Page 25 of Die for You

I look at him, wondering what the fuck he wants.

“I did knock,” he says, reading my annoyance.

“What do you want?”

He closes the door behind him.

He knows better than to sit unless invited to. “Alfonso is a rat.”

And this is one of the things I like about Donkey. He doesn’t believe in sugarcoating.

When I asked him to compile all the data on my men, he did so within three days. We were able to dispose of a handful of traitors, thanks to his meticulous research skills. It seems Alfonso didn’t get the message when I stated disloyalty will not be tolerated.

“How?”

“He’s a scout for Gianna.”

I curl my palm into a fist on the desk. “What has he done?”

“He has informed her of our latest shipment of crystals arriving at the docks tonight. Word on the street is that she is planning an ambush to steal our cargo. She’s also trying to turn our suppliers against us, saying that a boy rules where a man should.”

A laugh escapes me. “Let her see what this boy can do, then.”

Donkey nods. “How many men do we need?”

“Five.”

He arches a brow, but doesn’t contest the small number I’ve requested.

“And ensure Alfonso is one of them.”

Donkey doesn’t dally and leaves me alone to digest this news. It shouldn’t surprise me that Gianna has infiltrated my team. But she’s done me a favor. She has helped weed out the deceitful weaklings who will suffer for their choices.

A dishonest man is someone you cannot trust because loyalty is everything. Even if I’m forced to start from scratch, I would rather a small, loyal group of men than a large posse of traitorous cowards.

Tonight, Alfonso will be made an example of.

Gianna will be there tonight as this is her first attack, and she will want to see how I respond. But she doesn’t realize I now know her secrets, which will be the end of her.

Once tonight is done with, I intend to fly to Italy and bring Valentina home—kicking and screaming if I must.

And I really hope that she does…

I’ve left Bria at home, much to her disgust.

But someone needs to be there in case Gianna decides to change things up and attack when she knows I won’t be home. She is cunning and smart. I would be foolish to underestimate her. I must bide my time.

But flying to Italy has left me with the dilemma of who I can trust this empire with. Bria can’t do it on her own, which is why Lewis sits beside me. This isn’t ideal, but my brother has wasted enough time. Yes, the hand he was dealt sucked, but now, it’s time to reclaim his life and start living.

I don’t know if this is the right step, though, because an ex-junkie around drugs is probably the worst way to test his resilience, especially since it’s still early days.

But I’ve decided to throw him into the deep end and see if he can swim.

Even though we’re blood, we’re merely strangers. He’s broken, and I’ll do everything in my power to help him heal.

Conversation is nonexistent between us.

I don’t know what I was expecting, but I thought he would be happy to get off the streets. But as he stares vacantly out the window, I wonder if maybe he’s too far gone.