Page 131 of Ruthless Oath

My phone rang with an incoming call, and I cussed under my breath. I didn’t need this now, but if I didn’t answer, he would just keep calling. I hit the screen on the dashboard, wanting to get this over with as soon as possible.

“Gian,” I answered. “What can I do for you?”

“Where the hell are you?” His voice roared through the expensive sound system. “I’ve been looking all over. Are you ignoring my calls?”

“No, I’m laying low.” I stared at the untouchable tower Marchello had the spoiled princess tucked away in. “It’s been a long day, in case you haven’t heard.”

“I got your message,” he said. “How did my daughter end up with Nico’s son again?”

“You’re seriously asking me that question? You obviously have a traitor in your organization.”

What the hell did this man expect me to do? I extracted her from the situation and got her away from the rival family. How was it my fault that Marchello found her?

“Nonsense. No one would be idiotic enough to betray me.”

“How the hell else do you think Marchello and Milo found that cabin? I didn’t call them and tell them.” I lit a cigarette. “I’d find the mole if I were you, because when I find them, I’m going to blow their head off.”

“I want my daughter back.” His voice was steady and low. “You told me you had things under control. What the hell happened?”

“I did until Marchello showed up with a team of gun-wielding guards. If your daughter wasn’t such a hot-head, they would have killed me.”

“What’s done is done,” Gian said. “You need to forget about Lissia. She’s under Accetti’s spell, and that’s a problem we don’t have time to deal with.”

“You promised me her hand,” I said. “You’re not backing out now. I’ve already put myself on the line for you. That debt will not go unpaid.”

“You will marry her when the time is right,” he said. “But right now, we have to work together if we want to gain the Argentines’ trust.”

“That ship sailed when we lost their shipment.” I gritted my teeth.

“No,” Gian said. “There’s talk of a meeting. It’s not too late.”

“I heard.”

“Marchello and Milo cannot leave Florida alive,” Gian said. “Is that understood?”

“You’re saying you want to take out both heirs to the Accetti throne?”

“Did I not speak English?” Gian asked. “An empire is about to go down. Nico will have nothing to come back to when we’re finished, and we will have gained back the cartel’s trust.”

“I like it.” I nodded. “If they know we were willing to eliminate the problem, then they’ll see that they can trust us with their next shipment.”

“Stay out of sight, and I’ll be in touch.”

“It’s about to get a little hotter in Florida.”

I ended the call as I took a long drag from my cigarette. I exhaled slowly, letting the smoke fill the car as I sunk down in the seat and rested my head against the soft leather.

This was a fight I might have walked away from a few months ago. I had connections all over the world. I didn’t need Gian or his alliance, but Lissia made it personal when she sought the protection of another man.

I inhaled on my cigarette again before flicking it out the window. As I gazed at the top floor of the building across the street, I hoped Lissia wasn’t getting used to her new surroundings. She wouldn’t be there for long.

An empire was about to collapse, and I would claim my runaway bride, even if I had to dig her out of the rubble with my bare hands.

The End for now.