Page 49 of Cherished Union

CHAPTER19

HAYDEN

It’s been almost a month since Killian and Viviana died, and my wife is struggling. She rarely leaves the house as she’s anxious about what people will say to her. The scar isn’t as bad as I thought, although it's bad. It’s red and noticeable. The first day the bandages were taken off her face, she cried upon seeing it. Since then, it’s been an uphill battle trying to get her to see herself the way I do—beautiful, stunning, gorgeous, fragile, and perfect. But those fucking parents of hers have drilled into her so much shit that she’s struggling.

“Dove,” I say as I walk out of the bedroom, fixing my cuffs.

She turns to look at me. She’s seated at the table, her laptop on, and she’s working. Something she’s been doing a lot of since she’s been home. I bought a new house when she was in hospital. There’s no way I was letting her live in the house where her sister died. No fucking way.

“Yes?” she replies sweetly, albeit distractedly.

“Are you going to the club today?”

Her body tenses and her eyes widen a fraction. “I can’t,” she whispers, tears forming in her eyes.

I walk toward her, and she tenses even further. Over the past month, she hasn’t let me touch her. She thinks she’s hideous.

“Listen to me,” I say as I kneel down in front of her, my hands framing her face, my thumb caressing over the scar. “When I get back, we’re going to bed,” I tell her. She may not listen to words, but she’ll listen to what our bodies say. “Right now, I have to speak with your father, and then I’m going hunting.”

For the first time since Vivi died, her eyes flash with something other than sorrow. “Be safe.”

Fuck. I’ll never get tired of hearing that.

“I’ll be back later. Matty and Ben are staying with you.”

She nods. “Okay, I’m cooking today,” she tells me. It’s something she does every day now. She likes to feel useful, even though she works her ass off for the clubs we own. “I’ll see you soon.”

I press my lips against hers and inwardly smile when she doesn’t pull back like she’s been doing.

“Count on it, Addie,” I say hoarsely as I get to my feet. “Try not to overdo it today.” I give her a pointed look. Most nights when I get home from work, she’s crashed on the sofa where she’s been working nonstop.

“I won’t,” she says, her eyes flashing with need.

Hmm, maybe I should have pushed her before today.

I walk out of the house and see Ben and Matty waiting for me. “Ensure that she doesn’t spend all day working. I’ll be back later.”

They nod in agreement and enter the house. They’ll be close to her. They’re the only ones she’s comfortable around, mainly because they don’t stare at her. I’ve broken many of my men’s noses for staring when she first arrived home. She’s self-conscious enough without having them add to it.

“Do you have a plan?” Cody asks as I slide into the car.

“We’re going to Chicago. I need to speak to Aldo and Natalia.” Those bastards are still calling Addie. Instead of seeing how their daughter is, they’re blaming her for Vivi’s death. I’m unsure when they forgot who she was married to, but today, I’m going to remind them.

Aldo’s days are numbered. Soon, the fucker is going to feel the tip of my blade against his throat, and I’m going to enjoy every second of it. But until Rocco and Jade have everything sorted to ensure that things will run smoothly, I can’t kill them.

“When I’m finished, we’re going on a hunting trip,” I tell him, and watch as he smiles through the rearview mirror. My men have been waiting for this day, the day that we get our revenge. We have spent the last few weeks gathering information about the Masters soldiers, captains, and associates. Today, along with the Famiglia, we take them all out, leaving only the two cunts who orchestrated the bombs to go off in our homes.

Garrant Masters snuck into my home while my wife and Viviana were here. My men were with me, and I had left a twenty-three-year-old Delaney and a fifty-eight-year-old Kevin with the task of looking after the girls. Garrant somehow managed to avoid being seen by my men, planted the bomb, and escaped without being detected. It was his daughter, Lila, who planted the bomb in my parents’ house. She came the night before and placed it in my mother’s car. She, like her father, managed to escape without detection.

That’s something we’re going to have to work on. The security is abysmal. It needed fixing and it’s been done. No one can step foot within a mile of my house without a sensor going off. There are no more sneak attacks. Today, we go big and set the record straight. The Masters are no more.

It takes us almost three hours to arrive in Chicago. My da, Rocco, and Jade are already waiting for me. When I told them what Aldo had been saying to Adelina, they all wanted to be present for the conversation.

Rocco is now the boss of the Famiglia. Every man, woman, and child now answers to him and him alone. I think Rocco believes that I’m going to kill his father today. He needs to relax. Aldo won’t be dying today, or this week, for that matter. Every time I see the cunt, fear seeps into his eyes. He knows his days are numbered, and he’s a man who’s afraid of death.

Death comes for us all at some point. Many don’t deserve the way they die. The painful way they succumb to it. Others die far more peacefully than they should have. But for Aldo, I’ll not allow him to feel the peace of death. I’ll have him crying, pleading, and fearing it until the moment I’m done with him.

Stepping out of the car, I walk over to my da, Jade, and Rocco. My sister is healed, and like Rocco had said, the glass didn’t hit anything vital. Thankfully, she was back to herself within a week. She smiles at me as I reach them.

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