Page 44 of Ravage God

Retirement obviously didn’t agree with him.

I hadn’t expected him to take retirement well, but it was a necessary move, especially since he was a part of the traditionalist men we didn’t trust.

And the fucker was lucky. Technically, there was no such thing as retirement in our world. And Gambino wasn’t exactly “retired,” considering he still came to the meetings, and he still put in his voice when Massimo asked for opinions from his men, but his voice didn’t hold as much weight—if any—as Valentino’s. And any job that might be required of his old position as Nevada’s underboss was given to Valentino.

Plus, I still wasn’t entirely convinced the fucker wasn’t in bed with Enzo, our uncle and fucking traitor. He and the rest of the traditionalist men. The only reason they were still breathing was that we didn’t have any proof. And eliminating a high-ranking official wasn’t an easy thing to do. We couldn’t just act based on “gut feelings” alone. We needed cold, hard proof of the fucker’s betrayal.

I look forward to that day.

But getting the fucker out and putting Valentino in his place had been a win.

Isa looked out the window at her house. She was turned away from me, so I couldn’t tell what she was thinking or feeling. I took the moment to study her side profile, wondering why I was suddenly feeling so fucking lost when it came to her.

“Thank you for the ride,” she said softly, glancing at me briefly before she blushed and looked away.

“You’re welcome,” I answered her, my voice gruff.

She hesitated for a long second before she pushed open the door and got out of the car, taking her scent and warmth with her.

She shot me a brief smile and walked away. I watched her leave.

I didn’t believe Valentino had put the fear of God in her, preventing her from sneaking out again.

I didn’t know what was going on with her, or why she felt the need to do this, but I couldn’t ignore it.

There was no way to ignore it.

I would just have to be there to catch her when she tried to attempt it again.

My phone vibratedon my dashboard, where I had placed it earlier.

I took a drink of my coffee before grabbing my phone and checking the notification. Another text from Matteo.

It vibrated once more before I could read it, and Romeo’s name popped up on the screen. Nice to know Matteo had gotten Romeo involved.

I quickly scanned the text before I threw my phone in the passenger seat, not bothering with a reply.

While my brothers and I were close, I was closer to Massimo than to my younger brothers, mostly because I could relate to him better than to the other two. And mostly because Massimo and I had to bear the brunt of our father’s abuse. We tried our best to protect our younger siblings—as much as two kids could have done against their monster of a father, and perhaps that had trauma-bonded us for life. Matteo and Romeo were closerto each other than they were to the rest of us, despite being so different.

And I knew I gave away too much last night when I heard Isa was missing. Matteo obviously caught on to that, and like a fucking dog with a bone, he wouldn’t be letting this go anytime soon, or fucking ever.

Romeo might be more subtle at reacting to things, but like Matteo, I doubted he would let this go either. The two of them together were worse than some of the bored, gossiping wives of some of our men.

I leaned forward in my seat when I noticed some movement in the dark around the Gambino house. My eyes strained as I tried to focus on what that shadow might be. It was hard to tell in the dark, and I was almost convinced it had been nothing more than a trick of my eyes when I caught more movement.

Bingo.

I didn’t think she would be sneaking out of the house so soon after being caught, though I had staked out here just in case, and yet, here she was.

Why was she doing this?

Did she not know how dangerous this world was? I was sure Valentino had done a good job at shielding her from most of it, but it wasn’t like her to act so naïve like this. As if she truly didn’t know.

My eyes followed her as she walked off the property line. She wouldn’t be walking from her house to the strip, would she? It was the middle of the night, and that was at least five miles away, and it was dark. I was about to get out when a strange car pulled up about half a block away from her house. She got in without hesitation, and I felt my jaw clench.

I didn’t know which was worse, her walking so far away in the middle of the night or her getting into a stranger’s car, even if it looked like she had called for it to be there.

I should call Valentino, but he had company right now. And while I knew he would drop everything to go pick up his sister, it was obvious his “lectures” weren’t working, or else she wouldn’t be sneaking out of the house again.