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This was exactly what I hadn’t wanted to see happen and didn’t need.
In the back of my mind, I knew I should go after Maria, but I’d add insult to injury because I wouldn’t be the loving, caring man most women needed in a difficult time like this. No, I’d be the asshole she’d already determined I was, ordering that she stop acting like a child and take back her demand.
Now who was acting foolish?
Oh, yeah. This guy.
She would need to sulk alone while I sorted out what the hell was going on and what I was going to do about it.
Every soldier I had working for me would be looking to me to react instantaneously, hunting down the asshole responsible and gutting him like the twisted pig he was. The thought of it made my dick twitch much like every filthy thought about Maria did. Maybe I’d hit my head harder than I thought. That could be the reason for the irrational thoughts.
My entire world had just been turned upside down and it had only a little to do with my marriage to a woman who refused to heed to my authority. I took a deep breath after Maria brushed past me, racing from the room in near panic. The look of horror seeing the blood on my clothes and face had obviously been too much for her to take. Perhaps her father had kept her shielded from his world, keeping her in a protected glass house for her entire life.
There were less powerful men than Giovanni Rossi in every arena of law-abiding, powerful families who did that on a regular basis. Still, I remained in cautious awe of the fact her immediate reaction had been to ask for an annulment.
I didn’t try to stop her as she raced from the room, rushing up the stairs without looking back. The various voices drew my attention from the vision of the horror I’d seen covering every inch of her lovely face.
The day had certainly not turned out like I thought it would. Losing a man was never easy. Losing one in such a tragic way was even worse. Roger hadn’t deserved to die the way he had. The only good thing at all, if one could call the situation that, was he’d died on impact from blunt force trauma. I’d only survived because I’d chosen to sit behind Brock who was driving or there was no doubt I’d be dead as well.
There’d been no satisfaction in killing the two men in the other vehicle, none whatsoever. I’d wanted to crush them into broken pieces instead. However, it had already been difficult to keep members of the Kansas City police department from breathing down our necks. I had a feeling Constantine had called in a favor or two.
Kane walked in, lifting his eyebrows as Maria brushed past. “Trouble in paradise?”
“Let’s just say it would appear Daddy kept her nice and protected.”
He walked closer, holding something in his hand. “It’s not going to get any easier on either one of you.”
“What do you have?”
“You’re not going to like it.”
Exhaling, I wasn’t certain I’d like anything at this point. “Give it to me.”
“One of the men found this at the south entrance. Of course, no one saw anything and since there are no cameras, I have no idea when this was nailed to the wooden post.”
In his hand was a photograph of the wedding, with a big red X through Maria’s face and a single word plastered at the bottom, written in red as if the fucker was emulating blood.
Soon…
“Fuck.” I glared at the photograph, realizing that whoever had taken it was located inside the facility. That likely meant one of my guests was a traitorous fuck.
“Find out if there is anything on the internet or listed on the dark web.”
“I have a feeling whoever did this is old school,” Kane said without emotion. His instincts were usually pretty good in these cases.
“We can’t look past anything or anyone.”
“Understood, boss. I’ll get on it.”
By the time I heard my brother’s voice seconds later, I was already headed to the bar. I placed the photograph on the surface near the whiskey bottle, unable to take my eyes off it. No one would be allowed to touch my woman. No one. I was surprised at both the level of anger and concern racing through my system, but it wasn’t something I could ignore.
The rush of adrenaline I’d felt the moment of impact was finally wearing off, the aches and pains beginning. When Danika rushed in first, her cries drawing my attention, I glanced at the doorway. It never mattered we’d been trained to handle something like this or that it had occurred before. We were a tight family, so much so that I knew my mother was likely hysterical at this point.
Danika flew toward me, sobbing more than she’d done at my wedding. When she wrapped her arms around my neck, pressing the weight of her lithe body against mine, I winced vocally.
“Ouch, little sis. Watch the ribs. A little tender here but I’m fine.”
She was only my younger sister by two and a half minutes but I adored tossing it in her face and always would.
