Page 40 of The Mafia Bloodline
Runa hovered near me, her honey-coloured eyes darting between the men, then back to me. “Volken…” she whispered, voice barely there, but I heard it. I always heard her.
I stepped closer, my hand finding her waist, grounding myself in her presence. “We’re leaving,” I told her quietly. “Now.”
Viking slammed his hand against the nearest wall, the sound cracking through the air like a gunshot. “They wanted to provoke us,” he snarled. “They wanted us off balance.Well, they fucking succeeded. And tomorrow, we end it.”
“Tomorrow,” Roman said, his tone sharp, commanding, “we hunt.”
The women exchanged worried glances. Layla’s fingers tightened around Roman’s wrist, her whisper fierce. “Not tonight. Please.”
That was enough to pull him back from the brink. He turned, jaw still tight, and gave her a small nod.
“Let’s move,” Draugr barked. “Now. Before the cops arrive and start asking questions.”
We began filing toward the back exit where the SUVs waited, our guards already positioned in tight formation. The night air outside was colder than before, thick with the metallic tang of blood and burnt ozone.
Runa’s hand was still in mine, her pulse racing under my thumb. I squeezed once, just enough to let her know I was there.
But as we approached the line of vehicles, something in the air shifted again. A hum, faint but wrong.
“Wait,” came Gideon’s voice, sharp and cutting through the noise. He appeared out of the darkness, his chest heaving as if he’d sprinted the entire distance from the perimeter. “Don’t touch the first SUV!”
We all froze.
“What?” Roman barked, already stepping forward.
Gideon’s hand shot up to stop him. “The first Escalade, don’t go near it.” His voice was cold, clipped, his eyes scanning the vehicle like a hawk. “It’s been tampered with.”
Lucien’s gaze snapped toward the car, his instincts already flaring. “How bad?”
“Bad enough,” Gideon said grimly, crouching by the wheel well. “Looks like an explosive rig, demon trigger. Some kind of sigil burned into the metal undercarriage. It would’ve gone off as soon as it hit fifty kilometres an hour.”
Sorcha gasped, her hand flying to her mouth.
Roman’s fury detonated like a bomb. “They tried to blow up my family?” he roared, his voice shaking the night.
Layla flinched; her calm voice sliced through his anger. “Roman, look at me. Breathe.”
He did, but barely.
Viking was pacing now, his rage barely contained. “This is Caesar,” he spat. “I’d bet my life on it. No demon’s got the intel or the balls to pull something like this on our own turf. This reeks of Dragic blood.”
Draugr’s tone dropped into something that could only be described as lethal. “Then tomorrow, we stop hunting demons.” His gaze met mine. “We start hunting our uncle.”
The silence that followed was thick enough to choke on.
“Get the women in the other cars,” I ordered, my voice rough but steady. “We move now.”
The brothers shifted immediately, their instincts overriding the rage for the moment. Guards spread out, checking each vehicle again. The women were ushered toward the remaining SUVs, surrounded by our men like a living wall.
As Runa climbed in beside me, I caught her gaze. Her hand trembled as she reached for mine, her voice barely a whisper. “Volken… how much worse can this get?”
I didn’t answer right away. My jaw flexed, my blood still pounding with fury.
“Worse,” I said finally. “But not for us.”
She frowned. “Then who?”
“For them.”
