Stolen Dove
Stolen Hearts Series
Carina Blake
Copyright © 2021 by Carina Blake
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Epilogue
Prologue
Victor
“Your father has to be handled.” I raise my brows, staring at my right-hand man, Fernando, waiting for him to elaborate on such a bold statement. If he was anyone else, I’d bust his face in. Besides, he does have a point.
It’s merely six in the morning, and I have a fucking headache building in my temples. I roll my hand, ushering him into speaking before my temper worsens.
“He’s cost us three shipments of product to the Italians. They’re moving guns along with the drugs and easily stole our merchandise without consequence. Soon they’ll take over, killing everyone—including your family—because they know you’re not going to fall in line,” he finishes. My fist contracts and releases against the leather armrest of my chair, flexing as my anger amplifies.
I’ve only just arrived from Oxford a week ago after getting my business degree. My intentions were to continue growing my family vineyard and winery while leaving my crimes in the past, but it seems the old bastard would rather chase tail than handle the business. So, now I’m in the middle of a crumbling empire, failing both the legal and illegal sides of our businesses with the looming threat of the Italians sweeping in.
Despite having grown up on the family estate, I’m forced to use the manager’s office at the winery and restaurant to get shit done because my father can’t be trusted. I can’t just walk away from the family like I thought I could because there are too many lives depending on me, which I’m sure is what Fernando’s trying to get at.
Ten years my senior, he’s my best friend and my personal guard, making sure I’m kept in the loop about as much as possible—even the fact that my father’s habits have put us in a perilous situation. It’s either we let the Sicilians control and wipe out my family and all those loyal to me, or we take back control. There’s no fucking middle ground with these assholes.
Slamming my hands on the armrests, I bolt upright, standing in one smooth motion. I tug on my suit pants to straighten them out and adjust my suit jacket, looking like the leader I’m meant to be. I’m not a sloppy fucker like my father; my body’s taut and strong and my suits are impeccably made by my tailor in London. I will command respect. There can be no other way.
“Fuck, yeah, I’m not. I’ll destroy each and every one of them if they cross me. I’ll deal with my father, but I need our men to be ready. We’re going to run these babasos out of our country. They’re too weak to take their country, so they come here to start shit. Well, I’m not having it. I’m the new head of the Serrano Family. I want a meeting with my men before we take our shit back and then some. Get the word out.” I don’t need this fucking shit, but as the future king of the Serrano empire, I must wrest control away from the jester on my throne.
“I’ll set it up now. What about your mother and brother?” My weakness. My kryptonite. I’d do anything for them and my father knows it, which means I need to act wisely and not in haste.
“Move them into hiding. She left him last week, taking Hector with her. I’m sure he’s itching to get back at her—and me for helping her escape his grips.” As soon as my feet touched Spanish soil, my mother fled my father’s hold for good. It’s for the best, but he probably doesn’t see it that way. After all, no one leaves the great Victor Serrano Jr. I am the third and last Victor Serrano. If I do have children, that name is out the window.
Fernando nods, understanding how much my family means to me. “He was hoping to get your brother to do the cocaine run last week, but you stopped that shit by coming home.” That pisses me off more than anything because I asked my father to leave my brother out of it and to not get his hands dirty. I kept tabs on Hector and so far he’s been clean, but it’s not for my father’s lack of trying, since now Hector is considered a man.
I’m almost twenty-two and have seen more shit than most men will ever see, and I don’t want that for him. My little brother is supposed to go away to college now like I had and choose his path. I want him to go to college in the States, but I can’t let him go unprotected while my father has made us targets. After Hector returns and should he want to follow beside me and the organization, I won’t stop him. However, not until he’s had a life free from this shit will I demand that of him.
“Hector’s only seventeen. He doesn’t need to be mixed up in that shit. I want them protected at all costs. The old man could be blown to smithereens, and I wouldn’t give two fucks. He deserves his fate over and over. Whether he chooses to step down peacefully or have power snatched from him will be his choice. My loyalty has never been to him but to my mother, brother, and my ancestors who built the empire he’s tearing asunder.”
“I’m by your side, Victor.” I pull him in for a one-armed hug and then step back. “I know I can always count on you. It’s time to pay my father a visit.” I pull out my gun, slide it back to empty the chamber, and unload the magazine to check it before reloading the fucker. “Do you know how many are still loyal to him?”
He shakes his head lightly in frustration. “Not many. The unrest is growing. After Benito’s death and lack of retribution, the men aren’t happy.”
Right before I finished school, my father had them moving a shipment of stolen metal out of the Sicilians’ personal cargo freighter. They were caught and bullets went flying, killing one of the family’s longest, most loyal employees. No retaliation, no vindication, and then he played it off as Benito doing the heist on his own, disavowing all connection to it and essentially apologizing to the fuckers, which is why they didn’t hesitate to steal our shit. His cowardice will make it easier for me to gain the loyalty and trust of my father’s men.
