Page 28 of Odin

“That’s how they got the keys. She passed them to whomever this is.” Letting go of Serena, I pointed to the screen.

My wife put the back of her hand to her forehead. “Why would she do this? How far does this go?” Her hands flailed around as she fired off questions I didn’t have the answers to.

“Come here,” I told her. “Let’s finish this and see if there's any clue who this is.”

Getting settled again, I turned on the surveillance footage. Whomever this was had known where the camera locations were, and it made me wonder if they had been surveilling the place for a while. We never saw their face, even when they entered the penthouse.

As the figure swung a bat at the living room furniture, their sweatshirt rode up in the back. There was a Fraternal Order of Police tattoo. If the Lombardos knew he had that, they would have already skinned him alive.

“I don’t have tattoos, and it's for this exact reason." I pointed to the still image on the phone.

“It’s Luca.” She shook so fiercely, the bed rattled, and I moved immediately to hold her. “He was in our home,” she said. The shaking didn't stop, but where she'd first been anxious, her tone was now angry.

“What was he doing in our home?” She looked at me like I had all the answers.

“Breaking shit.” I tried to diffuse her anger with humor, but it fell flat as soon as the words exited my mouth.

“This isn’t funny.”

I wouldn’t tell her about the toys that Carazzo had missed in the closest, but I needed her to know this was about intimidation, and I wanted her to feel safe. “You realize he has no access to you, right? Your mom probably told them that there wouldn’t be because the first thing I did when you moved in was change your guards.”

“No, I don’t think that’s it, Odin. I think they wanted you to know about the attack. They probably figured it wouldn’t matterwho got home first, you’d be told, and they would be right. No one was aware you already knew, which threw off their plans. I don't doubt my mother was involved. It makes sense now. I was daydreaming about being with you at the table.” She looked straight ahead. I could feel my lips turning up into a smile. It stroked my ego, but my heart skipped a beat.

“Anyway,” she hastened on, “you showed up. We finished the luncheon, and on the way out, my mother pulled me aside. She told me that there was too much sexual tension between us, and that if I wanted to keep you, I better put out. I think it was her way of trying to get me to tell you versus the wall telling you. Either way, they were going to win because you would know, but I don't understand what she gets from it. What's her game plan?"

“I would have been within my rights to demand retribution from your father. He wouldn't have been able to pay. You would have returned to the compound in disgrace. Combined, it might have been the reason that the entire house of cards collapsed for your family."

“She’s protecting the cop, or at least helping him. There would have been plenty of dark corners to hide in, and you would have been gone.”

I made a non-committal noise. I didn’t have any answers for her right now. Opening the app that I used to clone her mother’s phone, I prepared myself for what I would find. I went through her emails first, but there wasn’t anything exciting. Fundraisers. Luncheons. Charity events. I didn’t give a fuck about any of that. Her social media wouldn’t be that exciting either. The women were aware not to post anything incriminating against their families. Hell, Serena didn't even have accounts.

Cordelia’s texts told another story. There were thousands of them over a two-year period. I decided to only inform Serena about the messages that concerned her. She had a right to know, but I didn’t really want to damage any family bridges. Unless hermother had been more involved. She’d meet her maker just like the rest of them, if that was the case.

It was a blame game on why they couldn’t get actual documents, more information, and Serena. I smiled widely. This husband had taken care of business. It was also why Carazzo had laid low for so many weeks. They hadn’t figured out a way to get past our defenses, and he was a sitting duck.

When I reached the end of the texts, I opened up my emails and sent one of my own.

It was time to let the Italians know what a shit storm they were in.

Chapter 15

Odin

I wasn't dreading today as much as I thought I would. In fact, I couldn't contain the excitement that coursed through my veins. I was ready to collect on unpaid debts, and the God of War was ready to get back to his nocturnal activities. There was a weight off my chest that Serena hadn't run at my revelations. I was a Syndicate, and there was no exit from the Deviants except for death. I'd never voluntarily leave her.

I looked over at my wife as we made our way to De Angelis’s office. She’d been in her own world this morning, and I’d caught her zoning out multiple times. Even now, she was staring out the window as we drove to the sit-down. Serena had lost some of the confidence she'd been building. She wasn't a shell, but she was having a hard time reconciling it all. I understood, but I didn’t feel the same way. This had gone on long enough.

We pulled into a parking spot in the garage, and I walked around to her side of the vehicle. Opening the door, I held out my hand for her, and she placed her hand in mine. One minuteshe was standing from her seat in the car, and the next, her hair was in my mouth. She’d thrown herself into my arms.

“Hey,” I whispered in her ear. There were cameras everywhere, and I didn’t know where this was going. “It’s all going to be alright.” She pulled away from me, and I watched as she collected her emotions and schooled her features into a calm mask. I wanted to hold her hand, but this wasn’t the time.

I walked her to Mr. De Angelis’ office and stood in the doorway with her behind me. This was going to get ugly before it was ever resolved, and I expected several fights to break out. She’d witness it all, but I'd shield her as long as possible.

I could feel the tension dripping from each corner of the room. Mr. De Angelis was sitting at his desk. He was the only one that looked content. I would suspect that he was because if he had his way, he’d own the Lombardo's entire business. Bare minimum, the Italians were going to kiss his ass. Better pucker up, Old Man.

In front of him were several chairs. There were two to the right that I assumed were for Serena and me. To the left sat the Lombardos: Giuseppe, Lorenzo, and Sergio. It surprised me to see Sergio. He normally kept to himself and only dealt with family business when he had to. This would be an interesting development if he actually wanted to be involved. He had been Carazzo's introduction into the family.

They turned in my direction when they realized the door was open.

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