Page 141 of Brutal Heir

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’refamiglia, 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’tcome back. Not without her.

CHAPTER 54

DROWNING