“Understood.” Tucking my gun under my suit jacket, I straighten my shoulders and say, “Vámonos.”
We leave my office inside the winery, exiting the opposite direction of the restaurant area to my vehicle in the back. He clicks the unlock button and hits the remote start, causing the explosives inside it to detonate.
I don’t know what comes first, but the impact of the explosion sends us flying back on our asses. A crowd of employees getting started for the day forms. I stand up, a little shaken but a hell of a lot pissed the fuck off. “Cameras, horita!” I bark as I help Fernando to his feet. He’s got a cut on his face from a shard of glass or shrapnel. “Medicos,” I add. I can’t have my man down like that. “Take a seat. We’ll get you some help. Then we’re going to put bullets in their heads.”
He nods, but I’m not sure he’s all there. He’d been two feet in front of me and had felt the full impact, shielding me.
Two minutes later, the manager of my winery comes with the hidden surveillance cameras. We watch the footage in the security of my office to see it’s my half brother Julio’s buddy, who works for my father. “He’s a dead man. Pull all his calls. I want
them yesterday. All hush. We don’t know who’s the traitor, or if he came from my father or my stepbrother.” Julio has been looking to replace me since the day he was born. I fucked up his plans by coming home. With me out of the way, he’ll think that he takes over. He’s the stupidest motherfucker because I’m deadlier than any of my father’s men, and blood means shit to me. I owe no one my fealty, especially my father’s leftovers.
A waitress, Marisol, brings out the first-aid case and works on Fernando’s face, gently cleansing it. “Basta. I’m fine.” He brushes her hand away and then stands. “I’m going with you. I want answers.”
I don’t argue because I’d demand the same. This won’t go unanswered. Retaliation will be had. My head’s still fucking spinning as we attempt to make ourselves presentable. I check my weapon, and so does Fernando. We’re ready to take heads.
After checking security footage for the front of the restaurant, we head out to our other vehicle, starting it and jumping in. We barely pull out of the lot when my phone rings, and it’s Hector. “Que te paso?” I answer without hesitation for him. He should be up getting ready for his last week at school.
“Mama. She’s in the hospital. There was an accident,” he blurts out, voice cracking.
“I’m on my way. How is she?”
“She’s in surgery.”
“Accident, my ass. There’s a lot of shit about to go down after today.”
“I’m with you.”
“No. You’re going to finish school and go off to college,” I ordered. He might refuse me as his brother, but not as jefe.
“Enough with that bullshit.”
“We’ll talk about that later. I’m on my way. I need someone to look at Fernando too. Someone we trust. Sabes?” I look at Fernando who rolls his eyes, thinking that he doesn’t need medical attention.
“Si.” I end the call and speed like the devil is on my shoulder. I know he’s not just on my shoulder but embedded in my soul, and the war is just getting started.
“I don’t need a doctor,” he insists, and yet I’m the one driving because he’s not sturdy enough.
“I need my best man one hundred, sabes?”
He grumbles but relents. Not like he had a fucking choice anyway.
The second I arrive at the hospital, Hector’s there with Marcelino, waiting for us.
“Park it,” I tell Marcelino.
He nods and looks at Fernando. “War’s brewing, isn’t it?”
“Yes, it is.”
“Bueno.”
He pulls away to the parking spots, and I hook my arm around my brother’s shoulder. “Lead me to her.”
“She’s still in surgery, but they say she’ll make it.”
“She better, or more heads will roll.”
“Is this the man we’re supposed to look at?” A petite nurse comes up to us, cocking her brow up at Fernando with more attitude than she should have for her size. Then again, the little ones are the most feisty.
“Si, por favor.”
She nods and says, “Follow me.” Fernando wags his brows, eyeing her round ass. All of a sudden, he wants to be seen.
“Have you called our father?” I ask Hector while watching Fernando until he disappears out of view. I’m sure there’s nothing to worry about there. Fernando can handle himself, or at least I hope so.
“Yes, but he didn’t seem concerned.”
I nod, looking around the room for trouble before saying, “Fuck him. He ain’t gonna be shit soon.”
“About time.” The smirk on his face says it all. My brother has been waiting for me to return and take over—just like many of these guys.
Marcelino comes in and says, “So what’s the plan? What do you need from me?”
“Loyalty.”
“Without a doubt.”
“Even if it means cleaning house?”
“Whatever it takes to keep from ending up like Benito.” We shake hands.
Hector turns his attention to the hallway, gaining my attention as well to approaching medical staff. “How is she?” he asks.
“Señor Serrano, your mother is doing fine. She’s in recovery at the moment, but she’ll be able to have visitors in an hour.”
