Page 17 of Stealing His Christmas Present

Chapter 6

A RUSH WENT THROUGHme every time I looked at the feed from the camera that was in the corner of Claudia’s cell and had a direct view of her cot. She hadn’t realized it was there so far.

She was sitting on the cot, her knees drawn to her chest and covered with the blanket. Her face was pensive.

If only I could read her mind.

What was she thinking? Was she hoping her family would find her? Or was she plotting something and trying to come up with a way to talk me into letting her go?

I glanced down at my phone. The Casadeis and Lombardis were still chasing the wrong lead, but that wasn’t a surprise.

Who the fuck even remembered me?

No one.

They’d killed Pietro Casas and all the assassins he’d sent after them. My then boss must have claimed he’d only been hired to give information to Casas and the assassins with the help of our Spanish branch, and that he had no beef with Lombardi or anyone, so they hadn’t gone after him too.

As for me, I didn’t know what they believed, and I was sure no one had told them I’d been ordered to kill Claudia and the guards and take Stella prisoner.

I was just an insignificant gang member for them. There was no proof, and my boss had made sure I would be unreachable and unfindable.

It was a surprise Claudia still remembered my name.

An alert popped up on the screen of my laptop.

Someone was coming, but it was just my subordinates. They were supposed to report to me about any news on what was going on in our territory that couldn’t be said over the phone or sent online, despite all the secure networks.

I let them through and remotely unlocked the door. They knew their way to my office, even if this three-story mansion in the middle of nowhere sometimes seemed like a maze.

When a knock sounded on the door, I closed my laptop.

“Come in,” I said.

Judging by the grim looks on the faces of the two men who had shown up, they weren’t bringing any good news, or they were just unhappy I hadn’t dropped dead in the meantime.

“Boss, we heard some rumors,” the taller one of them—Ricky—said.

“Rumors?” I raised an eyebrow at him. “And that’s worthy of my attention, how exactly?”

“Our hacker guy... He said you kidnapped one of Casadei’s girls, and that she’s here.”

“Then he should keep his fucking mouth shut. This is none of your business. Any of you.”

“Don’t worry, Boss. He just told me,” Ricky said.

“And you told Miguel here.” I shot them both a glare. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”

“I’m sorry. We’re just... The Casadeis are dangerous and powerful. They can wipe us all out if they find out and—”

“This is my private business, not the gang’s. But it will become everyone’s problem if you keep opening your fucking mouth when you’re not supposed to!”

“I understand, Boss,” Ricky said. “But—”

“No, buts. Question me again, and you’ll end up in the dungeon with the Casadei girl. Is that clear?”

They were quiet as they exchanged a quick glance.

I could see it in their eyes.

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