Page 43 of Savage Saint (Empire of Secrets #2)

ANGELO

S moke claws its way down my throat as I scan the wreckage of the port.

What was once a hub of our operations now looks like a war zone.

Twisted metal beams are reaching toward the sky like skeletal fingers, containers are split open like gutted fish, their contents scattered across the blackened concrete.

"Get those fires under control!" I shout to a group of men standing uselessly near a smouldering pile. "And you, start cataloguing everything salvageable. I want a full inventory by morning."

Next to me, Dante stands rigid, his face a mask of cold fury. Luca paces behind us, already on the phone with our insurance contacts, working damage control. The explosion hit us hard, but the Santoro family doesn't stay down. We rebuild. We retaliate.

My phone vibrates in my pocket. Arrow's name flashes on the screen.

"You're on speaker," I say, holding the phone so my brothers can hear.

"Tell me you have something," Dante growls, his voice like gravel, sharp with barely contained rage.

"I got into the security footage from the east entrance," Arrow says, the sound of rapid typing in the background. "One of Nico's guys, that skinny fucker with the neck tattoo, was on camera seventeen minutes before the explosion. He carried in what looked like maintenance equipment."

"Good," I say. "That should keep the Feds busy with Nicolosi for now."

Arrow hesitates, their voice dropping. "There's more. One of the containers had girls inside. Sex trafficking victims."

The words hit me like a fist to the gut. "How bad?"

"Bad. Most are in the burn unit. Our people are trying to track down families, but many were brought in without documentation."

My mind immediately flashes to Kasia, her blue eyes, defiant even when she was broken and bloodied when I found her. She could have been one of these girls, shipped in a metal box like cargo, burned alive, if fate hadn't intervened.

"Angelo, have you got a minute?" Arrow asks suddenly. "I need to talk to you about something."

"What is it?" Dante cuts in, impatience rolling off him in waves. "You can talk here."

"Err, it's about a fungal infection on a private part. Angelo had it before, and I think I might have something similar now? I'd really rather talk just to him."

Dante sighs deeply, shaking his head as he turns away. I move off, clicking off the speaker function.

"Fungal infection? Really?" I can't keep the sarcasm from my voice.

Arrow snorts. "It worked, didn't it?"

I move further away from my brothers, finding a quiet spot behind a row of undamaged containers. The acrid smell of burning rubber and chemicals is less intense here, but still strong enough to make my eyes water.

"What's going on?" I ask, tension coiling in my gut. Arrow never pulls me aside.

"It's about Kasia," Arrow begins, their voice low and serious.

My free hand clenches at my side, a mix of anticipation and dread washing over me.

"What about her?" I keep my voice steady, though my pulse kicks up a notch.

"The device you couriered over. The hypothetical one. It's definitely a neurotransmitter. You need to check the base of her skull and check if she's got the receiver."

I freeze, my mind flashing back to how Kasia had reacted when she saw the device—pure, unfiltered terror. Not just fear. Recognition.

"A neurotransmitter," I repeat, the words feeling foreign on my tongue. "For what purpose?"

"Mind control, essentially. Or at least behavioural control. It works by sending electrical impulses directly to the brain. If she's got the receiver implanted, someone could trigger specific responses. Pain, compliance, even unconsciousness. It's fucking medieval."

The revelation makes my blood run cold. I fight the urge to rush back to the house, to check Kasia's neck myself, to see if someone has been pulling her strings all this time.

"There's more," Arrow continues, hesitation clear in their voice.

"Spit it out."

"Have you heard of the Red Widow?"

My breath catches. "Everyone has."

My mind starts whirring, things clicking into place. Kasia's combat skills. Her instinctive reactions. The way she handled herself during the casino attack. Her self-doubt. Why she's been calling herself a monster.

The fucking Red Widow. The most feared assassin in Europe. The ghost story that makes hardened criminals check their locks twice at night.

"Apparently, Red Widow is Jerzy's most notorious operative," Arrow explains, their voice fading as my phone pings with incoming images. "And I'm almost certain Red Widow is your girl."

I flick through them. Brutal, efficient kills that make even my stomach turn.

A diplomat with his throat cut so deeply his head hangs by a thread.

A judge and his entire family arranged in a macabre tableau around their dinner table.

