A Flower Between the Thorns: A Mafia Romance [REWRITING]

Chapter 28: Fallen Angel

(Not edited)

Fillip's POV:

"Yes"

"We found where he's staying." Stephan did not need to say anything anymore. Calling Christian after me, we both leave the house with three other men.

"Send me a location; we will meet you there."

While me and Christian are leaving the house, Luc approaches me without speaking. He doesn't say a word; he just continues walking. "What are you doing?"

"I'm coming with you, of course."

"Why?"

"I do not want you to go there to meet this psycho alone, Fillip."

"I will not be alone; I will be with Christian. Stephan and his men will be here too. Someone needs to be there since Enzo decided to disappear."

We all knew why he did so. He was the leak. He told Alberto that I had a daughter and told him where Fleur was. When he got suspicious that we knew, he ran. The fact that I was busy searching for Alberto had distracted me from finding this traitor, but I will be getting back to him soon. How far can he run with no one to help him?

"You have more than enough men here, Fillip. I want to come with you. I have to. That's what brothers do."

"And what's that?" I asked as I opened the door to my car, looking my brother in the eye. Christian had already gotten in.

"Have each other's back." His eyes held hope that I would let him come with us. He knows I don't trust him because he's always drunk and with women. The fact that he never cared about our business. Maybe all those events of the past thirty-five days snapped something in him. That maybe , even for us, the rich and the indestructible, life can come crashing down on us. And no amount of money, men, or strength can stop it then. Maybe he finally woke up, and as he said, brothers have each other's backs, so I do not deny him a chance of getting it together.

I hugged him hard, loving the embrace and remembering how it had felt. After about a minute, I shoved him inside the car next to Christian. "Get in," I say, ruffling his hair. He gets annoyed and huffs, but says nothing as he looks in the rearview mirror, fixing it.

As we make our way to our meeting point with Stephan, time seems to stop. Time seems to have become a distinct reality. Time was no longer something fixed. I do not notice how long it takes us to get there. The only truth I knew then was that waiting to see my girls was something I would no longer do. I will be able to hold them close to my chest soon enough.

We meet with Stephan, and he tells us that Alberto has a personal house in the woods—not a mansion, just a house—that not many know about, but after some interrogating, his men gave up that location. They are supposed to be there. It's the only property that's not written under his name. It's the only property that not a lot of people know about. Perfect place for a psycho like him to hide his hostages.

We walk on our legs the rest of the distance there, careful not to make any noise to alert the guards inside the house. The sun was barely visible between the clouds. It was truly grim, as the trees swayed in a morbid rhythm while the chill in the air bit at our faces. The fact that it was only 2 p.m. in the afternoon wasn't easing away the sense of danger that was growing in me while we approached the house.

Just like they did with Fleur and my men, we sneaked up on them using silenced guns. Usually, we wouldn't. That's beyond low in our traditions, but that bastard went there first, so I would not be the one to hold back today. Once me, Stephan, and my men were done with the guards who were guarding the front of the house, We waited for confirmation from Luc and Christian that the back was secure.