Page 6 of Savage Claim

My cousin shrugged. “The doctor gave her pain medicine, and she’s knocked out. If you’re going after the motherfuckers who attacked her, then I want in.”

I should have known that Elio would want their blood for himself. “I want Santino for myself,” I said. “Artem Volkov needs to die for encroaching on what’s ours and for the casino, but Santino is going to the basement.”

Both Damian and Elio nodded in understanding. Taking him to the basement meant that I wanted to take my time with him. The man owed me more than a million dollars and thought that he could double-dip with his form of payment. The anger that I had for Isabella boiled in my belly. I would deal with it, and her, after I made her father suffer.

“Did she really crack Cristian in the head,cugino?” I nodded, and Elio scoffed. “What in the hell was she thinking?”

“She found a picture of Sienna,” Damian said. When I glared at him, he held up his hands, unarmed.

Elio, however, looked like he’d been struck with a two by four. “Oh, shit. What did she say?”

“It doesn’t matter,” I said.

He raised an eyebrow at me. “She found out she looks exactly like your dead wife, and you don’t think it’s a big deal?”

“It’s not exactly the most pressing thing right now, is it?” I barked. “Help me get her back, and I’ll deal with it then, all right?”

That brought Elio back to the present. “Sure, Enzo.”

I slid a knife into the belt sheath at my back; I had it custom made years ago, and it was damn hard to find, even when someone patted me down. Elio handed me another blade that went into my boot. “Do we have men in place?”

Samuel grunted. “Got it all situated for you, Don.”

“Renaldo will get set up on the building next door,” Damian said, and the older man held up his gun bag. He was a hell of a sniper. Army-trained, but he’d come to work for my father after the VA screwed him over. Damian handed me a tiny ear piece, and I shoved it into my ear. “Leave your phone open, so we can monitor what’s going on.”

I nodded, “Time it out,” I told him, Elio, and Samuel. “Five minutes after the first attack, you come in after us. That should give me enough time to get Isabella away from Artem.”

Leaving my men out of sight, I approached the building. Two large men greeted me before checking me for weapons, missing the knife on my belt and in my boot just like I had thought, and speaking Russian to each other the whole time. Once they’d determined that I actually showed up seemingly alone and weaponless, the bigger of the two grabbed my arm and all but dragged me inside.

I could have broken every bone in his fucking body, but I let him think that he had control over me.

The other guard opened a door to an office that was so loudly decorated that it made my head hurt. Ahead of me, Artem had Isabella tucked in his arms. If I didn’t clock the blade pressed against her belly, I would think that I was stumbling across a pair of lovers wrapped around each other.

“I’m impressed,” Artem said. “Sweet Isabella was so sure that you wouldn’t bother coming. Isn’t that right?”

Isabella winced as she struggled in his grip. “Stop.” The word came out slurred; she was having trouble focusing her gaze on me. They had drugged her.

That can’t be good for the baby.

I couldn’t say that I truly cared about the baby, but I knew how Isabella felt about it. She would be devastated if something went wrong. Remembering the time limit that I was under with my men, I asked, “Did you call me down here just for this?” I kept my tone level, almost bored. I wasn’t going to give Artem a second of satisfaction.

“You’re the one who rushed down here, Don Vitali.”

“I finally got you in one place,” I said. “I couldn’t miss the opportunity for us to sit down and discuss things.”

Artem’s eyes narrowed; he was obviously unhappy with my lack of outrage. “So, if I wanted to gut your whore right here, you wouldn’t have a problem with that?” Isabella groaned, and Artem hushed her softly. She had a fresh bruise on her face. “Quiet,malishka. We’ll be done soon.”

I was going to put my thumbs through his eyes. “You’ve damaged my property,” I said. “Where’s Santino?” I looked around and spotted the little bastard in a chair beside Artem. He looked like a little boy in his daddy’s office. I stared at him while I talked, watching with joy as he flinched. “He is going to owe me a lot of money here shortly.” I gestured towards Artem’s knife, as if to encourage him to sink it deeper into her belly. As if I wouldn’t launch myself at them the second he tried. “Unless you’re going to cover his debts, of course.”

“You’re awfully calm for a man who’s going to get a look at the insides of his lover soon.”

I scoffed. “You went through all of this effort for one woman? You’re slipping Artem. This is small-time.” I delighted in the look of anger naked on his face and let out an exaggerated sigh. “I’m tired of the pageantry. Just tell me what you want.”

Artem stared at me for a long moment. I had rattled him. “I want everything that you have,” he said, as if that was a simple answer. He snapped his fingers, and Santino stood up from his chair, folder in hand.

He crossed the room to hand the folder and a pen to me, and it took everything in my power not to grab him and break his neckthere on the spot. I opened the folder and glanced through the pages. “A transfer of ownership?”

“Sign over the Palazzo to me,” Artem said.

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