Page 21 of Odin

I put a smile on my face and walked back into the lioness’s den.

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Odin

She wasn’t alright, and there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it now. Fuck.

This had been a drastic attempt to chase a new lead, but I'd hurt my wife along the way. Something I'd sworn never to do.

Carazzo was pretending to be a good Italian soldier. He’d go to the compound, get his assignment for the day, and then go home to some new whore nightly. I was pretty sure he was paying for it off the street. The cop was taking it easy and trying to blend in. He didn’t reach out to Serena, either. The last time had been the night I took her to the outdoor movie theatre. I wasn’t sure why, but I didn’t care either. Carazzo had served his purpose. There was nothing further to gain from him. I’d deal with him in time.

The chief was a different story. I'd followed him over the last couple of weeks, but I couldn't get close enough without being detected. He went to work, stayed there eight hours, and then went home. If his car wasn't in the police lot, then it was in the garage, and I didn't have access to either to place a tracker. When that hadn't worked, I'd planned to break in during the day, but his wife never left the house. At first, I thought she was just a stay-at-home type of woman, but there wassomething seriously fucked up about their situation. She wasn’t my concern, but she was a problem.

Everything was coming up to a dead end.

If I couldn't get a read on the chief, Cordelia was my next suspect. Were they still in contact? My gut screamed yes, but I had to prove it.

Serena hadn't been herself this morning, and when she'd shut down, I'd realized why. She was spending the day with her mother. I wasn't happy that my wife was upset, but I'd seen an opportunity. Taking it, I'd emailed the Nerds, asking them for a cloning app. They'd come through quickly, and as I had crouched in between my wife and her mother, all I had had to do was hit the button on my phone. As I had turned on the charm for the ladies at the table, the pocket of my suit coat had been copying Cordelia’s phone in her purse. There always could have been a burner phone, but I didn’t think Cordelia Conti gave a shit who she hurt. The thought crossed my mind that she was the one harboring the cop in the family. It made sense. She'd be able to smooth any situation, and I wondered if this was why there had been no activity.

I only had pieces of the puzzle with no answers.

I took one last look at the back of Serena as she opened the door of the hall. Watching her guard approach her, I reminded myself that this was for her safety. I was doing all of this for her, and I'd fix the damage later.

Chapter 11

Odin

I was in the Old Man's office when the first phone call came in from Serena's guard.

After I'd left her, I'd made my way to the Lombardo compound for lunch. I didn't want to be here, but I had to keep up with the pretenses. I'd needed a logical excuse for why I'd shown up to the luncheon. Telling Serena that I'd had an appointment nearby the hall had been strategic. It was vague enough that if anyone asked, they would have been able to confirm that I was still in the area. The Lombardo compound was only a few minutes away, and I'd still had time to complete my mysterious appointment.

My heart stopped as I pulled out my phone and saw her guard's number. After all my years as a Syndicate, I was dying over a phone call. My body shut down, and it took everything I had to remain standing. Shooting pains radiated from my chest. I figured it was a good sign that I could still feel something, even if it was pain. They never called. They'd never had an actual reason to. I didn't want them tattling on Serena, so I'd instructedthem to keep tabs on her whereabouts, make sure she was safe, and only tell me the most important details.

“She better be alright,” I barked at him as I put my cell phone to my ear. I hid my panic with anger. Why was he calling me?

“Physically, she’s fine,” he said, coming through the line. His voice was monotone, as if he was choosing his words carefully. If he was lying to me, I'd put him in the ground and deal with the consequences later.

“What the fuck does that mean?” I was yelling at him through the phone. The sounds of the compound had blurred to the background, the Lombardos quietly crept closer to me at the mention of Serena. They were silent as they tried to listen in on my side of the conversation.

"I don't know how it happened. When she came back in from the parking lot, she asked for a few minutes to herself, so I escorted her to the restroom. I stood outside the door, Doc. I swear, I did. No one came in or out, and she wasn't in there long. Maybe a few minutes, but less than ten. By the time I walked her to her chair, the luncheon was wrapping up. People were mingling, while others were getting ready to head out, so I figured we wouldn't be there long and made sure the car was ready. Mrs. Nystrom said goodbye to her mother and then requested that we come straight home. That's not unusual, but she was quiet in the car. Truthfully, that's not unusual either, and nothing was out of the ordinary that we thought something was wrong."

“For fuck’s sake. Get on with it!” My head was pounding, and there was a red tint at the edge of my vision.

"We brought her straight to the penthouse like she requested, but when the elevator doors opened, someone had ransacked the place. We followed the protocol and pushed her back into the elevator and took her down to the garage. Garrison stayed with her, while I went back up to survey the damage. They destroyedeverything. I am really sorry, sir. She didn't deserve to be treated like that."

“You have two seconds to tell me what the fuck is going on.” I bent over at the waist, my phone to my ear, and took a few deep breaths. The red had further spread, and he wasn't talking fast enough to relieve it. “Did you check the closet?”

"I checked the dummy panel at the back to ensure the seal was intact." The guards weren't aware that I was a Silent Syndicate, but Mr. De Angelis had thought it would be wise to tell them I was a high-ranking Deviant. It would not only convey how important the Deviant toys were to protect, but they wouldn't question why I had them.

“Doc." His voice was wary. Taking a few deep breaths, he continued. "They painted a message on the far wall that faces the elevator. It was," he said as his voice trailed off, not wanting to tell me.

“Did you take a picture of it?” I heard thepingof an incoming text in my ear. Standing up, I pulled the phone away from my face and braced for the impact. On the wall that faced the elevator, someone had painted in big red letters, “She wasn’t a virgin.”

"Did she see that?" She wouldn't have been able to miss it, but I didn't want this to shake her any more than today already had. I had been holding the phone so tightly that I almost broke it. A crack formed, but I didn’t give a fuck.

"Yes."

The Old Man stepped up to me, putting both of his hands on my cheeks. “Calm down," he kept saying over and over. Lorenzo came into my line of sight and stood next to his father. He asked what was going on, but I ignored him as I tried to regain control. This wasn't a normal circumstance, and Lorenzo wrestled the phone out of my hand.

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