Page 114 of Tempted By the Devil

But as I bark at Adagio to head straight for the Newport docks, Adagio’s confused by the sudden command. He makes it happen, anyway, slamming on the gas.

The Audi whips around halfway down the street, earning honks from a few other cars in surrounding lanes, then jets off the opposite way.

“Why the docks? What’s going on?” Adagio asks from the front seat. “Why do you look like you ate rotten clams all of a sudden?”

“This is no time for jokes,” I growl through gritted teeth. I’m furiously texting some of my other men. The ones I know are still in the area from the warehouse. “Sergio has Portia.”

“How the hell is that possible? What about Gavino?”

“He won’t answer his phone!”

I dial Gavino’s number for the third time in two minutes. Adagio’s driving like a mad man, bullying his way through any traffic we encounter this late at night.

Unfortunately, it’s a Friday, and in order to make it to the docks, we have to pass through some of the most crowded parts of the city, including the neighborhood where all the trendy bars and clubs are located.

Gavino still doesn’t answer.

“Goddamn it!” I roar, slamming my fist on the rear door’s armrest. His voice mail beeps for me to record my message. “Answer your fucking phone! You’re supposed to be tailing Portia and you let her get taken?!Meglio che tu risponda a questa domanda, altrimenti ti taglio la fottuta gola!”

I hurl threats at Gavino, because it feels like the only thing I can do given the situation.

I’ve never been more instantly reminded I’m powerless.

That’s the problem when you’re a powerful man who has developed feelings for another person. It’s a vulnerability that can be exploited at any time.

It’s a weakness you can’t rid yourself of. Doing so would mean giving up the person altogether.

As we race off to the docks, my heart has rabbited into my throat. My pulse pounds in my ears, dread coiled deep inside me. It spreads like vines climbing up a tree, twisting tighter ’til it feels like I’m being strangled.

I clench my hand into a fist in my lap, glaring at the windshield ahead. We have to hurry or else there’s no telling what Sergio will do.

He’s a humiliated man with an ego and a recent promotion. He’ll do anything to prove himself. Anything he thinks will win him Titus’s approval.

The guy was shot in the fucking shoulder, and instead of accepting his loss for the night, he saw an opportunity to try to turn his luck around.

I answer on the first ring as Maurizio calls.

“Head over now,” I order. “He wants me alone, but there’s no way that will happen. If it’s a firefight he wants, we’ll give it to him.”

“We just got done convincing him and the Tucos you’re not Il Diavolo,” Maurizio points out.

“I don’t fucking care anymore,” I growl in answer. “If I have to reveal myself, I will. We have to get Portia back… and in one piece.”

We come up on the Newport docks.

This time of night, the place is virtually empty. It stretches on for miles along the dark water, supported by old wooden pilings covered in algae. Rusted cranes and cargo containers fill the space above water, the tang of diesel and salt thick in the air.

We park at the entrance, then get out and jog down the weathered planks. My eyes are peeled for the first sign of them. For any clues that will lead me to Portia.

We don’t make it very far before we turn around a stack of shipping containers and find Sergio and his small crew of men. They’re standing underneath a lamp post, their dark silhouettes lit up by the flickering light.

I sprint toward him, a couple paces ahead of Adagio. The business suit I have on isn’t ideal for physical activity, but nothing will stop me from making it in time.

Portia’s nowhere in sight.

I come to a sudden halt in front of Sergio and his guys, my expression darkening.

“Where is she?” I rumble between a deep breath.

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