“What are her injuries?” I ask.
“I’m sorry, but who are you?”
“I’m the one who you will speak to from now on. I’m her oldest son, Victor Serrano.”
“Oh, my apologies, Señor Serrano. Your mother has received two broken ribs, one broken leg, and several lacerations and abrasions all over her body from the impact of the crash.”
“All of them are consistent with a car crash?”
“Yes, although I do recommend you speak with the police regarding the accident itself. If you’ll excuse me, I have another surgery.” I nod and shake his hand.
“We’re going to have a lot of business to take care of pretty soon.” I take a seat with my back to the wall so I can see all around me as I plot my next course of action.
* * *
We pull up to the gate, and the head of my father's security lets us through without asking questions. "Is my father alone?" I’ve already scooped up my would-be assassin, ready to interrogate and then destroy him. He’ll be my first round of business when I take my rightful place as the head of the family.
"No. He has one of his special guests. Barely legal," he scoffs. Felipe has been with the family for over ten years and has witnessed the countless parade of women in the house. That ends today. The next female to enter this home that isn’t staff or family will have my name.
I can't hide my disgust. I should have gotten my mother out sooner, but I couldn't protect her from a distance, and I needed to be out of my father's reach to gain the knowledge and connections that I needed to take power. "Things will be changing today. I'm looking for loyal men, Felipe. Are you planning to stop me?" I open my jacket and reveal my piece as I flick off the safety.
"No. I'm your man, Jefe." He puts his hands in front of him to show no interest in being trouble. "There are only two guards in the house, and they will not fight you. One is Benito's son." I’m surprised they haven’t defected sooner.
"Bueno. Any opposition will be crushed. I don’t give two fucks who gets in my way. I will do what I have to do to secure this family again."
“Including those fucks that took out Benito?” he asks as if my answer determines how far he’s willing to go, which I understand, because they put their lives and loyalty in my father’s hands and he betrayed them.
“I’ll do my best to make them pay.” I don’t know how, but any crimes committed against the Serrano family, against me, will be avenged.
“That is all I need.” We shake, and I drive on through to the front of the house. Stepping onto the stone path, I feel power washing over me. I am the king.
“Do you want me to stand guard or go with you?”
I clap my hand on his shoulder, grateful to have him as my friend. He’s been loyal to me more than any person I know.
“Stand guard. I trust Felipe and maybe Benito’s boy, but I don’t want anyone to show up, and I want to speak to the prick alone—that way, he’ll talk. If you’re there, he might shut up.” My father never cared for Fernando, and with good reason, too, because he stood at my side and was there for my accomplishments.
My father didn’t hate me, so to speak, but he envied my youth because he refused to give up his own, partying like a young man and chasing pussy everywhere while refusing to relinquish power. That ends today.
“Good.” He nods and stands just inside the front door with it wide open, ready to refuse entry to anyone.
I enter my ancestral home and go straight to my father’s office, and not a soul attempts to stop me. That’s good.
Where are all the staff members? Not a single guard nearby? Interesting.
A memory from my childhood hits me. It was the first time I’d found my father with another woman. I had to have only been about five when I walked into his office and there h
e was, banging this broad on his desk. I remember thinking he was hurting her, but then my nanny came and grabbed me, taking me back to my room and telling me that I was never to enter my father’s rooms without knocking. Later that night, I had a new nanny and the old one was never seen again. It wasn’t until I was sixteen that I learned my father killed her for letting me walk in on him. He was never to be interrupted again, and the staff knew it. It’s never happened again, but usually there’s someone standing guard to make sure.
I open his office door to find him groaning while some little bitch sits at his feet, topless and servicing him, moaning like she actually likes it.
His eyes flash open when she flops backward with her tits bouncing, his face white as a ghost from being caught unawares. God, I could have put a bullet in head; he wouldn’t even have seen me. Weak old bastard, trying to hold on to his virility.
“Get the fuck out, now,” I order the little puta. She climbs off her knees, and my father doesn’t even bother to help her up. She stumbles as she gets her things and rushes out past me. I slam the door shut behind her, listening to the wood vibrate from the force, hoping he understands this isn’t a social visit.
“Son, what are you doing here?” he asks with a shaky voice. Slowly the color returns to his face.
“So Mama is in the hospital, and you’re too busy getting a blow job to go see her,” I toss out. He has spent a lifetime making her life difficult for no other reason than he could. He showed no loyalty to the woman who was supposed to be his queen. He betrayed her at every turn, and I can’t say that I’m surprised by his lack of concern, but I do wonder if there’s more going on.
He laughs and then shrugs. “This is why you interrupted me? She left me, so why the hell should I give a fuck that she was run off the road? Frankly, they didn’t do a good enough job.”
Stolen Dove: Stolen Hearts Series Page 1