Page 102 of The Empress

Her eyes meet mine. “You’re going to have to grovel for the rest of our lives.”

I nod, prepared to do anything she wants.

Haven tilts her head and stares at me for a few seconds before she says, “Maybe I’m an idiot, but I forgive you.”

My eyebrow lifts. “Really?”

She rolls her eyes and gives me a playful smile. “Yeah. It’s probably the great sex and multiple orgasms that twisted my arm.”

“Oh, if that’s the kind of groveling you want from me, I'd better get to work.” I stand up and pick her up off the stool. Haven lets out a burst of laughter. “We just ate. Should we wait half an hour like you do before swimming?”

“That’s a myth,” I tell her as I carry her back to my bedroom.

After spending two amazing days with Haven, I hate being away from her.

Even though I trust Edoardo to protect her, I feel unsettled as we step off my private jet, which just landed at a private airfield in Croatia.

Find Nicolo and kill him so you can get back to your wife.

Dante instructs my men on what to do as Massimo and I walk toward the row of SUVs. We’re all already geared up witharmored vests and machine guns, so we don’t have to waste any more time at the airfield.

“You look so much better,” Massimo comments for the umpteenth time when I open the passenger door.

“Say it again, and we’re going to have a problem,” I grumble, not really meaning it.

I get into the cab, and when Massimo slides in behind the steering wheel, he places his machine gun on my lap and chuckles, “You look so much better.”

I shove at his shoulder, giving him a playful glare. “Let’s get going so we can kill those fuckers. I’m impatient to go home to my wife.”

“Now you know how I feel every time we take a trip,” he replies.

When he starts the engine and follows behind Dante, who’s in the SUV in front of us, I pull my phone out of my pocket and type out a text to Haven.

Leo: We’ve landed in Croatia. I hope you’re enjoying your time with your mother. I love you,stellina mia.

I put the device away, and my thoughts turn to Nicolo.

I haven’t decided how I’m going to kill the fucker once I’m done getting all my answers. I keep thinking of different ways. Everything from beating him to death to letting rats eat their way through his gut.

Cazzo, rats are out of the question because I don’t have any.

After a while of driving, Massimo says, “We’re five minutes away.”

I roll my shoulders and say a silent prayer that I won’t lose any men today.

My gaze focuses on our surroundings. The coastal area is luxurious, and the mansions are spaced far apart from each other.

Dante speeds up, and when he turns and drives through a set of black gates, all the SUVs follow, and a few seconds later, we come to a screeching halt.

I shove Massimo’s machine gun onto his lap, and throwing my door open, I jump out of the vehicle. Gunfire erupts as soon as my men pour from their SUVs.

As they storm the mansion, taking out Vito’s guards, Massimo and I bring up the rear.

Dante’s the first to breach the front door, and I glance at Massimo, “He’s like a bulldozer.”

“Just very passionate about his job,” my right-hand man replies with a chuckle.

We enter the mansion where bodies lie scattered on the tiles, then I hear Dante’s voice through the earpiece I’m wearing. “We’re by the pool.”