Page 61 of Villainous Kingpin

“You won’t fucking believe this shit,” he hissed and I instantly tensed.

“Speak.”

“Gio put a hit on Liam’s woman.” My eyes instinctively shot to Wynter. If she heard this, she’d be sure to fucking leave. “It was capture or kill. As long as Brennan no longer had her.”

The anger was so strong, I had to choke it down or risk scaring the living daylights out of Wynter. She threw me a hesitant look, probably sensing the fury. It burned my throat, my chest, my fucking lungs.

“How do you know?” I asked, reining in the anger in my voice.

“Priest hacked into Garrett’s computer. Apparently, the guy likes to keep notes on his illegal dealings and had all his plans and instructions from Gio recorded. Fucking moron.”

“Have you sent our men after her?”

“I have, but Liam’s men beat us to it.” Fuck, if he learned Father’s connection to her kidnapping, we’d have a fucking war. “We have to do something,” he growled.

I had to overthrow my father. Or have him killed. Anything before he threw us into fucking chaos. Even more terrifying was that Wynter was with Davina. If I hadn’t made plans, the fucker could have taken Wynter too.

“Otherwise, we’ll all be dead. Brennan has good connections and we don’t need their attention,” Dante continued. Fuck, didn’t I know it. We didn’t need to fuck with Cassio King and his gang. The old fuckers were married and settled. I’d like to keep them focused on their families rather than looking our way. It was our turn to rule and our reach through the Syndicate covered the entire world.

Wynter’s phone started vibrating and she jumped, then rushed to it, answering on the first ring. I watched her face and saw relief wash over her expression.

“Yes, we’ll have to deal with it,” I acknowledged Dante’s insinuation.

“Come to Chicago,” he grumbled. “Let’s make a plan and execute it.”

“I have Wynter with me.”

“Bring her along,” he reasoned. “He already knows you have a woman and he’s curious. She won’t be safe from him either. Assuming he hasn’t already dug up every piece of information on her.”

He was right. Albeit, Wynter’s background wouldn’t divulge anything to him. Her life was simple compared to ours.

“We’ll come together.” But first I’d marry her. “I’ll call you later.”

CHAPTER24

Wynter

Arush of relief filled me and tears stung my eyes. If something would have happened to Davina, I’d have never forgiven myself. We should have walked her to the Jeep and ensured she left safely.

For a moment, I thought our misdeeds caught up with us. First, we burned down Garrett’s house, then counting cards in Chicago, and finally stealing the armored truck. Thank God, Davina was alright.

I settled on the sofa next to Bas and he wrapped his one hand around me. “She’s good?”

I nodded. “Yes. For a moment-” I couldn’t get the words out. Just thinking about anyone that I loved being hurt caused such anguish. “The girls and I, we did a few stupid things over the last few weeks. I thought it caught up to us.”

He stilled, but didn’t interrupt me. I chewed on my bottom lip, while Bas watched me intently.

“I- we… the girls and I stole some money,” I muttered, peering at him from underneath my lashes. “We shouldn’t have and it was stupid. Initially, we did it to pay Garrett’s ransom, in case you didn’t come through. Then when you did, we kept it. We did a few other stupid things.”

Bas’ dark eyes assessed me, though he didn’t seem surprised. “I thought it caught up to us,” I muttered slightly embarrassed.

His hand cupped my chin, tilting my head so I was forced to lock eyes with him.

“No judgment, principessa,” he claimed, brushing his lips against mine. “But no more stealing. I have enough money.”

A choked laugh escaped me. “I’m not exactly broke either.”

I really wasn’t. Grandpa had a trust fund established for me. So did Uncle Liam. Mom insisted neither Juliette or I be given too much so we’d learn the value of money. Uncle agreed, though he never let us go without.