Page 40 of Broken Wolf Heart (Mafia Pack #3)

LEXI

A ndy’s gone. The realization hits me hard, standing in the blood-soaked clearing, breathing in the aftermath of the attack.

Bodies litter the ground, but all I see is the empty space where Andy should have been standing with us.

My hands shake, adrenaline burning through my veins, twisting into guilt and panic.

She’s my second. I was supposed to protect her.

“Lexi,” Grey’s voice is low, careful, like approaching a cornered animal. “This isn’t on you.”

I whip around, eyes wild. “Then who the hell is it on? She trusted me.”

Mia steps up beside me, jaws clenched, eyes blazing with fury. “Fuck that. This is Vincenzo’s doing. It has to be. Revenge for what we did to Alvaro.”

My heart pounds. Mia is right, but it doesn’t make the ache any easier. Andy was taken because she was mine—my responsibility. My pack. My friend.

“We need answers,” Dutch says, voice sharp with tension. He looks at Mia. “Charlie might know something.”

“Fine.” My voice cracks, bitter and raw. “Let’s go. ”

Mia, Grey, and I drive back to the mansion in silence. Razor remained behind to run the clean-up with the security team we dispatched. Dutch and Crow opted to shift and run back. Said their wolves needed to blow off steam. I already know nothing will make my wolf settle, not until we find Andy.

Back at the estate, the three of us pull on clothes and then head straight for the pool house. Donahue is standing at the door. He takes one look at our faces and snaps to attention.

“What happened?” he asks.

“Come with us,” Grey says, and Donahue follows us inside.

In the small living room, Charlie sits in a plush chair, but the comfort is wasted on him. His face is pale, exhausted, the eyes of a man who’s played every wrong hand.

“Hey, Dad,” Mia says softly.

“What’s wrong?” he asks, gaze darting between our faces.

“Andy’s missing,” I say flatly, not bothering with pleasantries.

Charlie sits straighter, his jaw tightening. “Vincenzo?”

“We think so,” Grey says.

“You tell me,” I snap.

“Lexi,” Mia murmurs, but I don’t let up.

“He accused us of killing Alvaro in front of the media. And all but declared he was going to retaliate. Now, Franco’s lab has been cleaned out, and Dr. Severin is missing, which suggests he’s likely found a new home for his fucked-up science projects.

And I only know one person more fucked up than Severin.

So, hold up your end of this and tell me where he is. ”

Charlie hesitates, and I step forward, snarling. “Don’t. Don’t protect him.”

His eyes flash, not with defiance but resignation. “I’m not. I’m just… If he took Andy, it means…”

“It means what?” Grey snarls.

Charlie winces. “Vincenzo’s working with Dr. Severin, has been for a while. They’re developing a serum. Something to make him a super alpha beyond what Franco did to himself—to you.”

“Are you fucking joking?” Grey’s voice comes rough, incredulous from behind me.

Charlie shakes his head, slow and heavy. “I don’t know the science or how close they are to perfecting it, but it would make him stronger than you, stronger than Lexi. Powerful enough to challenge you both—and win.”

The air is sucked from my lungs. Of course Vincenzo decided to take matters into his own hands.

I’d stupidly thought that withholding my blood samples would thwart his attempts to do something so horrible.

I should have known he’d have a backup plan.

Or maybe I was the backup plan. Maybe he’s been capable of this all along.

“Doesn’t he realize the side effects Grey and Lexi have been feeling? The instability of their wolves?” Mia asks.

“He thinks he’s stronger,” Charlie says tiredly.

I stare at Charlie, stomach roiling. The idea of Vincenzo becoming something like that makes my wolf pace restlessly beneath my skin.

“What does Andy have to do with any of this?” I ask.

“It could be a simple act of vengeance,” Charlie says, but his tone makes it clear it’s more than that.

“What aren’t you saying?” I ask.

“He likely plans to use her as a test subject,” he says quietly.

A snarl rips from my throat. The wildness I felt earlier slams through me again, and it’s all I can do to remain human.

“Where is this place?” I demand.

“There’s an office building across from Altobello’s.”

“In the middle of the fucking city?” Mia asks incredulously.

Charlie looks away. “Vincenzo believes hiding in plain sight is the best strategy. Always has.” His voice is hoarse as he adds, “He’s been moving equipment there in pieces, quiet, secretive. ”

Grey curses, low and vicious.

“Dad,” Mia says, her voice breaking. “How do you know?” But disappointment is already written into her expression.

Charlie takes one look at her, and his shoulders sag. “I helped him secure the lease and set it up, before…” he trails off, face crumbling into shame. “Before I knew how far he’d go.”

I leave Charlie in silence, my stomach turning as I walk out the door and into the starlit night.

The others follow, all except for Mia. Whatever she’s saying to him in there, I can’t hear it—and that’s fine by me.

I don’t envy her pain, but I also can’t watch her look at him like that anymore.

Like she wants to forgive him. I’m not sure I feel the same way.

“What do you want to do?” Donahue asks, and it takes me a moment longer than it should to realize he’s talking to me and not Grey.

