Page 62 of Psycho

“She’s fucking beautiful, Mama. I don’t think her life has been easy, and she probably refused to see you, because she thought Padre murdered her father.”

Squeezing my hand, she laughs under her breath.

“All she had to do was ask, and I could’ve told her he didn’t. Alejandro was his friend. Her mother must think the same. After he died, your father offered to pay for the funeral, and provide for them. He wanted to pay for her college, everything. You know how he was. It was all refused.”

I nod.

“I know, Mama. Instead, she chose to raise her daughter in poverty.”

I can’t contain the bite in my tone, because it’s fucking ridiculous. And somehow Carlo, who will fucking die, convinced her that her mother was right. We do a lot of bad shit, but we don’t go after our own men unless there’s no choice. If we’re faced with that, we don’t make a goddamn show of it.

Pulling up to my house, I throw my SUV into park, and climb out, as my heart drops to my fucking feet. My guards are dead, laying just past the gates, and my house is on fucking fire. My brothers pull up, and I yell to Bones to watch my mother, who stands horrified, looking at the flames. As I run toward my house, I hear my brother bark orders at me.

“Psycho, no! Massimo, I said no!”

Kage comes up behind me, and grabs my shoulder.

“What the fuck are you doing? Wait for the fire department.”

I turn to him with a glare and shove him off me.

“If she’s in there, I’m getting her out. Would you wait for the fucking fire department, if it was Raina locked inside a burning house?”

I don’t wait for an answer, because we both know what he would do. Exactly what I’m going to do. I rush up the steps to my open door, and prepare myself to find Hadley unconscious at best. I rub at my chest as I walk inside with Kage behind me.

“What the fuck are you doing?”

He shrugs as I step over debris.

“We’re brothers. We do stupid shit together.”

Walking through my house, we enter the kitchen first, finding flames near the gas stove, which I don’t imagine is a good thing. I go through each room quickly, only looking for one thing.

Hadley.

Three firefighters appear behind us, as we begin to take the stairs.

“Mr. Bonetti, would it be okay if one of us goes in front of you?”

I move to the side and wave him through.

If I were anybody else they’d be dragging me out, kicking and screaming, but they know better. I’d hate to kill a man trying to do his job, but nothing, and fucking no one, is going to keep me from her.

Every room we go into, and don’t find her, the harder my heart pounds, as I begin to wonder if she’s here.

Kage echoes my sentiments as we stare into my bedroom, and again come up empty.

“Someone started that fire, Psycho. They probably took her, and the arson is to slow you down. Get your attention elsewhere.”

Bones appears when we get back downstairs, and he shakes his head.

“Nobody is in the basement.”

One of the firefighters comes up to us as smoke filters in.

“Sir. The fire is mostly contained on the other side of the house, but I have to suggest you get out. Fire is dangerous, but so is smoke inhalation.”

I nod and make my way to the door, the smoke stinging my eyes, and causing all of us to cough, as we walk through the threshold.

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