Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 109674 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 548(@200wpm)___ 439(@250wpm)___ 366(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109674 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 548(@200wpm)___ 439(@250wpm)___ 366(@300wpm)
I swallowed at the look of adoration in his eyes, which quickly morphed to anger.
He turned and left, closing the door almost noiselessly.
Luciano stirred but didn’t wake. I stared for a while at the spot where Nestore had been, then lay my head back down on the pillow and closed my eyes. I didn’t turn the lights off. In the beginning, after I escaped from the basement, I had preferred to wake to a brightly lit room, and sometimes I still did.
Niccolo slanted me a searching look when I sank into the passenger seat with a deep breath. It wasn’t exhaustion that made me long for bed. But having seen Amelia hold the little boy, I had wished to feel her body against mine. Nothing calmed me like her presence. Hardly anything managed to rile me up like she did either.
“The police shot the male chimp when he attacked their cars, and the female chimp drowned when she tried to attack a Coast Guard boat,” Niccolo said as he steered the car away from the mansion.
I nodded. I hadn’t expected the chimps to survive. They had suffered in captivity, but they had been too traumatized for a life anywhere else. At least, now they had peace and got some revenge on humans before they moved on to the afterlife. “Any survivors?”
Niccolo scoffed. “The three bodies were nearly unrecognizable when the police recovered them. The chimps ate their faces off and ripped them apart.”
I smirked. That was the outcome I had hoped for.
“They’ll link it to us. They always know the craziest shit comes from us.”
“They won’t do anything about it.”
Niccolo huffed. “Remo will have some questions for you.”
“He wants me to spread fear, to act worthy of the name Madman, and I do. He’ll be happy I got rid of our enemies.”
“He won’t be happy we can’t question them anymore.”
I shrugged. “It got out of hand. He knows me.”
“Yeah, and I’m still surprised he never punishes you. You’re like his favorite pet.”
I narrowed my eyes at him.
“You know what I mean.”
“I’ll simply pretend you didn’t compare me to a pet.”
Niccolo sighed. “He’ll know you did it for her.”
My hands curled into a fist. “I did it for her, but I also contained a threat to the Camorra. Remo will be pleased.”
“Everyone sees you’re different with her. Don’t you worry that Remo will think she’s too powerful?”
“Remo and I talked about Amelia, and he’s decided to accept my bond with her.”
Niccolo scoffed. “I told you, you’re his favorite pet.”
“And you’re mine. That’s why you still live despite all the enraging things you say.”
Niccolo snapped his mouth shut and locked his jaw. At least he finally shut up.
When we pulled onto the airstrip of the small private airport, the private jet was already parked there, but the doors were still closed. I got out when the door opened. A tall bodyguard scanned the area and gave me a nod before he began his descent, followed by Flavia Lamorgese. I didn’t know what name she had picked as an alias, and it didn’t matter. She couldn’t run from her last name, nor could Luciano. Their blood determined their future. They were as inevitably bound to the Camorra as I was.
Flavia leveled her terrified eyes on me. She didn’t know about the fate of her boy yet, only that the exchange had happened a few hours ago. She didn’t wear makeup and wore her hair in a short bob, very unlike the woman I remembered. Her thick coat and boots were better suited to the weather in Minneapolis than in Los Angeles. Maybe she still thought she’d return to her apartment. I had already told my men to start moving her few belongings from the place, and they had packed them into two small bags inside the jet.
When the bodyguard moved aside, Flavia rushed toward me, her face twisting with despair. She stumbled against me, her fingers grabbing my fur coat. “Is he safe?” Her eyes brimmed with tears.
I removed her grip from my clothes, not fond of her closeness. “He is in Romano Manor with Amelia. He’s physically unharmed except for a few scratches and bruises. I can’t attest to his emotional state, though.”
She let out a high-pitched sob and threw her arms around me. “Thank you.”
I stiffened. My pulse spiked, and the need to lash out brutally rose in me, but I simply gripped her wrists and pushed her away. Niccolo wrapped an arm around her and pulled her away. “Let’s get you into the car so you can get to your son.”
He slanted me a cautious look, and I gave him a grateful nod. The sound of a jet taking off from another airstrip made Flavia jump, as if someone were about to attack us.
Niccolo steered her toward the back door.
I sat down in the front with Flavia in the back seat. On our way to the manor, I fixed her with a hard look in the rearview mirror. “You won’t be returning to Minneapolis, and you won’t leave Los Angeles without my permission ever again.”