Page 18 of Savage Hearts

Knowing they’d gone after her changed everything. Slipping my cell phone from my pocket, I pulled up the number I promised not to use again.

“I don’t have time to deal withyou, Mr. Hart. I’m busy planning a funeral. One that you brought to this family.”

The sound of silence filled the phone as I stared at the blackened screen. Dropping to my knees, I bellowed into the empty room. Years of being in the military and seeing men I worked alongside die felt nothing like the immense pain shredding my heart. Standing, I wiped the blood from my face. Manuel might be an evil bastard, but I was death and destruction. I thought of Celestina and what I’d given up sending her away. Manuel was so focused on the Anastasis, he failed to think about the man who’d take him down—me.

After dousing the tiny wooden structure in accelerant, I stood in the tree line and watched it burn. The orange glow filled the night sky as the ashes of my sins floated into the air. Once there was nothing left but dust, I hiked my bag onto my shoulder and walked away. There was only one place left to go. It would be the last stop I made before disappearing into the world alone. Miguel might have struck the Anastasis with a deadly blow, but his revenge would decimate him and his entire organization.

Take a soldier’s life from him, and he becomes deadly. Take away his heart, and all that’s left is carnage. I made it to my car and climbed inside. Resting my head against the steering wheel, I took several deep breaths. Getting cleaned up needed to happen first, then I’d face my biggest regret and say goodbye. Tears welled in my eyes at the thought of Celestina. I’d failed her twice—once when I left and broke her heart, and now… when I’d failed to protect her.

There was nothing that would stop me from avenging her now. I’d make sure the Anastasis were free of Manuel and his minions if it was the last thing I did. Pulling into a shithole motel, I paid for the room in cash. The clerk noticed my appearance but didn’t say a word. He was probably used to rift-raft round here, so my shitty looks didn’t faze him. After the world’s fastest shower, I sat down on the ratty hotel mattress. I knew showing up at Massimo’s club was risky, but I needed to see him. The gaping hole in my chest would never close, and, in all honesty, a small part hoped he put a bullet in my head.

It would serve me right after all this shit I’d done. If anyone deserved a death sentence, it was me. Glancing at my watch, my body collapsed against the musty pillow for a few hours sleep before I made my trek across Mexico.

It was time to go home and face the sorrow waiting for me.

seven

CELESTINA

Three hundred sixty-five days,seven hours, and twenty-three minutes.

One year ago, I couldn’t have told you I’d be staring down at a baby—but I was. And I was damn glad of that fact. I’d nearly lost my daughter because I’d been stupid and wanted to leave the safety of my house, knowing good and well I was in constant danger. The memory of that day played over in my head like a fucking nightmare I couldn’t escape, even when I was awake.

The pain was like nothing I’d ever felt as the haze slowly cleared my mind. I blinked open my heavy lids slowly. The bright florescent lights burned my retinas as if I’d just opened them and stared directly into the sun. Ceiling tiles stared back at me as I tried to get my bearings.

“Hey.” A voice penetrated my ears, and I tried to turn my head toward the sound. “Whoa, Cee. Take it easy, honey. You’re in the hospital.” Harley, Drew Mancini’s wife and Catarina’s best friend, stared down at me. “I’ve called for the doctor, sweetheart. You were in an accident. Do you remember?”

I closed my eyes as the memory assaulted me—Carlisle, the car—everything thundered into my thoughts, and I sucked in a sob. “Carmela?”

“Let’s wait for the doctor to come in before we talk, okay?”

My hand instinctively went to my belly, which was suddenly flat.

“My daughter?” I hiccupped a cry as pain scorched across my abdomen as I pressed against the gauze beneath my naval.

“She is in the NICU as a precaution. You were hurt pretty badly, sweetheart.”

The door to my room busted open, and Massimo, followed by who I assumed was my entire family, rushed inside. He leaned down to my side, pulling me into an embrace.

“Cee… fuck, we thought we lost you.”

“I’m sorry.”

“None of that. I shouldn’t have kept you locked up… you wouldn’t have snuck out.”

I cried against his solid frame. “Carlisle… he’s dead.” I squeezed my eyes closed at the memory of his body hitting the ground. “Oh, fuck. Carmela… where’s—”

Massimo pressed his finger to my lips. “It’s going to be okay, Cee. We’ll find her.”

“No.” I jerked away from him and stared into his eyes. “No… they took her. They took her because of me, Massimo. She’s dead because of me. I killed her… I killed my sister.”

The doctor rushed in, pushing through my brothers, who stood like a wall of protection around me. “She’s getting to upset.” He plunged a needle into my IV, and the world faded—but not the memory of what I’d done.

The tiny mewl of my daughter snapped me back to reality. Glancing down at her bassinet, I stroked her head. The dark wisps of hair covering her head made me smile. She got the Anastasi coloring, but her cerulean blue eyes reminded me of her father every time she looked at me. The doctor reminded me they could change, but I knew they wouldn’t. It was the only reminder I had of the man who’d given her to me. Memories of Beckett pelted me like a flock of birds escaping a tree.

“Tino.” Beckett’s voice was nearly normal again. “I have a problem and need your help.” I sucked in a breath. I’d spent our time together hating him for what he’d done and what he planned to do. Most of all, for what he’d put my family through. But after a while, I didn’t know what to think. Beckett might’ve been as trapped as I was.

“You could say that.” He paused, and I pressed my ear to the door again, desperate for his next words. “I’m breaking the contract with Manuel Costa.” The man’s name echoed in the silence. “A woman.”

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