Page 122 of Dirty Hearts

I shot up and glared at her. “No, I left her up there ten minutes ago.”

My phone started buzzing in my back pocket. Amelia instantly looked nervous.

I looked at the phone screen and saw it was an unknown number calling. Immediately, a chill ran down my spine.

I answered it though. “Hello, who is this?”

“A friend,” Goliath cooed and laughed. The sound made my blood heat in my veins. “Isn’t it funny how people have that saying?The enemy of my enemy is my friend. But is he really? What’s to stop that guy from being your enemy too, and in the end, who can you trust?”

“What do you want, Goliath?”

“Well, thanks to you, I have one seriously pissed-off client, and my nukes are on the way to the bongo, bongo dimension. So, I came up with a way of how you can fix this.”

“You can go fuck yourself. When I find you, I’ll cut your head off.”

“Thought you might say that, mafia boss. You see, you underestimate me. Again. While you were busy running off to your princess, I took the next best thing. Your second helpless. Your father looks just like you. Although he doesn’t carry the bruises so well. It’s old age.”

God! Nooo!

No.

“Pa. You fucking bastard, you took my father.” I looked at Luc and couldn’t breathe.

Luc gasped, and Amelia’s eyes widened with terror.

“Yes, and your girl too. Jude sends his regards. He took her the first time way back when and specifically requested he do it this time again.”

Everything inside me stilled. Everything. Jude. It was Jude. I’d been right. It was Jude.

But the first time?God, no. What the fucking hell?

I stared at Luc, feeling helpless.Again.

“What do you want?” I asked Goliath, my voice weak sounding like the shadow of myself I’d become in those few seconds. Nothing like the leader I was supposed to be.

“I want everything. It kind of worked out very well. Your little plan. The Manellos and Antonellos have wanted the power you people own for a very long time. You’re going to sign the business over to me. Everything, money and assets. Meet me on the roof of the warehouse in forty minutes. You know the one.” He hung up, and I growled like an animal.

The fucking evil son of a bitch. The warehouse, sure I knew the one. It had to be the one I never got to, to save Marissa.

Luc grabbed me and shoved me hard against the wall.

“What the fuck happened?” he shouted.

“He took Pa, and Jude took Ava. He wants the whole business. They’re at the warehouse. The one Marissa got blown up in. I have to get them. Both of them.” Again.Both of them.

Just like fucking last time and I knew it wasn’t going to be as clean as what he’d said. There’d be something else. Something more to the game. He never said I’d get Pa or Ava back when I signed over the business.

“We. Claudius. It’swe. Not just you. Now, let’s go,” Luc commanded, baring his teeth. He let go of me and faced Amelia, who looked beside herself. “Goddess, you take charge. Round up my guys and tell them to head to the warehouse but keep out of sight. We’ll take Dante and Gio for backup.”

“Luc, you better come back to me,” Amelia said, voice shaking.

“Goddess. You know I will,” he told her with conviction.

Guilt at its fullest and finest consumed me further when I looked from Amelia to Luc, but there was no time to waste.

It had to end here. Today, one way or another. I couldn’t allow this to happen again.

Pa and Ava …