Page 2 of Destruction

Striding to the door of the office, I grip the phone tightly, hearing the device crack. “What type of situation?” My words are low and commanding, the thread of control I have is there, but barely, as my patience wears thin.

“T–the Boss…is gone, sir.”

I don’t know where my phone ends up as I toss it as hard as I can into the hallway. “I need a ping on Cristian’s location, Hollis,” I snap over my shoulder.

I don’t wait for his affirmative before making my way down to Cristian’s office, hoping that his bastard husband is there because I don’t have the time or inclination to look for him. Slamming the office door open, I ignore Carter’s pointed glare.

“I’m initiating a lockdown,” I tell him, speaking before he does. “I’ll be sending Roman to you, and neither of you are to go anywhere without my say so. Understand?”

He jumps up from behind the desk. “What happened?”

The thin veneer of my humanity is fraying as the guard’s words run through my head over and over. “I’m not asking. This is an order as Cristian’s Second.”

Carter crosses the room as I turn to leave, grabbing my arm and earning himself a hand to his throat as I toss him against the wall beside the door.

“Where’s Cris?” he asks, trying to fight me off. “Dammit, Tennant, you can’t just make demands without talking to me.”

Before I can respond, Hollis rushes into the room. “I’ve sent people to Cristian’s last known location. I've called Leandro down to help monitor the situation, and alerted Benji that Roman is needed.”

Carter goes still, the fight leaving him as he begins to accept what he had to have known the moment I gave the first order…

“No,” he whispers, looking from me to Hollis. “I–it… No. What thefuckis happening, Ten? Where’s Cristian?”

“I don’t know,” I admit. “But I’m going to find out. You will wait here with Roman.”

“Like hell!”

Closing my hand around his throat, I dig my fingernails into the skin there. “You might be a mafia spouse, Carter, but when it comes to safety, my word is law. I should have already been on my way to the scene, but because of you, I’m behind on getting us all the answers we want.”

Carter’s gaze bores into mine, the navy blue almost black with his emotions. “You will bring him back to me, Tennant. He…he’s not…”

“No,” I say evenly. “He’s fine. A pain in my ass because he never fuckinglistensto me, but fine.”He has to be fine.

“There is absolutely no way I’ll let you choose the first dance song. Fuck, I’m not sure we’re even having dancing. What’s wrong with just having the ceremony and then telling everyone to get the fuck out?” I glare at my supposed best friend. “Why don’t you focus on your wedding instead of mine?”

Huffing, Benjamin rolls his eyes at me. “Because one, you’re getting married first. Two, it’s to the Head of the Martelli Family. And oh yeah, finally, I don’t trust you to do this right! If you don’t think I already have a scrapbook full of ideas for my wedding, you don’t know me well. But, right now, it’s focus on you time. Which…first dance? Let’s listen to some of these songs. I think we can find one that works, that isn’t common.”

Groaning, I bury my head in my hands. I’d love to kick him out of my office, but he knows I would never do that. Whichis why he fucking ambushed me in it. At least he brought me coffee. Still, is it too much to ask for someone needing to be tortured? Other than me by listening to these sappy as fuck songs…

I’m almost overjoyed when there’s a knock at the door. Flashing what I hope is an apologetic look at Benjamin—from his facial expression, it did not work—I stand up to see who needs me. Opening the door, I’m stunned to see Marcus standing on the other side, covered in blood.

“What’s going on?” I ask slowly. “Do I need to call for a medical team?”

Marcus blinks repeatedly before staring down at himself, as if he doesn’t realize he’s covered in blood. “Shit. Fuck, I forgot. It’s not my blood. But it’s worse.”

It’s only because I value Marcus, and that he’s another one of Master’s Boys, that keeps me from stabbing him. Well, that and the fact I’m technically not allowed to be armed in the house anymore. “What do you mean it’s worse?”

Taking a deep breath, Marcus eyes me carefully before stepping back slightly. “Il Padrone is missing. I received a call from one of our soldiers, who glimpsed Il Padrone’s bodyguards being taken out and Il Padrone thrown into a car—no license plate. I immediately went there, and once I ascertained it was true, I headed here. The uh… blood is from one of the guards who was still alive at the time. He didn’t make it.”

“You didn’t think to call me?” I don’t hesitate to close the distance and punch him. I’m about to hit him again when Benjamin tackles me from behind and pulls me back. I’m stronger, but I don’t want to hurt him, so I let him take control—for now.

“I was five minutes away. That’s why I was called. There was nothing you could’ve done. I wanted to personally tell you what happened instead.”

I yank myself out of Benjamin’s arms, growling as there’s no other fucking outlet for this anger. I don’t agree with Marcus’s approach, but I can’t disagree that this is news best told in person. But, fuck! Breathing deeply, I focus on what needs to be done.

“Alright, I want all of the soldiers looking for him. Immediately. That’s your job at the moment, Marcus. Benjamin, get all the Boys here. No excuses. And for fuck’s sake, I need all of the video footage from the surrounding area. Because we’re going to get our Master home, and I will burn the fucking world down in the meantime.”

“Yes, Boss,” Marcus snaps out as he turns to leave. I know he’ll rejoin us when the rest of the Boys get here, but I can’t help stumbling at his words.

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