and took Catalina while she was out shopping for books. Francisco Bianchi claimed to be her father and had been biding his time until he could gain the power to take her home.

Unlucky for him, we got to her first.

And we were never giving her up.

Yet, I was taking her back to him and asking for his help.

Everything in me said to lock Catalina up.

But I knew she would want to come, and I hoped seeing her would soften Bianchi into helping us find Luca.

She wouldn’t be without protection, though. I had made sure of that. Maxim was staying behind to help oversee most of the business side of things, especially to continue our plan of blowing up Agnello’s operations one by one. Meanwhile, I was taking Kirill and twenty other men with me. Kirill was traveling with us, but the other men should already be in California.

With everything that had happened, we had put Agnello on the back burner, but we weren’t stopping completely. Most of his associates had already distanced themselves from him when they heard he was going head-to-head with the Bratva.

Agnello was running out of backing and resources, and pretty soon, he would run out of business and money.

We were going to cut him where it hurt the most, weaken him, and wait until he came out of hiding, and if—when—we got Damien back, we were going to exact our revenge on him.

We were going to get Damien back.

I grabbed Catalina when she came up to me, pulling her close.

She continued to look at me with expressionless brown eyes.

I vowed then that I would bring the fire back into her eyes. No matter what.

I met Nikolay’s gaze behind her and nodded.

The three of us headed down to the lobby quietly. Catalina had her head down, her stare aimed directly down at her feet inside the elevator, while Nikolay took her in intently, as if he was afraid she might disappear if he looked away for even a second. I silently kept my focus on our reflection.

The bell dinged once we got to our floor, taking me out of my reverie.

I slipped on the mask as soon as I stepped out, pulling Catalina closer to me.

Everything was so fucking messed up lately, I wouldn’t put it past anyone to try to take her from me.

There was already a car waiting for us at the front.

Catalina turned to Nikolay and opened her mouth. I held my breath, watching her, but at the last minute, she shut it. Frustration tinged her eyes.

Nikolay’s shoulders went lax, and he stepped forward to cup her cheek. “It’s okay, princess. You’ll talk to us when you’re ready.”

Her bottom lip trembled, and it felt like a punch to the gut.

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