Page 55 of Brutal Heir (Ruthless Heirs #3)
BURN THIS CITY
A lessandro
The Belfast winter air cuts like a knife the moment I step off the jet. Damp, grey, and laced with something acrid like the spirits of old wars and grudges. It seeps into my bones, dragging every buried rage and fear to the surface.
“She’s here,” I mutter, jaw clenched as my boots hit the tarmac. “I can feel it.”
Matteo follows close behind, pulling his coat tighter against the wind. “And so is he. Let’s not forget that.” Something unreadable surges across my cousin’s eyes. It’s not fear; Matteo isn’t scared of anything. It’s like he’s seen a ghost amid the rolling hills of Belfast.
I open my mouth to ask what’s got him spooked, but he cuts me off before I get a word out. “Fucking Conall Quinlan,” he growls.
And just like that, all thoughts of his worries are replaced by my own. Every part of me wants to rip this city apart brick by brick until I find Rory. Until I have her safe in my arms again.
It’s not until we reach the black SUV waiting at the hangar that it occurs to me this is the first time I’ve stepped across a tarmac since the explosion in Milano. I hadn’t even considered it because I’d been so consumed by my fear for Rory.
Before dark memories of the past make their way to the surface we’ve reached the car. Burying any fleeting trauma to the far corners of my mind, I focus on why we’re here and forget my grisly past.
“Any sign of the car that picked her up from the airport last night?” I ask as we climb into the SUV.
We’re only a few hours behind them. They can’t have gotten far.
“Not yet. My guys are working through the security feeds,” Matteo replies, tapping away at his phone.
“But I’ve got our overseas crew already posted at every major exit from the city.
Ports, airfields, even the ferry stations.
If Conall tries to move her anywhere, we’ll know.
They’re currently searching his warehouses, store fronts, pubs, all known addresses… ”
“Good.” I run a hand through my hair, frustration surging. “I don’t want to wait for him to move her. I want to strike first.” Because knowing that sick fuck, there are plenty of things he can do to her right here in Belfast.
Matteo nods. “I’ve already reached out to our Irish contact, Finlay Morrow. Runs a nightclub in the Cathedral Quarter. He’s loyal. And pissed at the Quinlans.”
I grunt. “That’s one thing we’ve got in common.”
The SUV speeds through the winding countryside roads, hedgerows blurring past in streaks of green and grey. Every second that ticks by feels like sand slipping through my fingers. She could be anywhere, locked in some stone-walled estate, bruised, broken… alone.
The thought nearly undoes me.
I pull out my phone again and reread her last message.
I love you, Ale. More than my own life.
Dio , why didn’t I tell her how I felt sooner? Why didn’t I just marry her right away? I failed her. I promised I’d keep her safe, and I fucking failed.
“You’re going to get her back,” Matteo says quietly beside me as if he’s plucked the thoughts from my mind.
I nod once, slowly.
I wouldn’t just get her back, I’d burn down everything in our way to do it. And I’d save that bastardo , Conall Quinlan for last. He deserves a very special brand of punishment for what he’s put her through.
My phone buzzes again. An encrypted line.
It’s one of our men. Pietro from Rome.
“Speak,” I bark.
“We tracked a pattern of recent supply deliveries headed north, big shipments of liquor and food, but the delivery addresses aren’t licensed businesses.” His voice is clipped and precise. “One of them matches an old estate owned by the Quinlans, just outside the city.”
“Send me the coordinates,” I snap. “That must be where he’s holding her.”
Then I allow myself a minute to process his words. Big shipments of liquor and food can only mean one thing. Could that psychopath really have organized another wedding?
“They’re already en route.”
I end the call and glance at Matteo. “We have a location.”
His eyes harden. “Then let’s do this.”
Another message comes through on my phone, but instead of the coordinates I expect, it’s from Serena.
Sere: We’re an hour out from Belfast. Don’t do anything stupid until we get there. Antonio’s men from Milano are on their way too for backup .
