Page 211 of Stalking Ginevra

“What next?” Reaper asks.

My nostrils flare. “We’re going back to see Salvatore Bellavista.

NINETY-SIX

BENITO

I sit in the front seat of the truck, urging Reaper to drive faster. Up ahead and further down the road, the Bellavista compound is in flames. Good. The boys have started without me. By now, every motherfucker dwelling within those gates will know I’m serious about finding my wife.

My heart lurches. Ginevra.

Images of that bastard whipping her like a dog sear through my mind, making my thoughts scatter. Her screams still ring through my ears. How dare he hurt my wife? How dare he force her to witness a brutal murder? It’s only a matter of time before I catch up with Victor Bellavista, and I will make him bleed.

The truck passes what’s left of the iron gates. Cesare and the others will have plowed them down the moment I gave the order to strike. As Reaper speeds down the driveway, everything from the trees to the distant buildings are alight with fire.

I open the door before he hits the breaks and step out into an atmosphere thick with smoke. Heat slaps against my skin, making me stagger back. I would say it’s like walking throughthe entrance to hell, but my soul is already burning. Burning with vengeance. Burning for Ginevra.

The whole world will burn even more if I don’t get my wife.

My heart pounds as I walk to the chaos unfolding on the lawn. In the distance, my men pull survivors out of the flames and gather them on the only part of the compound we’ve left intact.

Last time, Bellavista’s people knelt on the grass, stoic and tense. Now, they’re frantic. They’ve lost everything—their homes, their possessions, loved ones who put up a fight. This is only a fraction of the anguish that’s clawed through my heart since Ginevra fell into the clutches of Victor Bellavista.

Reaper catches up with me with a jerry can. Cesare and Rosalind stand up ahead, holding Salvatore and Antonio Bellavista at gunpoint. Antonio crouches on his hands and knees, coughing, gasping for air, his face streaked with soot. Salvatore sits on his ass, his aged face pale with fear.

“This is your last chance to tell me which one of you fuckers is Victor,” I snarl.

“I don’t know,” Antonio blurts. “I swear it?—“

Cesare kicks him in the side. “My brother didn’t ask you what you didn’t know, asshole.”

Antonio collapses onto the grass, shaking, begging, but I can’t even look him in the eye. All my focus is on Salvatore.

“He’s taken my wife,” My voice breaks, but I’m past caring about holding my emotions in check.

When he doesn’t answer, I snap my fingers.

Reaper steps forward with the jerry can, unscrewing the cap and tossing it into Salvatore’s face. I take the handle, the thick smell of gasoline cutting through the stench of fire.

“This is your last chance.”

He squares his shoulders, breathing hard as I pour the liquid over his head. He flinches at first contact but remains in place. It’s almost like he wants to die.

I kneel down, meeting his eyes. “Why are you protecting Victor?”My voice wavers, thick with rage and sorrow I can’t contain. “Is the life of one man worth your family’s?”

His eyes flick up to the burning mansion, reflecting the flames dancing in his pupils. Sweat beads on his brow as his jaw clenches, betraying his fear. My pulse quickens. This is the closest he’s ever come to showing he knows something.

Straightening, I step back and turn my attention to Antonio, dousing him with gasoline. The liquid runs over his face, down to his chest, soaking into his pajama top. He shudders, eyes wide, his gaze darting between me and his father.

“Wait, wait, please! I would tell you if I knew anything!” Antonio’s voice cracks. “Please, don’t?—”

Cesare smashes the butt of his gun into the back of Antonio’s head, cutting him off mid-sentence. He slumps forward, coughing through the soot and gasoline clinging to his nightclothes.

“Shut the fuck up and let your old man speak,” Cesare growls.

I turn to the old man, who inhales a deep breath like he’s bracing himself for the end.

“Salvatore!” a female voice erupts through the commotion. “Tell them.”

---