Page 45 of Marcello
We rode in silence until we arrived at the warehouse district. Nicolo weaved through the various warehouses, and when he stopped in front of one of ours, I was a bit surprised.
“He’s not here,” Vincent said.
I furrowed my brow before getting out and followed the others as they entered the building. I remained quiet while we walked through to the back and then out to the dock. Nicolo went down the ladder to the waiting boat first, followed by Vincent, and I followed last.
Having grown up here, being on the water was actually nothing new for me, and I simply held on to the railing as Nicolo drove the boat out into the Gulf of Naples. Twenty minutes later, he slowed the boat and pulled alongside theFantasma Marinoand tied off.
A familiar face appeared above us, and I smiled up at Luciano. So that was where he’d gone. We all climbed aboard, and when we reached the deck, there were greetings, and Elio came out of the cabin with a mug in his hand.
“I was wondering when you would decide to take care of business,” Elio said. “He’s a real piece of work, and I don’t think even his own mate would miss him.”
“That lovely?”
Elio shrugged. “He’s full of himself, making demands, thinking that somehow he has the right to do so.” Elio shook his head. “How is it that your beloved, that sweet little fox, came from him?”
I chuckled and shook my head. “I haven’t got a clue. I’ve not met his father, but I’ve seen him in Abel’s memories, and I often question things. I do feel for his mother a bit. She will suffer and die, but she didn’t exactly protect her only omega child from his father.”
“Eh, he will get what he deserves. He was hiding like the weak coward he is. Now he thinks he can make demands. It is comical.”
“They’re below in the storage room,” Luciano told Vincent.
“Good,” Nicolo said as he rubbed his hands together in excitement.
I followed the others into the cabin and then down to the storage room. There were two men sitting in there on opposite sides of the room. I was surprised to see both were in cages that hadn’t been there before. Although both looked similar, it was easy enough to ascertain which one was Uriah, and I walked to the left and stopped in front of his little prison.
“Let me out. You have no right to hold me here.”
“Hello, Uriah,” I told him. I honestly could not see how my beloved was this man’s son. “You don’t know me, nor do you care, most likely, but my name is Marcello.”
Uriah stopped banging on the cage when there was a commotion behind me. I didn’t pay any attention to it because I knew there was no threat. One fox alpha was no match for four deadly vampires.
“Where are they going with Abraham?”
I glanced that way and grinned. “It is time for him to pay for his injustices against others,” I said. I looked back at my beloved’s father and let my eyes tint. “Same as you.”
Uriah moved to the back of the cage, hitting the back side of it. “What do you mean? I’ve done nothing.”
I shook my head. “Let me show you something,” I said as I reached into my pocket. “Only because I want you to know that all of your greed was for nothing.” I woke up my phone and smiled at the image that greeted me. There was my beautiful angel, cradling his obvious baby bump. I turned the phone around and held it out so Uriah could see. “He is my world. My everything. I cherish every single moment I get with him.”
Uriah glanced at the phone, and then his eyes widened when he recognized what he was looking at. “We can come to some agreement.”
I shook my head. “No. You sold your own son to sex traffickers.”
Uriah looked over my shoulder before looking back at me. I knew Vincent was still in the room with me. “You aren’t with the council, are you?”
“No. We are so much worse. You would have had a much less painful death if you had turned yourself in to the council. How unfortunate for you that my family found you, and now you will pay for what you did to my beloved.”
“No,” Uriah said. “It’s all a misunderstanding. Obviously, Abel is fine. He’s here with you. He’s pregnant in the picture. You have a family.”
I grinned as I nodded slowly.
“That we do,” I said. “One that believes the mistreatment of others in our family must face the consequences of their actions. And you…you will pay for the pain and suffering you caused your own child.”
“Marcello? Are you here in the villa?”
I didn’t let the grin falter from my face.“No, mio angelo. I am with Vincent, taking care of some things.”I took a step back and then another. Vincent stepped up beside me, and I held up a hand, indicating a moment was needed. Vincent grinned and nodded subtly, and that was all I needed to move to the doorway and step just outside of the room into the narrow pathway.
“Mio angelo, I know certain things upset you about my past, and I cannot change them. But sometimes our pasts affect us in the present, and we must deal with it. I need to take care of something, and it means I need to do what you would consider bad things. But I cannot stomach the thought of you beingdisgusted with me. I have thought about this for weeks now. I’ve put it off, but it needs to be dealt with.”
