Page 1 of Destruction

Islowly wake up and immediately touch the back of my head. Snarling at the pain and sticky feeling of blood, I blink my eyes open further.Fuck. I’m disoriented, but not to the point where I can’t realize I’m in a bad situation.

“I wondered when you would wake up.” I recognize that voice and turn toward it to see Cristian, the Head of the Amato Organization, sitting on the floor across from me.

“You sound far too amused.” I sweep my gaze over him, noting the manacles on his ankles, one of which is attached to the wall. There’s nothing in his eyes that shows any concern. Hell, if anything, he appears relaxed, like this is nothing more than a trip to the spa. Then again…

“Iamamused. The fact someone managed to get the mighty Il Padrone? And that they would dare go after us both. Some people have the life expectancy of a fruit fly.”

Snorting, I stand up from the cold floor, unsurprised that I need to shuffle, thanks to my own pair of manacles. Not the fashion accessory I’d choose. “Do we know who our gracious host is?”

Cristian lets out an aborted laugh as he shakes his head. “I was also unconscious when brought in. But considering the whispers we had been hearing… I don’t think it would take many guesses.”

“I suppose not. How did they manage to get you?” I lean against the wall, wishing we at least had some fucking chairs. A fucking concrete room with an obvious camera is so…cliché. There’s no creativity to it.

“I was coming back from shopping; Carter’s birthday is in a few weeks and I’ve yet to find the perfect gift. Tennant isn’t going to let me live it down, as he doesn’t understand why I’m not content with shopping online. What about you?”

“I stopped to pick up wedding invitation samples. That’s the last thing I remember. I suspect my guards are dead. Or they will be as soon as my fiancé gets ahold of them.”

“Ah, yes. Your Lio does not have any patience.” Cristian chuckles as we share a look, knowing mayhem will follow in the wake of our disappearance.

“None of our families have any patience. It’s more a question of which one will get here first at this point.”

“A bet, perhaps?”

I cock my head at Cristian’s idea. That does sound enticing while we wait for our men to find us. “I believe I’ll take you up on that. What are the terms?”

“If my family gets here first, I want an introduction to The Company.”

“That sounds fair. Keegan can get you in touch with the Head of the assassin organization. Hell, I’ll even pay for your first request. And if my family is first, I want a favor from Hollis.”

“Hmm. Agreed. I think?—”

“Shut up! It doesn’t matter who will get here first! I’ll kill them all. And we will finally be crime free!”

Shrugging, I force myself to hold back a smirk as the voice gives us some of the information we need. Yes, there’s audio and not just video in the room.

“Are chairs too much to ask for?”

I tip my head back at Cristian’s dry response. The man on the other side must not find it humorous as he doesn’t respond.

Hell, our host isn’t going to find much funny when he realizes all the mistakes he’s made. It takes a certain type of person to kidnap another. This man? He doesn’t have it—I can tell that just from our…accommodations.

I shift trying to get comfortable. It’s going to be entertaining as fuck for us. I have no fear our organizations will destroy everything in their path to rescue us. Until then? Well, let’s just say, I’m not opposed to fucking with the guy.

“Don’t you have better things to do than annoying me?” Hol snaps.

“Nope,” I reply calmly, leaning back in my chair until two of the legs lift from the floor. “Cristian isn’t back yet, and Roman is working with Benji and Dante—I think he dragged Jude along, too. If anyone else needs to be micromanaged, they wouldn’t be working for me.”

“Lucky me, then,” he mutters.

I ignore him, knowing he’s not really bothered by my being here. If he was, he wouldn’t have a problem kicking me out.

In truth, this is the first reprieve I’ve had in a while. Between the Russian debacle Doc found himself in, everything that happened with Jude’s family and the De Luca’s, and the day-to-day things that come with keeping the Family in line, a few hours of peace sitting with my tesoro is a rare thing.

As the thought crosses my mind, my phone rings. The chair legs fall back to the floor with a loud bang as I sit upright, causing Hollis to give me alook. “Sorry,” I say absently, pulling out the phone and staring at the display.

Immediately, everything in me is on guard, and I go from calm lover to alert Second in an instant. I stand quickly, answering with a clipped, “What happened?”

“Sir…” The voice on the other end of the line shakes. “We… There’s been a situation.”

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