Page 63 of Tormented Oath

I am the thing that makes Chicago's darkness tremble.

"Boss." Tomasso's voice cuts through the red haze of my thoughts. "Three of our teams are already in position. What's our play?"

I move to the wall of security monitors, studying the blinking dots that mark Ava's location. She hasn't moved since the call ended. Smart girl. Or maybe she finally understands that there's nowhere to run that I won't find her.

"Send Matteo's team to secure the perimeter." My voice comes out steady despite the chaos raging beneath my skin. "No one approaches without my express permission."

"And the Fiori compound?"

"Keep surveillance tight." I pull up thermal imaging of their property, searching for any sign of her brother. "The moment they move Tony, I want to know."

Years of running Chicago's underworld have taught me patience. Strategy. The careful calculation of when to strike and when to wait. But watching Ava's GPS signal pulse on my screens, knowing she's out there, pregnant, vulnerable, makes the monster in me snarl.

Mine, it whispers.Always mine.

"Sir?" Tomasso clears his throat. "About the wedding arrangements..."

"Everything stays on schedule." I trace Ava's location with one finger, remembering how her skin felt under my touch just hours ago. "Have Giuseppe bring the documents to the safe house. And make sure the priest understands the...gravity of the situation."

A marriage certificate. A baby. The perfect chains to bind her to me forever.

The part of me that still remembers love—still remembers the wild boy who kissed her in moonlit gardens—wants to hate myself for this. For using her brother, her child, her desperation against her.

But that boy died with my father and brothers. Now there's only the Monster of Chicago, and he will do whatever necessary to keep what's his.

My phone buzzes as I receive the satellite photos from the Fiori compound. I study them with the detachment that's kept me alive in this business, registering entry points and security rotations. Beside me, Tomasso makes notes in his ever-present phone.

"Their west gate is light," he observes. "Could be an opening."

"Or a trap." I zoom in on the guardhouse. "They'll be expecting us to come for the boy."

"And Ava? She'll want to help?—"

"She'll do exactly as she's told. For once."

The words taste bitter at the memory of how beautifully she played me. How perfectly she slipped past my defenses with those dark eyes and clever lies. Part of me still burns to punish her for that, to show her exactly what happens to people who betray Stefano Rega.

But the bigger part, the part that's been searching for her for ten years, just needs her safe. Needs her close. Needs to make sure she'll never think of leaving again.

"Get me everything on the Fiori brothers' movements for the past month." I straighten my cuffs. "Bank records, phone logs, mistresses, anything we can use."

"Already compiling." Tomasso hesitates. "And if she runs again?"

My heart cramps with pain. Again. No, she will never run again. I can’t stand the loss. I won’t allow it.

"She won't." My voice is steely. "Because this time, she's going to learn exactly why they call me Monster."

My phone lights up with another text from our surveillance team. Ava's still waiting, exactly where I ordered her to be. The sight sends satisfaction purring through my chest.

Soon, tesoro.

Soon she'll understand—every lie, every betrayal, every moment she thought she was playing me has only led her exactly where she was always meant to be.

In my bed. In my life.

Forever.

"Make the calls," I tell Tomasso, moving toward my weapons safe again. "It's time to remind Chicago what happens when someone takes what's mine."

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