A twist of irritation and relief wind their way through the jumble of emotions in my gut. My fingers hover over the screen, torn between telling her to get the hell out of here or hurry the fuck up.
Finally, I settle on the two words that come first.
Me: Thank you .
Then I whirl at Matty, brow arched. “You told them?”
I don’t need to explain. He knows exactly who I’m talking about.
He shrugs nonchalantly. “I had to. It’s the cousin crew. That’s what we do for each other, right?” He grins and squeezes my shoulder.
“Get each other into deep merda ?”
“Exactly.” That stupid smile only grows wider.
“You better hope nothing happens to the girls or Luca and Dante will murder us. Family or not.”
“Relax, Ale. We’ve got this.” He leans forward to the driver and spouts off an address.
The big SUV jerks to the left as the driver whips the car around a corner.
“What’s the ETA?” I bark.
“One hour and thirty-nine minutes, capo .”
Adrenaline thrums through my veins, a toxic mix of fear and fury adding to the potent cocktail.
Sitting back in the seat, I attempt to slow the wild pounding of my heart. “Send the address to the team,” I growl at Matty.
“Already on it.”
I lean forward, eyes locked on the road. “Go faster,” I snarl at the driver. “We’re not leaving Belfast until she’s in my arms, and he’s in the ground.”
What seems like an eternity later, we’re finally parked down the road from the Quinlan estate hidden behind a thick copse of trees. Every minute of waiting is utter torture. I glance at my watch and mutter another curse. Only about an hour until nightfall.
As much as I hated the delay, I couldn’t argue with the team of Gemini and Ferrara men assembled to infiltrate the manor.
The cover of night would aid in the success of our mission ten-fold.
Plus, it gave us the added time to ensure the cousin crew along with Serena’s fiancé’s men arrived from Milano. We needed the additional numbers badly.
Still, it doesn’t make the waiting any easier.
“We’ll get her out of there soon, Ale.” My twin’s voice cuts through the roar of my frenzied pulse.
“Right,” I mutter and push off the SUV I’m leaning against.
I was surprised to see Alessia get out of the car alongside Serena, Antonio, Isabella and Raf. Not that we’re not close, but of all the cousins, she’s the least involved in the lifestyle. It’s a choice she made long ago, one that I’m proud of her for.
She pulls out her gun, cocking it, and a feral smile parts her ruby-red lips. “That Irish fucker is going to pay for trying to take Rory away from you.”
But that choice doesn’t make her any less lethal than the rest of us.
“Thanks for coming, sis.”
Her slim shoulders lift. “I didn’t have anything else going on this weekend so where else would I be?”
Antonio and Raf march up beside us with the Valentino girls trailing only a few steps behind. “The Ferrara men are ready to go,” says Antonio. “Just waiting on word from you, Ale.”
“As soon as that damned sun sets, we move.”
Both men nod, and I’m filled with the most overwhelming urge to thank them all again for coming. Neither Ferrara brothers are strangers to this life, but both are doing their damnedest to live a different one. And still, here they are. For me. For Rory.
“Thanks again,” I mutter before Serena cuts me off.
“Stop thanking us, asshole. Rory is family, and we would do the same for anyone standing here.”
Bella leans in and curls her arm around my own. “Exactly what Sere said. We’re famiglia , and we’ll always be here for each other. No matter how hard you try to push us away.”
“What the girls said,” Antonio adds.
“They say it better than we would have.” Raf shrugs before pulling Isabella from my side and tucking her into his. He’s a possessive psycho when it comes to my cousin.
Serena and Isabella both found good men—men who’d kill for them, bleed for them, and worship the ground they walk on. And for a long time, I envied that. Watching from the outside, wondering if someone like me, broken and bloodstained, could ever deserve that kind of love.
But then I found Rory. Or maybe she found me. And everything changed.
She didn’t just patch the cracks in me, she carved herself into them.
Now, she’s mine.
And I swear to God, I will burn this entire city to ash before I let anyone take her away from me.
And if I’m too late… I don’t come back. Not without her.