Page 1 of Dark Desire

Prologue

Vincenzo

I paced Massimo's office, waiting to hear why Matias Silva was on the phone. The Silva's were a well-known syndicate in Chile. They controlled most of the region around there, exporting lithium and various gems. Most of it was legal, but like our own family—some was not. We'd dealt with them in the past, helping with transport of materials to the US, but our relationship didn't go beyond that.

So, when he called asking for the patriarch of our family, my hackles rose. The last thing we needed was another issue. We'd spent the last few weeks searching for Antonio. The day someone tried to snatch Catarina from the employee parking lot at the hospital, we thought we almost lost her. The sad truth was, we lost Antonio instead. He'd stuck around to talk with the investigator and never made it home. And it took us hours to realize something was wrong.

When the family realized he'd been kidnapped, Massimo blamed himself for not taking his absence at our meeting that day seriously. But like the rest of us, we assumed he was tied up with law enforcement, trying to cover the truth behind the attempt on Catarina's life. Instead, he had been taken.

I waited on bated breath as Massimo spoke. When he finally hung up the phone, I stopped pacing and looked at him. "Well? What did they want?"

“Antonio has been found,” Massimo's voice cracked with immense emotion as he spoke. “Matias has him in Chile.”

I ground my teeth together, my heart thumping with rage as I listened. “What the fuck is he doing in Chile?”

“It appears Dmitri Ivanov had him kidnapped and was holding him on Jorge Peru’s property. Matias assures me he’s safe, but I’ll be flying out tonight.”

“Dmitri Ivanov?” I didn't try to hide my shock. “The Prizrak?”

“Yes, the Prizrak. Look, Madison is going to want to come with me. Are you going to be ok to stay behind and deal with things here?”

I closed my eyes and sighed. “I’ll be fine. Besides, I have Riley to train.”

Massimo clicked his tongue. “The new manager?”

“What? You’re the one who said I needed help.”

I could see the tension in his body. “I know. There’s just something about her I don’t like.”

Waving him off, “Alec cleared her. She’s doing fine.”

I was irritated I had to hire someone to take over for me, but ever since Miguel’s sister was found dead in my restaurant—I was having to resurrect a part of me that prevented me from being at Bellissimo as much. “Let me worry about her. Go get our brother and come home. I’ll hold things down here until I hear from you.”

“Okay. Vin…” Massimo took a deep breath. “Don’t let the darkness take you again. I nearly lost you once. I can’t lose you again.” He eyed me with deep concern, making me turn away briefly.

When he stepped beside me, I pulled him into a hug before bidding him farewell. Dmitri Ivanov had no idea what he had done. Fucking with the Anastasi’s was going to be his gravest mistake.

Even if it meant losing myself to bring him down.

One

Vincenzo

My palms twitched with anger as I watched my brother enter the house. His body was battered and bruised, reminding me how close we came to losing him at the hands of Ivanov.

I pulled him into an embrace as soon as he was within reach, needing to feel he was real. “Antonio.” My throat tightened with profound guilt and sadness. “I’m glad you’re home.”

“I’m fine, Brother. Sit down and I'll fill you in on everything.”

For the next several hours, Antonio told us everything he could remember. Blistering fiery anger coursed through my body as he described how Dmitri took him and how he was now holding his own daughter against her will.

“What are we going to do about it?” I looked at my older brother, who was standing beside a man he'd introduced as Bastian Silva. Dmitri might have been this woman's father, but she was now Matias Silva’s heart—and we would stop at nothing to bring her home to him. We owed him that much for saving Antonio.

“We found some information showing he has an estate somewhere outside of Vegas. When we find out where, we will pay him a visit.” Bastian spoke, his English pretty spot on for a man that rarely came to the states.

I folded my arms across my chest and growled. “Let me know when. I want to be there. This motherfucker is going to pay for everything he has done.”

Antonio took a deep breath and looked at Massimo, who nodded. “There is something else you should know, Vin.”