The Cardinal (The Holy Trinity Duet Book 2)

by M. E. Clayton

  “Blake was tied to a chair, so her injuries were restricted to her arms, legs, and head.” I could feel my jaw lock up with rage. “She’s bruised all the fuck but they’re more concerned with the possibility of a concussion. She was bleeding a lot from a head wound.”

  I pulled up a chair next to the bed and sat down. Blake looked awful but she seemed to be sleeping peacefully. Drugs, no doubt. “How did she come to be tied to a chair.”

  “All the police know is that a property guard was doing his nightly round and heard some noises coming from the Milestone building. Since it’s been abandoned for years, he thought it could be squatters taking up residence. He radioed his partner and went to meet him. Together, they searched the building, checking the facility basement last. They found Blake tied to an overturned chair, bleeding and unconscious.”

  “Cameras?”

  Luca shook his head. “No,” he answered. “But Phoenix has already pulled up all the nearby surveillance feed in the area.”

  I reached out and caressed her tangled hair. “It doesn’t make any sense, Luca.”

  “We’ll know more when she wakes up,” he replied. “I’m going to go join Phoenix and Leo to see if they’ve found anything. Ciro is checking on the girls and this room is guarded. Send us a mass text the second she wakes up, Sal.” Luca’s black eyes locked onto mine. “I need to know what this is.”

  I nodded. “Absolutely.”

  Luca made his exit and left me stewing in regret. I should have placed a guard on her even if she wasn’t comfortable with him yet. I should have had someone on her while she interviewed who she wanted. I shouldn’t have assumed that no one knew about us. While it’s only been a couple of days, I had pulled her out of that VIP room in front of everyone. I hadn’t hidden my interest in her.

  An hour went by before Blake began to stir. As soon as she did, I got her a cup of water and adjusted the bed to help her sit up. “Drink this, baby. Small, tiny sips.”

  She did as I asked, then fell back against the bed. “Mom?”

  “No one’s notified your mother yet,” I told her. “We had to get you secured first.”

  Blake closed her eyes, and I watched her entire body deflate with exhaustion. There was going to be no saving whoever did this to her. Everything I’ve ever done before Blake will be nothing compared to the masterpiece I will create out of my revenge. I was going to send a message so wicked that even Satan, himself, will not be able to ignore.

  “Baby?”

  “Hmmm?”

  “I need you to tell me what happened,” I told her softly. “Do you think you’re up to doing that?” I wasn’t sure if she’d be able to, but we needed the details sooner, rather than later. One of her eyes was almost swollen shut, she had a gash across her left cheek, and bottom lip was split open. Her bruises weren’t prominent just yet, but I knew they’d be bright as beacons within the next couple of days. If she thought she was sore and in pain now, she had a big surprise coming tomorrow.

  Her blue eyes slid over towards me. “I…I’m tired.”

  My hand kept caressing her hair as gently as I could, and it was no easy feat. I’d never been so livid in all my life and it was taking extreme willpower not to go off the rails. Calm was what Blake needed from me right now and I was doing my best to give it to her.

  “I know you are, Blake,” I said. “But, baby, we need to find out who did this to you. I need your help with this.”

  “Water…”

  I let her have a couple of more sips of water and rearranged her pillows to prop her up better. I wanted her as comfortable as possible. Considering she was going to have an audience when she told her story, I wanted to make this as easy on her as possible.

  Taking the cup of water from her, I placed it back on the utility tray, then went back to caressing her hair. “So, do you feel up to it?”

  “I…I think so.”

  “Okay.” I nodded. “I need you to give me a minute, though, okay?”

  “Okay,” she quickly agreed, then leaned back and closed her eyes again.

  I fired off a group text to the guys.

  Me: She woke up n said she can tell us what happened.

  I got five replies almost immediately. Ciro and Luca replied they were on their way back to the hospital, while Phoenix replied he was going through the feeds he collected, and Leo replied that he was going to check on the girls before joining Phoenix.

  The fifth reply surprised the shit out of me, but not really. I knew Frankie would already know what was going on. It’s why I had included her on the text.

  FF: If u need us to get ur place ready, let me know

  While I knew Frankie’s loyalty ran deep, I never expected much from her in the way of personal loyalty, so this was a bit unexpected. Still, Francesca Fiore in your corner was not something you refused.

  Me: Yes, please

  There was nothing quite like family.

  Chapter 20

  Blake~

  Everything hurt, but since I hadn’t lost my memory in the past few hours, it was a wonder I wasn’t in more pain than I was.

  Thank God for narcotics.

  I really just wanted to sleep some more but Sal wouldn’t let me. “Baby?”

  “Hmm?”

  “I need you to wake up and tell us what happened,” he said.

  Us?

