Page 180 of Savage Empire

“Fuck’s going on?” a groggy voice asks, stumbling into the room. Of course Nico would end up in his twin’s room seconds after me.

I give them a clipped rundown of what I know, and pass Remo my phone that’s still on a call with Rayna.

“That makes no sense.”

“Yes, thank you for that brilliant insight, Nico,” I snap.

“Son.” The sound of my father’s voice isn’t comforting, or helpful. I don’t know how long he’s been in the doorway, and I don’t care.

Frustration bubbles over and I lash out with a guttural shout. “I need somebody to tell me where the fuck my wife is right now!”

“I got her,” Remo announces. “She got a text with a location and according to the GPS on the car she took from the garage.”

“Text it to me?—”

“Already did,” he says, passing back my phone.

Nico follows me without a word as I begin to storm out. No one stops us, though I hear our father barking orders at guards to follow us.

Every garage door opens up, and I know Remo has done it remotely. I grab the closest SUV as Nico picks up a go bag, filled with guns and ammo. As soon as he’s in the car, I’m flooring it out of the driveway.

“Any idea what we’re walking into?” he asks, loading a magazine in the passenger seat.

“I have no fucking clue,” I bite out. “She told me she was going to bake fucking cupcakes with Jade and Ana.”

“Yikes,” he mumbles, grabbing a couple of knives to stash in his belt.

Thick raindrops start to pour from the sky, pinging off the windshield in a harsh downpour. Light showers were predicted in tonight’s weather report, but somehow, it feels like a bad omen.

Flipping on the wipers, I curse as the road becomes harder to see. Just then, my phone lights up in the center console, and Nico picks it up. “Your call just dropped.”

Fuck. That can’t possibly be good.

“Try to call her back.”

Before he can follow my order, my phone vibrates in his hand.

“Why the fuck is Abramo calling you?”

“Who the hell cares, ignore it and call Rayna.”

“What if he has her?” I don’t have a second to argue with him before he accepts the call and barks into the speaker phone. “What?”

“Hello, spawn of Satan.” Abramo huffs. “Tell your brother that his wife is fine. She almost got herself killed, but she’s fine.”

“You have her?” I snarl, unsure whether to be relieved or horrified.

“I do,” he confirms in a drawl. “Federico’s brother called her earlier, he led her away under the guise of having Yordan held captive. She was told he would be killed if she alerted you, and that she needed to come alone for him to remain alive.”

“Are you fucking serious? Yordan is with my brother, he’s fine?—”

“Yes, it was quickly made apparent to her that this was a ruse to get her alone. Luis made it seem like he was going to extort you for money for her safety, but he swiftly made a move to kill her when she arrived.”

My heart stalls in my chest, and I push the throttle down harder.

“And you just happened to be in the area?” Nico asks doubtfully.

“I’ve been suspicious of Luis for weeks, I had him followed. I assumed he was trying to gain more allies. When he and his merry little band of cousins made their move out of state, I trailed them. Had I known about his goal in seeking revenge on your wife, I would have informed you.”