Page 17 of Angelo's Vengeance

I had never told anyone, but I had strongly considered taking my siblings and leaving New York —leavingeverythingbehind. I imagined being a fisherman or something like that. Go somewhere where nobody knew who Angelo Santelli was… because who was I, really? Carlotta’s biological son, yes. What the fuck did that matter in the end? She was a hateful bitch. I was half-Italian, I suppose. I definitely wasn’t Stefano’s son. Everyone could tell just by looking at me. I didn’t even look Italian. I had learned Italian for Stefano’s sake, but my skin was too pale, my eyes nearly green, and my hair so light brown it was almost blonde. Fuck, Conall looked more like my brother than Remo did. When I was younger, it had bothered me when the other dons of the Five Families had turned their noses up at me for not being Italian enough. Now I didn’t give a shit what they thought. I had clawed my way up the ladder the old-fashioned way. Hard work, blood, and instilling enough fear in them that they would have to kill me to take the Santelli famiglia away from me.

My phone buzzed, dragging me out of my thoughts, ringing through on the special line — the one for which only a handful of people had the number. I snatched it up, barely glancing at the name before answering. A call meant information, and that was what I craved right now.

"Talk."

"Angelo,” Veronica’s voice was sharp and urgent. "I've found her."

I snapped my fingers and switched thephone to speaker mode. “Veronica found her.” The entire cabin went silent. Every head turned toward me. "Where?" My fingers tightened around the phone as I hoped the news was good.

“Not Italy. She’s in the United States. Louisiana, New Orleans, specifically."

My eyes were already scanning the cabin when I noticed that Kostas was up and moving toward the front of the plane. Good, I thought — he was going to get us on the right flight path. Still, my heart lurched into my throat. Jesus, we had been in the air for hours, heading in the wrong direction. We could have been there by now. Mentally, I calculated the math. This wasn’t good. We had lost hours flying toward Italy, believing she was there. I tried to take a deep breath, clutching the steel of the knuckles to ground myself.

“Cazzo.” More to myself than anyone, I swore under my breath. "How the fuck did she end up there?"

"Salvatore Renzetti." Her words were precise, each one landing like a blade. "He took her to some kind of plantation there, and there's more."

My entire body went still. "Tell me."

"There’s going to be an auction. A private, high-stakes one. She’s listed as one of the top prizes.”

The silence that followed was suffocating. Something cold and violent uncoiled inside me. My fingers itched for my gun, yearning for the sensation of my blade sliding into flesh. Auction. As if Theodosia were some fucking object. Some possession to be bought and sold. I forced myself to breathe steadily, but my vision was already darkening at the edges.

"Veronica." My voice was quiet, deadly. "Tell me you have something else.”

"I’ve hacked into their encrypted communications. It’s happening tonight. Only verified guests can enter. The bidding list is made up of traffickers, slavers, and other degenerates who think they’re untouchable. Typical,” she snorted.

They thought wrong.

"Renzetti doesn’t plan to sell her immediately. He wants to make a spectacle. Show her off like a trophy before the bidding begins. This is his sort of crowd, and he’s made sure that this group knows he’s got her.”

I swallowed back the urge to vomit. "Tell me Maxim knows."

"He does. He and Conall have already left for New Orleans with a crew. They’re currently on the ground, gathering intel. A helicopter will be waiting for you. This place is far enough from the city center that you’ll want one.”

I looked at the men around me. Every face was locked in fury. "We’re changing course," I said. "Get me whatever else you can, Veronica. Security measures, guards, the property layout—I want it all."

"You’ll have it," she confirmed. "And Angelo?—"

"What?" I ground out.

"Burn him," she said. "Make him suffer."

I hung up and made to stand when Kostas returned just as the plane banked.

“Changing course,” he confirmed grimly. “Can you catch me up?”

I took a slow breath, gripping the back of a seat as I forced the words out. "Renzetti has her. He’s planning a private auction."

"What?" His jaw clenched so hard I wondered if he’d break a tooth.

I cut him a look that made him pause, but Icould see the same storm in his eyes that I felt in my chest.“Veronica hacked into their system. We have forty-eight hours before it happens." I turned to Bacco. "Contact one of the families in New Orleans that we know. I want everything they know about this operation of Renzetti’s that he has there.” He nodded, already pulling out his phone.

“Maxim and Conall are already there, so we’ll have backup. I say we go in hard.” I scanned each of them for confirmation. “We can check the intel first. There will be heavy security. I’m guessing that precautions will be taken if this is that sort of event. Firepower.” Still, the idea of going in and sneaking around just to bring Theo out didn’t sit right. She was the priority, but Renzetti needed to pay for this. I wouldn’t feel comfortable with him walking around, breathing, after this.

Ilias ran a hand through his hair, his jaw tight. "I want that asshole fucking dead. I want blood.”

“You’ll get it,” I promised. “I want it too, but we need a plan. We can’t just take Renzetti. We wipe his entire fucking operation off the map. No survivors. No mercy. But Theo is the priority,” I added. “If we can’t getRenzetti, then we’ll cut our losses and take what we can.” I clenched my fists, digging my nails into my palms at the thought of not exacting the vengeance I craved, but I had a responsibility to Theodosia first.

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