  I opened my eyes, and though one was practically swollen shut, the other one was able to open wide, and have you ever awoken to a band of gorgeous, breathtaking demons? Yeah, I didn’t recommend it. But if you were going to be surrounded by demons, better beautiful ones than ugly ones.

  The one I recognized immediately was Ciro Mancini. He was standing on the other side of my bed, and though I’ve never met him before, the color of his eyes was legendary. The Son of Morgan City had yellow eyes and it was rumored that they glowed like fire when he was torturing his victims. The dark lashes that surrounded them made them pop out magnificently.

  Then there was the man standing at the foot of the bed, and if Ciro Mancini and Salvatore Benetti were demons, the man standing before me was Satan. Those piercing black eyes of his gave away his identity, too. Luca Benetti, The Father of Morgan City, was eyeing me as if he already knew all my secrets and didn’t really need me to tell him anything. Reputed to be the deadliest man in the entire state, having his attention on me was enough to make my body shiver.

  “Blake, I need you to tell us what happened,” Sal repeated, pulling my attention back his way. “Everything you can remember.”

  “I…water…”

  Sal handed me a cup of cool water and I drank my fill until Sal pulled the cup from my hands. “Easy, baby. You’ll get sick.”

  I nodded and let out a deep breath. “O…okay…”

  “Now, Blake, I need you to tell us what happened.”

  I kept my eyes on Sal because the other two were intimidating as hell. But then Sal had been, too, before I had gotten to know him. “I was in the parking lot, the first exit. When I didn’t…see th…the car you sent, I…I headed towards the second exit.” I leaned my head back. “I saw the car, but…before I could walk over, someone grab…grabbed me from behind. They put a cloth o…over my face.”

  “We pulled that footage,” Ciro Mancini said. “Masks.”

  I glanced his way. “I…I didn’t see anything. I…I went from the parking lot to being tied in a chair.”

  “Do you know who did this to you?” Ciro asked and it was easy to become hypnotized by those eyes of his.

  I looked back over at Sal, still avoiding Luca Benetti’s gaze. “The guys from Friday night.” Sal’s entire back snapped. “The…older man and the other guy with…with him.”

  Sal looked towards his brother. “Alonso Rubio and Micha Regio.”

  “I got it,” Ciro Mancini said right before walking out of my hospital room. No goodbye or see you later or anything.

  “And their reasons for absconding with you?” Luca Benetti asked, and it was strange to hear him
speak so eloquently when he was reputed to be such a monster.

  “The older man-”

  “Alonso,” Sal supplied.

  I glanced back over to him. “Yeah, Alonso.”

  “Continue,” Luca Benetti instructed.

  I looked back over at him because it felt disrespectful not to. I might not be part of the mean streets of Morgan City, but everyone has heard of this man.

  Everyone.

  “Alonso started yelling at me about getting Hector killed,” I told him. “He…he said that…that even though Hector w…was illegitimate, he was still his son.”

  “His son?”

  I nodded slowly because my head hurt like a bitch. “That’s what he said.”

  Luca’s black gaze slid over towards Sal. “Is that possible?”

  “It could be,” Sal replied. “All of Hector’s information came from the last name he shared with his mother. His mother’s reputation could have implicated a million men as potential fathers.”

  Looking back over at me, Luca, once again, instructed, “Continue.”

  “Then…then he started yell…yelling at me about ruining…his business.”

  Luca gave me a terse nod. “I severed all business ties with Alonso after that unfortunateness at The Eagle on Friday night.”

  Unfortunateness?

  “So, what was the plan?” Sal asked. “Why take you for revenge? What did they think they’d get out of taking you? As far as they know, you’re nothing but a cocktail waitress at a strip club.”

  I couldn’t stop the tears that pooled in my eyes. The truth was going to damn my sister and destroy my family but lying to them wasn’t an option. I mean, it was, but then I’d be choosing my sister over my mother and myself.

  If I chose Caitlin, Sal wasn’t obligated to avenge me. He’d be done with me and that would leave Alonso and Micha free to come after me again or go after my mother as part of his sick revenge. Also, there was no lying to Sal. If I wanted any chance at something with him, there was no way I could lie to him. It didn’t take a genius to know that lying to any Benetti was like signing your own death warrant.

  With regret that tore from my soul, I spoke the words that were going to change my life forever. “Caitlin told them we were…dating.”

  “Caitlin, your sister?”

  Turning to look at Luca Benetti to confirm his question was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. “Yes, sir.”

  I was completely thrown off track when Luca said, “Firstly, you are going to be my sister-in-law soon, call me Luca.”

  “Uh…”

  “Secondly, you need never fear me, Ms. Turner.”

  “I…forgive me, but…I don’t think that’s true,” I replied cautiously. Luca Benetti tilted his head, his dark eyes regarding me, making me feel insignificantly stupid, and that was with just his gaze alone.

