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“Trying isn’t good enough. You will find him or face my wrath. And I need to know by tomorrow.” If the bastard knew anything, he would talk.

One way or another.

Mario dared to turn his attention to Sergei for a few seconds as if looking for help. Yes, I was aware what I was asking was a difficult task. The fact the mafia’s VP had remained alive had been held in the strictest of confidence. A further confirmation of their involvement in every destructive situation in the last several months.

I could feel the tension in the air, rising at a high rate of speed.

“Yes, sir. You’ll have that information tomorrow.” He walked off and I could hear Sergei cursing in Russian.

“Now is not the time to try and handle me, Sergei. I have been waiting patiently for any information. I’ve finished with doing so. Tomorrow, we begin.”

“And just what exactly are we beginning? A war against the city? For God’s sake, Maxsim, we retaliated as you commanded and yet we aren’t certain anything was accomplished. Are you planning on gunning down every member of every crime syndicate and biker club on the East Coast to find answers? Or perhaps you’ve come to believe members of the city council or the building department are behind the explosion.”

“You mean the murders. Don’t you? The two people I love the most in this world were murdered along with several of my men and six other innocent people. That’s twelve people, Sergei, and the police don’t give a shit, including about the workers at the restaurant. That should tell you something very important.” His eyes opened wide as I glared at him.

He could tell I was on the edge.

“If you’re talking about citywide corruption, you could be right, but without having evidence to back up what you’re suggesting, then all you’re going to do is place your remaining soldiers in harm’s way. In addition, you’ll push boundaries and snap your influence with prominent and controlled members of law enforcement so they have no other choice than to arrest you for murder. You’ll land in prison for the rest of your life. Is that what you want?”

I moved closer, keeping my hands in my pockets so as not to overreact. “What I want is wake up from this nightmare, but since I can’t seem to control the hand of God, that won’t be possible. I’ll settle for the alternative and if that means I spend the rest of my miserable life rotting inside a prison cell, then so the fuck be it. I want that information by tomorrow. We will have a meeting and if I don’t get what I’m asking for, heads will roll.”

He wanted very much to challenge me, but knew better, yet he took his time to lower his gaze out of respect. His frustration was evident by how forcefully he rubbed his hand across his jaw. “You’re a miserable fuck when you can’t control everything in your world. Just so you know that.”

I took a few seconds to think about what he’d said before shaking my head and storming off with every intention of talking with Genevieve before leaving.

Only she’d disappeared.

CHAPTER 3

Maxsim

She’d intended on ending our relationship.

My sweet Isabel, the woman who’d carved a permanent place in my heart had planned on walking away.

Now that I was alone, the ugliness of truth settled into the deep recesses and the pain was unlike anything I’d ever experienced.

Even the soft click of the door that I closed was too much for my system. I bristled in the shadows, flexing my hand while I registered the feeling of my weapon still strapped in the holster of my jacket.

The silence in the house was more deafening than usual. Grief was a powerful weapon of its own, preventing me from doing my job. Days had passed, one turning into another. Often, I’d felt as if there’d been no reason to walk out of the house even though business had required my attention.

Just not the business I’d wanted. There was an art to acting on revenge, the methods chosen often saying a lot about a person. In being unable to act on my anger, the deep emotional resistance had taken a significant toll.

The house carried the same scent as when Isabel had last walked the halls. The aging leather from first edition books she’d touched with reverence. The salt from the light spray of ocean water somehow carried through the crevices in the closed doors. Isabel’s perfume was somehow more pungent than before.

Being numb inside allowed me to function even if I’d prefer the alternative.

I was wired yet exhausted, barely functioning as a human being. I would have spent time nursing a bottle of booze in the privacy of my own home had it not been for the one creature still requiring my full attention and care.

Shadow.

He’d heard me come home, his paws racing across the floor as he bounded from the living room where he usually remained when I was gone. Today was no exception, his happy squeals hopeful that the man feeding and walking him would find more time to spend with him than usual.

Doing so was brutally difficult, stretching my mental capabilities, but he’d been understanding. He’d stayed right by my side, sleeping at the foot of my bed while remaining in protective mode.

I’d functioned, fulfilling his needs as required, but in the lost days that had run together, there’d been little else. Today I reminded myself that he was suffering a loss as well, which was why I dropped to my knees so he could race into my arms.

He’d gone into Mina’s room dozens of times, although the last two days only a few.