A businessman pinned to his office chair with fountain pens through his eye sockets.

"Red Widow," I mutter.

The memory of Kasia's genuine laugh at dinner clashes violently with these new revelations. The way her eyes lit up when she tasted Alessa's tiramisu. How she looked sleeping peacefully beside me, vulnerable and soft.

The contradiction should disturb me more than it does.

Instead, I feel a twisted sense of pride, of possessiveness. She's deadlier than I ever imagined, and I want her even more.

"Angelo? You still there?" Arrow's voice pulls me back.

"Yeah. Keep digging. I want everything you can find. Mission files, known associates, anything. And find out how deep this neurotransmitter tech goes."

"There's something else you should know," Arrow says. "If she is the Red Widow, and if she has that receiver in her skull, there's a good chance she was sent to you deliberately."

"As what? A spy? An assassin?" The words taste bitter.

"Both, maybe. The Chicago Wilki have been disgruntled with Dante making the businesses legitimate.

That and the fact Nicolosi has been visiting Chicago for years.

.. What better way to take you down than to plant their deadliest weapon right in your bed?

Everything points to her being hired by Nico to get rid of you guys," Arrow states, their voice flat but urgent.

"From what I'm seeing, she's not just a weapon—she's the weapon.

The end game. You finding her in that container? That wasn't an accident."

I catch my reflection in a nearby window, a dangerous smile spreading across my face. "Interesting."

"You don't seem concerned," Arrow observes, worry evident in their tone. "Angelo, this isn't just some girl you picked up. She's literally one of the most dangerous assassins in the world."

My smile doesn't falter. If anything, it grows wider, sharper. "I'm aware."

"Are you? Because from where I'm sitting, you're acting like I just told you she snores in her sleep, not that she's been sent to murder your entire family."

Arrow's concern is unmistakable, but my mind is already racing with possibilities. My Butterfly… sent to kill me. The irony isn't lost on me. The woman I can't stop thinking about, the one who's wormed her way under my skin, was meant to be my executioner.

"The device in her neck. If it's there, it controls her?" I ask, mind racing with worried thoughts. The thought of anyone controlling Kasia makes my blood boil. No one should have that power over her. No one but me.

"Most likely. But, Angelo, until we know more—"

"If we activate that transmitter..." My voice trails off, the implications clear. I picture Kasia's eyes going blank, her body becoming a puppet to someone else's commands. The idea of losing her to Jerzy's control makes my chest constrict painfully.

"How do we get rid of it?" I demand.

"An EMP could fry it, but there's a risk of damage to surrounding brain tissue," Arrow explains, their voice clinically detached. "The safest option would be surgical removal. The device is likely located at the base of her skull, possibly near the brain stem."

I trace my fingers over the base of my own skull, picturing Kasia's delicate skin, the soft wisps of hair that curl there. The thought of someone cutting into her, even to help, makes my jaw clench.

"I've got a medical degree," I say, already mapping the procedure in my mind. "I could do it myself."

"You're not serious," Arrow says, their voice rising in pitch. "Angelo, that's brain surgery. One wrong move and you could paralyse her. Or worse."

"I don't want anyone else to touch her." The words come out as a growl. "I don't want anything inside her that's not me. No one else can leave a mark on her."

A heavy silence falls between us. I know how I sound. Possessive, obsessive, dangerous. I don't care.

"Can you block the signal for now?" I order, my tone leaving no room for argument.

Arrow sighs, the sound of rapid typing coming through the line. "I can try. But it'll be tough without the serial number. I suppose I could work something out with the device that triggers it. Create a jamming field or something."

"Good, get it done."

"I'll need to send some equipment to your place."

"Fine. But not a word to my brothers. Not until I've figured this out."

"Angelo, think about this," Arrow pleads, their voice softening. "She's not who we thought she was. She's—"

"She's not our enemy," I interrupt, my voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. The image of Kasia's face when she woke from her nightmares flashes through my mind. Raw, vulnerable, broken. Not the face of someone playing a part.

I should feel betrayed. Used. But all I can think about is Kasia's face when she broke down in my arms. I've seen enough liars in my life to know the difference. Whatever she was sent to do, whatever she might have been before, she's fighting it now. Fighting for herself.

