Page 181 of Vows of a Mobster

“Dad,” Emma spotted me behind Daphne and ran over to give me a hug. She wore a frilly little pink dress. I picked her up and kissed her chubby cheeks. She was looking healthier each day and her energy levels were never-ending.

“Hey, princess. Did you have a good time with Declan and Marissa?”

“I did. They let me stay up late.”

“Oh, how late?”

“Nine o’clock.”

“Whoa, that is really late.” She giggled, proud of herself. “Now go say hi to your mom. She missed you.”

“C’mon, Emma. Let’s go find Mommy,” Daphne encouraged, extending her hand to her. She eagerly took it and three of them left. Declan came in and shut the door.

“You have him?”

Antonio nodded. “Basement.”

Declan looked at me surprised. “You have a torture room here too?”

“Only for emergencies. And this is one of them.”

“We need to find her mother before she gets her claws on both of them,” Declan muttered. “She shouldn’t be this hard to find.”

“Fucking tell me about it,” Antonio spat a few curses in Italian. “I never anticipated she’d target her friends to get her dirty hands on her daughter and granddaughter.”

“It would seem she knows her daughter well.” It was hard to keep my cool but I needed to be rational now more than ever. “Brianna wouldn’t hesitate to save them.” I turned my head to Declan. “Did you say anything to Marissa?”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Declan sneered. “She’d say something to Brianna or do something about it. Those three are like their own mini mafia.”

There was nothing to laugh about but Antonio and I still chuckled. It was an accurate description of those three.

“You think Daphne will tell?” I questioned Antonio.

“No, she worries about Brianna’s stress and the baby. Daphne said her first pregnancy was hard, so I’m sure she’ll keep it from her.”

That was a surprise for me. Brianna didn’t say her first pregnancy was hard. Her OB/GYN said everything was looking good. The moment I heard our child’s heartbeat, I fell in love with him or her. I wouldn’t let anyone hurt them, least of all Brianna’s greedy mother. I vowed to make my wife happy and keep her safe. I had every intention of fulfilling my vows.

“Let’s go to our visitor and get this over with.” My anger seethed within me. I’d have to make sure to keep tight reins on my rage so we could get information from him. We needed to locate her mother before she did some serious damage to our families.

Agosti Enterprise has been in my family for two centuries. The current glamorous and fancy front of a Fortune 100 company was a recent event. I made it my goal to create that front when I took over. But the foundation was still the same.

We took the elevator to the underground floor that was only accessible to Antonio and myself. It allowed access based on our fingerprint. Once we were underground, the marble floors and shining exterior were gone. It was just cold, gray cement floors and walls. This was what we were about. Basics and cruelty when our families and organizations were threatened.

I stepped forward and opened the door where our prisoner was held. The plastic covered the floors, ceiling, and every wall in this room. It made cleanup efficient and ensured no evidence was traceable.

Our prisoner wasn’t offered a seat. Instead, he hung by his wrists attached to the rope swinging off the ceiling. His clothes were bloody. Antonio roughed him up good. He was a better man than me because I was ready to murder this man.

“We need information first,” Antonio muttered under his breath, his hand on my shoulder.

Fuck information!This man wanted to hurt my wife, my unborn child, my daughter.

I took several calming breaths, trying to keep my shit together. Life was ironic because before Brianna, I never had an issue keeping my cool. I was the reason that kept people in check. Now with so much at stake and with fear of losing my family, I struggled to keep my rage in check.

The prisoner’s bloodshot eyes widened when he saw three of us walk in. There was fear all over his face but nowhere near the terror he should feel. He would learn why they called me cold and ruthless really soon.

I pulled out my knife and stepped forward, pressing the blade against the flesh of his neck.

“We should get introduced,” I growled, barely holding on to my rage.