Dante Angelo Romano POV:
————————————————
"What the fuck do you mean they took her?" I ask dangerously calm.
Matteo runs his hands over his face causing me to see a pool if red under his blazer.
"Matteo, who's fucking blood is that?" I ask as my fist clench at my sides.
"They fucking took her, Dante. We were driving to the safe house when a SUV came crashing into my side. I saw it seconds before it hit us and I was able to shield her from most of the hit but on the last flip, my body fell to the side and I'm pretty sure she hit her head on the window. It wasn't Viktor himself, but he sent Viper. When I reached for my gun, they shot me and knocked her out." he says and I hear nothing but rage in his voice.
"Go get yourself cleaned up." I say as I turn and walk behind my desk.
"Are you serious? They took Aria, I don't give a damn about a simple bullet wo-"
"I said go get yourself cleaned up. That's an order." I interrupt and watch as his face contorts into one of fury but he nods his head nonetheless and walks out of the office.
Once the door closes behind him, I wait a couple seconds before grabbing the empty glass from behind my desk and flinging it across the room. "FUCK!"
If he sent Viper out to get Aria, we're in an even more bigger hole then before.
How the fuck did he even know she would be going to a safe house? Specifically, that safe house?
Only a handful of people know about that safe house and that handful consists of my mom, Enrico, Aurora, Lorenzo, Cecilia, Matteo, and Domenico. Those are the only people that know about that house, yet alone, how to get to it so Viktor couldn't have known unless someone snitched.
I have a fucking mole in my own family.
As I'm pacing back and forth behind my desk, there's a knock at my door. Stopping behind my chair, I give them the word to enter and Domenico walks in with his hood low on his head as usual.
Where the fuck has he been all day?
"Domenico, where have you been?" I ask as I tighten my grip on the back of my chair.
"That doesn't matter. Where the fuck is Ari?" he says as he slowly makes his way over to me.
I narrow my eyes at him. "Where have you been?"
"Angelo, where is Ari?"
I let out a humorless chuckle. "Wouldn't you like to know. Don't play dumb with me, Domenico."
He stops right behind the chairs in front of my desk and his fist tighten at his side. "What the fuck are you talking about?" he says and I recognize the tone in his voice.
Knowing.
"Is that where you were today, Domenico? Giving up the location of the safe house when you knew I was going to have Aria go there today?" I say as I push myself off the chair and slowly walk over to him.
"What did you just say?" he asks as I come to a stop in front of him.
"You've been gone all fucking day and when I send Aria off the the safe house, that only few people knew about including you, she gets taken? Dome-"
He yanks his hood off his head and I see the glare he's sending me. "Are you insinuating that I would put Aria in that danger when my sole focas has been to protect her?"
That's when I lose my fucking patience.
"WHERE THE FUCK WERE YOU THEN? YOU DISAPPEAR ALL DAY THEN COME BACK AFTER IT ALL GOES DOWN?" I roar as I push him back.
He lets out a humorless chuckle as stares me directly in the eye. Before he can say anything, Matteo burst through the doors as his eyes looking frantically around the room.
Seeing both me and Domenico standing there with our fist clenched at our sides, he quickly makes his way between. "Dante, we're fucking family and the women that we call queen is currently out there, god knows where. Get your shit together."
I let out a humorless chuckle and look between them both. "Yeah well someone in this 'family' is the reason why she was fucking taken and until I find out who it is, you both can fuck off."
Matteo looks at me as if I've gone insane while Domenico's face stays emotionless. "Get your head out of your fucking ass or your going to be the fucking reason she dies. You wanna know where I was at, Angelo? I was out getting her fucking food and things that she loves because, you, killed her mother. You put her into the state she was in when you saw her and I couldn't stand seeing her like that. But be my guest and do what you want but if what I heard is true and Viktor really sent Viper, I know damn well that you both are going to need me to get her back." Domenico says before turning around and walking out of the room while bringing his hood back up.
Matteo looks over to me after the door closes. "You know I don't like him much but he has gone to hell and back to make sure she's safe and you pin this against him? If you were in the right mindset that would've been the last thing you've done."
"Out." I say and he complies without the slightest hesitation.
He's right. They're both right. My worst fears happened and I'm taking my anger out on them. I don't know how to handle this anger. It's something that I've never felt before. Something that would burn through your skin if it could. A fury so deep that as long as she's not by my side, everyone will face my wrath.
And that's fine because no one understands the love I have for her. No one understands how deeply I care for that women and now that she was taken from me, I will stop at nothing to get her back.
They took the queen to diminish the king and that was their biggest mistake.
Because not only will I stop at nothing to get back what's mines, but I will make sure to destroy them all and make them watch from hell as my empire thrives with both its queen and king at the top.
He targeted the wrong man.
Walking back over to my desk, I bring out my phone and call Anthony.
"Boss." he answers after the second ring.
"Anthony is it possible for you to go through my family's messages and calls and tell me if there's anything weird?"
"Uh. Yeah it might take a while though." he says as he begins typing on his keyboard.
"I have time." I say when really I don't know how much I have.
After 10 minutes, Anthony's voice comes back on the phone. "Boss, Cecilia called a burner phone twice in the past week"
My fist clench around my gun. "Alright." I say the cut the line and call my mother.
"Hello?" she answers on the second ring.
"Are Cecilia and Lorenzo with you?" I ask getting straight to the point.