Dutch and Grey hover beside him, everyone looking at me. Grey nods as if to signal he’s letting me decide what comes next.

“Call Camila and fill her in,” I tell Donahue. “And anyone else you trust. We need them to be ready at first light.”

He doesn’t question me, simply nods and returns to his post outside the pool house, already dialing on his phone.

Dutch and Grey follow me into the house where I prowl through the darkness toward the study. It’s the one place in the house Andy’s presence still lingers. Maybe because she and I have already spent so much time together in here. But it makes me feel closer to her. Less like I’ve lost her already.

Grey follows me into the room but doesn’t say a word, simply lets me pace like a caged animal. A moment later, Dutch appears with three glasses and a bottle. I can smell the whiskey from here and take it gladly when he passes the glasses around.

The liquid burns my throat, but I welcome it. The way it slices through my senses. I hold my empty glass out for a refill. Dutch pours it, but not without murmuring a warning, “If you want a buzz, you’re going to be disappointed. Wolf metabolism’s going to burn it off too fast.”

I empty the glass, exhaling against the burn in my throat. For the first time since becoming a wolf, I wish I were still human. If only so I could lose myself to the numbness of the alcohol. But hiding has never been my style before, and I’m not going to start now.

So, I set the empty glass aside and force myself to focus on a plan.

“Hey,” Razor says as he and Crow arrive. “Did Charlie give us anything?”

Dutch holds out a glass. “Yeah, but you’re going to want one of these.”

Razor takes one, but Crow shakes his head and takes up a spot against the shelf by the window.

I listen as Grey tells them what Charlie said about Vincenzo and his new lab.

“How could he be stronger, though?” Razor’s eyes narrow skeptically. “You can’t just become more alpha. I mean, I’m not a scientist, but even I know that’s not how it works.

Dutch folds his arms, tense and restless. “Maybe Vincenzo knows something we don’t. Dr. Severin clearly held back information when we spoke to him before. He was hiding something even then.”

“He never intended to fight with politics,” Grey says quietly, voice edged with grim realization. “He always planned to use brute force. He just wanted to be strong enough first.”

I stare at Grey, dread pooling in my gut. He’s right. All the posturing, the accusations, the media—a political battle was never Vincenzo’s endgame. It was always violence. Always bloodshed .

“What’s the play?” Razor asks, restless already, and I know he wants to fight. Right now, tonight.

“We need to verify Charlie’s information,” I say, and Grey nods. “But once we do, we’re going to get Andy back, whatever it takes.”

“Fucking right we are,” Dutch echoes.

Crow steps forward. “Razor and I will go now to scout.”

Razor nods in agreement, face grim. “That asshole’s just fucked with us for the last time.”

I meet each of their eyes, heart swelling with gratitude and fear. “Be careful. We don’t know how many guards he has, but I think we should assume he’ll be watching for us.”

“We should double the patrols around this place for tonight,” Dutch adds.

“I’ll go talk to Donahue,” I say wearily.

“I got it.” Razor starts for the door.

“Thanks,” I tell him gratefully. When they’re gone, I turn to Grey. “Someone should check on your mom,” I say.

“I’ll do it.” Dutch drains his glass again too, before setting it aside. “My wolf could use a run right now.”

“Thanks, call if there’s anything,” Grey tells him.

“Back at you, brother.”

When we’re alone, Grey’s expression is tight.

“I want to go tonight,” I say.

“I know.”

“What if something happens to her before we get there?”

“It won’t.”

“You don’t know that.”

“You’re right,” he admits. “But I know my father. And if we go in there before we have a solid plan, we’ll lose. And that won’t help her either.”

I swallow the frustrated scream that builds in my throat. He’s right, but it still sucks. Around us, the house feels suddenly much quieter and emptier. The shadows longer .

“We should try to get some sleep,” I say reluctantly.

“You go ahead. I’ll be up soon.”

I hesitate, trying to read his mood through the bond.

But it’s clouded, like he’s got some kind of wall up between us.

We haven’t talked about the way he became some darker, deadlier version of his wolf earlier tonight.

Or the way his bloodthirst filtered through our bond, seeping into me.

I don’t bring it up, even though I should.

Without answers, it just feels exhausting to discuss.

And it’s not like we can afford for him to sit out of the fight.

But I study him now, worry spiking that, one of these times, he’ll shift into that thing and won’t be able to shift back. “Do you need anything? If your wolf needs to run, we can?—”

“No, it’s not that.” He drops his head. “I just… I think I need some time alone. Before tomorrow. When I face my dad, I think it’s going to be for the last time, and I… I just need some time with that.”

I nod, and for the second time tonight, I’m honestly glad to avoid the pain.

Not having a father is bad enough. Having one betray you, or worse, try to kill you, is far beyond what I’ve felt over losing my own father so young.

Even Franco never actually tried to end my life.

He sent others to do it for him. But this is different.

Tomorrow, Grey will kill his father.

That’s not a thing I can begin to understand.

“Take all the time you need,” I say, rising on my toes to press a kiss to his cheek. “I’ll be here waiting.”