Page 55 of Savage King

"Okay." I'm confused. Didn't he say I shouldn't go out in public?

Unfortunately,my plans for Scarlet are derailed. My phone rings just as we prepare to leave for a drive. I’m tempted not to answer, but it’s Vito, and duty to the family always comes first.

"This better be good," I answer, eyeing Scarlet, who looks excited.

"Not good, boss. We have a problem."

I grind my teeth and push out, "Where?"

"Trouble in LA" is all he says. All he has to say.

"Fuck! Meet me at the airport." I turn to Scarlet. Before I can say anything, she smiles sweetly at me and says, "You have to go."

It wasn't a question. I nod. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be, will you be back soon?"

"I don't know." We don’t discuss business over the phone if it can be helped, and when Vito says we have a problem, it means he needs me there. "Don't wait up for me."

I walk over to her, grab her by the waist, and pull her in for a deep kiss. Her eyes are glossy when she looks up. "You're making it hard not to wait up for you."

Fuck, this woman is fucking perfect. She must read the reluctance on my face because she makes a shooing motion with her hands. "Go. Go take care of your mafia business, just don't get hurt."

"I don't intend to," I assure her and, after one more kiss, walk out.

Vito fills me in on the way to the airport.

"Alfonso and his wife were taken outside a friend's home in Beverly Hills."

Aw shit! Alfonso is our accountant. The man with all the information about our families. Legal and illegal.

"What the fuck was Alfonso doing in LA?" I seethe.

Vito gives me one of his insufferable,you never listen, boss,looks. "For his sister's wedding, remember?"

Vaguely, I have better things to do than keep track of my men's family affairs. But Alfonso? Our fucking accountant?

"What about his guards?"

"Both of them are dead."

"Middle of the day?"

"Broad fucking daylight," he confirms. "Security footage shows two SUVs cutting them off. The assailants killed his driver and took them both. Five minutes, in and out. Professionals."

That puts a new kind of heat in my blood. A daylight snatch-and-grab? No hesitation, no fear? Whoever did this thinks they can play in my world.

"Who?" I demand.

Vito exhales sharply. "The Venezuelans. Rivera’s crew."

I tap my fingers against the armrest and allow my mind to shift through possibilities. "Why would the Venezuelans take Alfonso? It doesn't make any fucking sense."

"Why do these fuckers do anything?" Vito takes off his seatbelt. The SUV has come to a stop. We're at the airport.

Fucking LA territory, I think furiously. If Edoardo hadn't given it to me, I wouldn't be in this mess.

I get out and grab my phone to text Scarlet while I walk to the plane.

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