Page 17 of Savage Hearts

“She’s safe.” His two worded answer had me breathing a sigh of relief. “You need to forget about my sister, Mr. Hart.”

“I’ll never forget her.” I snapped. “But I’ll stay away. I won’t bring death to her doorstep as long as you can protect her until I take care of the threat.”

“We are working to end Manuel. You needn’t worry about that.”

“Oh, I’m not worried, Mr. Anastasi. I’m pissed. He made the mistake of hiring me to do something I rarely do.”

“Kidnap women?” Massimo laughed into the phone. “And yet you did.”

“I’ll live to regret what I did to Celestina for the rest of my life. Your sister is a force of nature and burned herself into my veins. I’ll do everything I can to protect her. No one will touch her.”

“You love my sister.” Massimo was a matter of fact. “Then why stay away? Why not come and help us take him down?”

“I’m death and destruction. She deserves someone who can give her things I cannot.”

“You underestimate my sister, Mr. Hart. Celestina is a strong woman who has Anastasi blood in her veins. She doesn’t want soft, I assure you.”

“Your sister deserves a hero.”

“Yet she fell in love with a monster.” Massimo sighed. “What do I tell her when she asks about you?”

“Tell her to forget me.”

“And when she learns where you are… what then?”

“Don’t tell her where I am, Mr. Anastasi. I can’t be the man she needs.”

“Maybe not, but you’re the man she wants. Fine,” he huffed. “I’ll keep your location secret, but you know as well as I do, secrets never stay buried.”

The sound of the motherfucker I’d got tied to the chair snapped me from my memory, and I smirked.

“Alright,friend.” I jerked his head back and pressed the blade against his throat. “Tell me where Manuel is hiding.”

“Fuck you,” he breathed through the broken teeth as blood poured down his face. “I’ll die before I betray him.”

I shook my head and grinned. “You’ll die either way, but it can be quick… or not. I’m not only good with a gun. I was trained to interrogate the enemy. And you,”—I leaned into him—“are the enemy.” The edge of my knife snicked into his skin, piercing the delicate flesh and making his eyes widen in surprise. “Did you know if I put just the right amount of pressure here?”—my body shifted—“I can take your head clean off?”

His breath hitched, and his eyes dilated. “Doesn’t matter. I’m not the only one hunting her. Kill me, and someone else will get to her and finish what he started.”

My body tightened with his words. “What are you talking about?”

The evil grin that spread across his face made my inside burn with rage. “You don’t know?”

“Know what?”

I’d spent all this time hunting Manuel. At no point had I learned Celestina was still in danger. Surely, her brother would have contacted me if that was the case.

“They’ve gone after your girl several times now. She’s a slippery little bitch, though. But the last time they made a go at grabbing her, they did some real damage.”

“What the fuck are you talking about?” I pressed my knee into his groin and leaned into him, letting the knife burrow into his neck.

“Manuel.” He gasped, trying to buck beneath my hold. “He’s going to get the other Anastasi whore and make an example out of her. You might have delayed his plans, but that’s it. He’s not going to stop until he makes Massimo Anastasi bleed and the family pay for killing his brother.”

“What did they do to her? You said they did some real damage last time. What. Does. That. Mean?”

“Fuck you.” He laughed through his ragged breaths.

Nothing but red filled my vision, and I let the anger consume me. I didn’t stop gouging the piece of shit henchman until his head lobbed off his shoulders and rolled onto the floor. Blood splattered across my face as I heaved the chair back and stepped away. Glancing around at the wooden shack I’d commandeered in the woods, I spat on the floor.

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