"Lorenzo is here and Cecilia just got home. Why hunny? Is everything okay?"
Here we go.
"Mom, what time did Cecilia go out?" I ask piecing the puzzles together.
"Early this morning. Lorenzo offered to go with her but she quickly turned him down."
Bingo.
"Alright. I'll be over in ten. Don't tell anyone I'm coming." I say and cut the line before she could reply.
Checking the magazine of my gun, I tuck it back into my pants and put on my blazer. Walking out of my office, I walk into Matteo's to find him and Domenico talking.
"Lets go." I say as their heads snap to me.
Walking down the hall, Matteo comes into step beside me and I hear Domenico's quiet steps behind me.
I grab the keys to my car and quickly make my way to the garage and into the car. Pulling out of the driveway, I begin zooming down the streets in hurry of getting to my mom's house.
Pulling up to her driveway, I turn off the car calmly make my way to the door. Two knocks and the door opens and my mom's face comes into view.
"Hi baby." she says as she pulls me into a hug.
Nodding my head, I give her a quick and walk into the house. Hearing chatter in the living room, I make my way over there with Domenico and Matteo behind me.
Aurora is the first to see me and she jumps off Lorenzo's lap and runs over to me. "Bubba!" she exclaims as she jumps into my hands.
Picking her up before she can fall I place a kiss on her cheek and give her a quick hug. "Ciao princess. I want you to go with mommy upstairs for a second, okay?"
She nods her head and I pass her over to my mom who is giving me a questioning look. Nodding my head to her, she begins walking to the stairs with Aurora in her arms.
Once I hear Aurora's bedroom door shut, I unbutton my blazer and walk over to the couch sitting in front of Cecilia.
I stare at her for the longest moment -her face betraying no emotion- before I lean forward and place my elbows on my knees. "Where is she?" I ask and from the corner of my eye I see both Lorenzo and my father look at me in confusion.
She furrows her eyebrows together. "Wheres who?"
"Don't play dumb with me, Cecilia. Where is she?" I ask all to calmly.
Everybody knows I'm most dangerous when I'm calm.
She rolls her eyes. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Aria was kidnapped by Viktor while she was on her with to the family's safe house. The people that are in this room are the only one's that know about it and knew she was being taken there today. So I'm going to ask you again. Where is she?"
She lets out a laugh. "You think I have up the location of the safe house? Why the hell would I do that?"
"You've had it out for Aria the day you met her. I wouldn't put I past you." I say and watch as her facade drops.
"You're ridiculous, brother if you really think I would go out of my way just to get another girl kidnapped that I could give to shits about."
That's exactly what you would do.
"First of all, she's the queen of the Italian mafia. She's MY queen and you will do well to remember that or I will have your tongue next time you speak of her in that way. Second off, you were the only female in the mafia before she came along. Your stupid jealously of having another female in the mafia most likely got the better of you and you told Viktor everything and you two rats made up a plan. Don't think I don't know about the burners you've been calling." I say as my patience begins to wear.
From the corner of my eye, I see my father stand up. "Is that where you were at this morning? Meeting with our enemy and giving him the information to kidnap your queen?"
She scoffs. "She's not my queen. She never will be and once Viktor is done with her, she'll never be yours either."
I shot up from my seat and snatch my gun from behind her back. Pointing it directly at her forehead, I watch as her face contorts into one of horror. "You'd kill your own blood?"
I let out a humorless chuckle. "For Aria? I'd kill the devil himself. Where is she?"
"You wouldn't dare." she says willing to see how far I'll go for the girl I love.
Raising up an eyebrow, I take off my safety and put my hand on the trigger. "You really don't want to test me right now. Where. Is. She."
When she looks over to her brother and father and sees them standing there watching the scene unfold, she scowls. "You guys are just going to stand there while your son has a gun to my head?"
"You put yourself into this situation, Cecilia. Everybody knows never to mess with a king's queen and that's exactly what you did. Now you deal with the consequences." my father says as he stands beside me.
"I'm your daughter." she says and I watch as hurt fills her eyes.
"And you're in the wrong. Answer his questions now, we don't have time."
She looks back to me and I watch as a frown takes place on her face as she sees my gun still pointed to her. "I never knew how much she truly meant to you."
I hear Domenico let out a aggravated groan behind me. "Angelo, I swear to fucking tinkerbell if she doesn't talk in the next thirty seconds, she's going to have a knife plunged into her throat."
Tinkerbell?
As if hearing Domenico's threat was enough to make her speak, she opens her mouth. "I don't know where he took her. Our deal was I give him the girl-"
"Queen." Matteo corrects.
"Queen, he'll do whatever he pleases with her but at the end, he'll send her head to you in a box."
To think I traveled all the way around the world to kill the man that brought harm to her.
Before even I could pull the trigger, a knife is plunged into her stomach and another follows right into her hand.
She looks at Domenico in shock as he takes a step forward. "Mark my word, that if Ari is dead when I see her again, I will cut each and every body part off you one by one and force it down your throat than once I finish that, I will throw you to the pigs and let them eat the rest like the trash the you are."
I look over to Lorenzo. "Make sure she doesn't die."
He nods his head and I place my gun back into my waist band before turning and walking to the door and out to my car.
I'll find you, baby. Even if it's the last thing I do.
—————————————————————————————————
Fucking Cecilia you rat ass bitch.
Any thoughts on chapter 28?
Love you all!!