The words that follow feel like a vow, a claim, a threat, all in one: "She's mine."

Arrow falls silent for a moment. "You know I'm loyal to you, Angelo. But this... this is beyond risky."

"I didn't ask for your opinion," I snap, watching as Dante gestures for me to join him. "Just block the signal. I'll deal with the rest."

"The jamming equipment should be at your place tonight," Arrow concedes. "Don't do anything stupid before it arrives."

"Fine, but keep this between us for now," I tell Arrow. "Not a word to my brothers."

"That's a dangerous game, Angelo."

"Just do it." I end the call and pocket my phone, my mind made up. The knowledge that Kasia might have been sent to kill me, that she might still be a weapon pointed at my family's heart, should make me wary. Instead, it only strengthens my resolve.

The Red Widow. Sent to infiltrate us. To destroy us from within.

I should be furious. I should be plotting her execution. Instead, I'm calculating how to keep her.

The fire reflects in the shattered windows of a nearby warehouse, dancing like the dangerous thoughts in my head.

Each flame licks higher, matching the growing determination inside me.

This isn't just about Nicolosi anymore. This is about Jerzy Kowalczyk, the Polish bastard who thinks he can use my Butterfly as a weapon against me.

I'll dismantle every thread of this conspiracy. I'll disable every trap they've set. I'll burn their operation to the ground just like this port, but with far more precision and much less mercy.

And Kasia...

What will I do with Kasia?

If she still wants to kill us all, if she's still the Red Widow at her core, I won't let her hurt my brothers.

Dante and Luca are off-limits. But me? If she wants my blood, she can try.

I almost smile at the thought of her making the attempt.

Part of me would welcome the fight, welcome the chance to pin her beneath me one final time.

But what if she doesn't? What if the woman I've come to know—the one who trembles in her sleep, who laughs at stupid jokes, who fights alongside me with perfect synchronicity—is real? What if she's no longer the person Jerzy controlled?

My fists clench at my sides. I'll make her tell me everything. Every mission, every kill, every memory that's returned to her. I'll strip her bare, not just her body, but her soul. I'll demand honesty so complete it'll feel like being flayed alive.

Only then, when she's laid herself bare before me, will I offer her a choice: stand beside me or face me as my enemy.

Either way, she'll be mine. My ally or my demise. There's something poetic about potentially dying at the hands of the only woman who's ever made me feel alive.

"Angelo!"

Luca's voice cuts through my thoughts. He's running toward me, phone in hand, face tight with urgency.

"What?" I snap, irritated at the interruption.

"Shots fired at Eclipse," he pants, thrusting his phone at me. On the screen, security footage shows a familiar sleek black Maserati driving past the club's car park. "That's Dante's car."

My blood runs cold. "Kasia."

"And Alessa," Luca adds, his voice tight with worry. "They went there together."

Fuck. Of course she wouldn't stay put. Of course she'd go straight to the lion's den. She's not some damsel to be protected, she's the fucking Red Widow.

"When?" I demand, already moving toward our SUV.

"Less than ten minutes ago. I've got men on the way, but—"

"But they don't know what they're walking into," I finish for him, pulling my gun from its holster to check the magazine. "Tell Dante."

Luca nods, already dialling. "What's the plan?"

I slide into the driver's seat, my mind racing through scenarios, calculating risks. "We go in hard. Clear the club. Get all the girls out."

"And then?" Luca asks through the window as I start the engine.

I grip the steering wheel so tightly my knuckles turn white. "And then we finish this. All of it. Nicolosi, the trafficking, the turf war. It ends tonight."

As I speed away from the burning port, a cold clarity settles over me. The Santoro family has been patient. We've been strategic. We've played by certain rules.

No more.

"Call our men," I tell Luca, my voice deadly calm. "All of them. Tell them to suit up and be ready. We're hitting every Nicolosi property tonight. Every warehouse, every front business, every safe house. I want them crippled by morning."

Luca's eyes widen slightly, but he nods, already making calls.

"And, Luca," I add, my voice dropping to a dangerous whisper, "spread the word. Anyone we find trafficking girls gets no mercy. Not tonight."

The time for half measures is over. Nicolosi thought he could use my Butterfly against me? He's about to learn what happens when you try to cage a savage.