Page 88 of Thorns of Blood

I stroked her hair, keeping her close to me. “Who?”

“The Mistress. Santiago. Perez,” she cried.

I wished for the hundredth time I could kill those motherfuckers.

“What has she done to you? This Mistress?” Because when I found that woman, I intended to bury her six feet under. Alive.

“She took my baby.” My hand paused for the briefest of moments before I resumed stroking her hair. “She killed… my baby. She threw his tiny body into a tr-trash bag and laughed.” Her words were broken by hiccups, her heartbreak in everysyllable. “I think it was a boy, but I’m not even sure. I never even got to hold him.”

I clenched my jaw, rage boiling my blood. No human being should endure what this woman had to in order to survive. “Does this woman have a name?”

She shook her head. “I don’t know. I’ve been searching.”

I took her chin between my fingers and lifted her head, peering into her golden eyes.

“We’ll search together.” I pressed a kiss to her temple. Then I scooped her up and tucked her into bed, sliding in behind her.

“We’ll find her, Lia, and then we’ll make her pay for everything. Together.”

With my hand over her heart and her delicate palm over mine, she repeated in a soft whisper, “Together.”

The Mistress—whoever she was—would regret the day she ever laid her eyes on my Lia, because nobody made my wife cry and lived to tell the tale.

THIRTY-TWO

GIOVANNI

Meet me at the Long Wharf. You and your wife owe me.

Kian was in Boston. I wasn’t surprised, but I’d hoped he wouldn’t come back into the picture for another few weeks.

Lia and I debated meeting with Kian all morning. She was against it but wouldn’t explain why, so my decision prevailed, considering Kian wasn’t wrong. I did owe him, and so did my wife.

As my driver drove down the long, winding road that led to a once major commercial entry and departure point for Boston, Romeo watched me while Liana watched the sights pass her window, her calculative gaze lingering on the countless security guards stationed at each corner of the property.

“I didn’t know Kian owned Long Wharf,” Romeo muttered. “He shouldn’t be in our territory.”

I just shrugged, even though I wondered the same. Why in the fuck did Kian Cortes own anything in Boston?

“This was such a bad idea,” Lia muttered, her eyes still locked out the window. “We should have at least brought backup.”

Romeo snickered. “Iambackup. Give me some credit.”

She looked at him, rolled her eyes, then returned her gaze to the window. It was great to see my brother and sister making an effort with her. If only Cristiano would get on board. For the past few weeks that we’d been in Boston, he’d kept his distance, my mother probably whispering poison into his ear.

It appeared it was time to deal with her again, once and for all. Mateo hated her guts and kept away from her like she had the plague, but I was starting to think that was a mistake. That woman needed to be on a leash, to be reminded of her place.

“This guy lives like a fucking king with the security of a crime lord,” Romeo stated, facing me.

“He is a crime lord,” Lia pointed out. “In case it escaped you, he runs several illegitimate operations, the Cortes Cartel being the latest addition.”

“I thought he ran a security operations company.”

“He does,” I confirmed. “Although I suspect it’s mostly a front.”

“Maybe your wife is right then,” Romeo grumbled. “We shouldn’t be here.”

“Making an enemy out of Kian wouldn’t be wise,” Lia answered begrudgingly, repeating my words from our argument this morning. I suspected it wouldn’t be our last. Lia was stubborn and accustomed to running things her way.