Page 41 of Brutal Mercy

Chapter eleven

Hades

“Thenextweekiscrucial. I want to know what his people are doing and where they’re doing it at all times. I want more men added to patrol. No one we don’t know is allowed into the compound.” I stare at my top three guys: Gio, Tony, and Lorenzo. Gio Massimo is a second cousin. Our grandparents were siblings. And he’s got the Massimo dark hair and eyes with our tall build. I trust him more than any of the others because we are family. Tony Ricci is a distant cousin from another branch. He’s been an invaluable asset. But the blond mammoth is a ladies' man. Fucker is always getting pussy. And then there’s Lorenzo Moretti. He’s not blood family, but he’s come up through the ranks and is as lethal as they come. There’s a reason he’s my main driver.

“And what about your wife?” Tony asks with a frown.

“What about her?” He might be a cousin and family, but he’s walking a dangerous line.

“We don’t know her,” Tony explains. “I realize she’s your wife, but—”

I lean back in my seat, feeling murderous. My fingers itch to grab the gun in my desk drawer. “When it comes to my wife, you will afford her every protection you extend to me. You are to treat her with the utmost respect. And if anything happens to her on your watch, I don’t care that you’re family. You will pay for it with your life.”

Tony pales. “I’m sorry. I meant no offense.”

“Offense taken, asshole.” I slam my fist against the desk, feeling unhinged. “It doesn’t fucking matter whether you know her. I know her. And you can trust her because I do.” And it hits me that I do. It’s not simply lip service.

Luna gazes at me like I’m a hero, with trust in her hazel eyes. Even the way I conned her into marrying me hasn’t dimmed her emotions. And even though I’m undeserving of the title, I love the way her eyes light up when I enter a room or the way she looks with passion riding her.

My men don’t need to know why I married her. All they must do is focus on protecting her.

And while our marriage might have started under less than auspicious circumstances, it is shifting into something more, into something real.

“Understood. I apologize, sir. It won’t happen again,” Tony states with a repentant nod.

My brother enters the office and gives me a direct stare. With a glance, I wordlessly tell him I’m wrapping things up here.

“See that it doesn’t happen again. You know what my orders are. I expect everything in place by nightfall. And I want daily reports. War is coming, gentlemen. We need to ensure we’re prepared and not caught with our pissers hanging out.”

A round ofyes, sirsfills the room before they file out.

Ares says, “You need to come to the shed. I’ve brought you something.”

“Just give me a minute. I need to arrange dinner.”

“Doesn’t Rosa normally have it in the dining room by six?”

“Yes, but I want an intimate dinner with Luna.”

Ares smirks. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you have feelings for your wife.”

I do have them. Not that I’m ready to admit it. “Regardless of my feelings, we are married. And for this marriage to work, there are concessions I need to make. She’ll be the mother of my children.”

“So you’re planning on keeping her? Even after the war is won?”

“Yes. Luna’s mine.” And the thought of giving her up, of ending the marriage, is unfathomable.

Ares arches a brow, trying to hide his grin. “Good to know.”

With my brother looking on, I call the kitchen and give Rosa my instructions. Luna and I are having an intimate dinner for two in our bedroom. Because I’m not ready to share her with the rest of the family just yet. Not when we’re still finding our footing.

And it’s going to be a private affair because if I decide halfway through that I can’t wait any longer to fuck her, then I can and will without an audience present. Once the arrangements are made, I rise and head to the shed with Ares.

The shed is located at the back of the property. It has its own power grid that’s completely separate from the house, barracks, and garages. In the event of an emergency, there’s a self-destruct code I can key in from my phone. It will implode everything from the inside out with fire before the entire tunnel collapses, erasing any evidence that might remain. That’s why it pays to have a demolition expert on my team. Dominic De Luce is the best there is, and I keep him on retainer just for that skill alone.

The entrance to the shed looks exactly like its name, giving the appearance that it is no more than a shed where I house the snowmobiles and snow-clearing apparatus. But in the back of the shed, there’s a hidden control panel you need a retinal scan to open. Once the panel is revealed, a handprint scanner is the next level of security you must pass to get the wall to retract. When it does, the elevator entrance appears.

Ares and I ride down as he fills me in. “We picked him up getting ready to set fire to one of Orlov’s businesses.”

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