  “Ms. Turner, while it is wise to never underestimate me, if you betray me, Sal, or any member of the Benetti Family or the organization itself, I am not the one who will be coming after you.” He paused to let that information sink in. “Salvatore is the person who deals with family betrayers, Ms. Turner.”

  My eyes shot over and Sal’s face was impassive as he confirmed what his brother just told me. “It’s true,” he said. “If you ever betray me or any of us, I’ll be the one coming after you, Blake.”

  “Even if…so, there won’t be…this isn’t…lov…you won’t ever…love me?” The very idea that Sal could love me and still kill me was foreign to me.

  His green eyes narrowed. “I already fucking love you,” he replied. “I’m going to love the fuck out of you every goddamn day of my life. So, if you betray me, Blake, if you turn on me, if you align yourself with any side that’s not mine, I will kill you. Because if I can’t have you, no one will. If your commitment to me isn’t every bit as solid as mine it to you, then we’re going to have problems.”

  “How c...can you talk a…about loving me and kill…killing me in the same breath?” I asked, shocked. “That’s not love, Salvatore.”

  “That is where you are wrong, Ms. Turner.” My head turned back towards Luca Benetti. “You’ve managed to do the one thing no one else has ever been able to do, and that’s make Salvatore fall in love with you. By that same token, you are the only person with the ability to do what no one else can, and that’s hurt Salvatore Benetti. That’s a very powerful capability you have in your hands, Ms. Turner. So, if you do end up betraying Sal, his love for you is going to be the very thing that drives him to kill you.” Luca Benetti’s lip twitched. “My advice is to simply never betray him, and you’ll be fine.”

  That was a conversation with Sal for another time. Right now, I needed to know what I was going to have to tell my mother. “What…what about my…sister?”

  Luca Benetti straightened to his full height, such a simple act, but it was frightening as hell. “Your sister’s actions will be dealt with,” he said. “However, I will not be the one who will decide on that.” He looked over at Sal. “Francisca will be handling that end of things.”

  My eyes widened. “The…The Church?” I uttered. Luca Benetti was known as The Father, Ciro Mancini was known as The Son, and Phoenix Fiore was known as The Holy Ghost. However, Francesca Fiore was known as their Church and reputedly powerful as hell.

  “Welcome to the family, Ms. Turner,” Luca Benetti replied before walking out and leaving me reeling.

  Chapter 21

  Salvatore~

  After securing Blake’s release and getting her set up at home, I had stayed with her until she had fallen asleep. The man in me had wanted to hit the streets with the others, but when Blake had asked me to stay with her, I couldn’t find it within myself to deny her.

  After Luca’s little welcome-to-the-family speech at the hospital, Blake had been a bit of a mess. Now, while I couldn’t argue my brother’s viewpoint, telling the girl I was going to be the one to make her meet her maker probably hadn’t done me any favors. Telling her Luca was going to sic Frankie on her sister hadn’t helped, I was sure.

  Once Blake had fallen asleep, I had called Frankie and had asked her to come over. Had Blake and I been married already, I would have had Blake go to Kratos, but since we weren’t, it wasn’t allowed. Robbie had agreed to watch Vincent, and as far as I knew, Robbie and the babies were keeping Remy company while the guys were out rounding up Alonso and Micha.

  When Frankie arrived, she gave me a hug when she walked in and that fucked me up. For a man who was supposed to be a sociopath with no emotions, I was feeling them plenty these past few days.

  “What was that for?”

  She arched a brow and leveled those yellow eyes at me. “Thought you might need a hug,” she drawled out like an asshole.

  I arched a brow at the impertinent little shit. “Oh, really?”

  “Oh, okay, I needed the hug,” she grumbled, and I laughed. Francisca Fiore was one of the strongest people I knew.

  “And what, exactly, do you need a hug for?” I asked as I followed her into the living room.

  Frankie sat down on the couch, making herself comfortable, and asked for a drink. “Can you bring me a bottle of your finest wine, please?”

  I went into the kitchen and selected a bottle of 2007 Lafite Rothschild from the wine cooler. Grabbing a glass, I walked back into the living room and placed the glass and bottle on the coffee table. Frankie was curled up on the couch, her feet tucked underneath her ass.

  “I can get you the Roumier Musigny Grand Cru I have, if you prefer,” I told her.

  “Right now, I’ll take whatever you have,” she replied softly. “You could grab the brown paper bag off a homeless person, and I’d drink it.”

  I chuckled. “Rough day?”

  “The feeling of helplessness is a real motherfucker, Sal, and I don’t like it,” she said candidly, and as I handed her the glass of wine, I realized this was the first personal conversation I have ever had with her. Hell, had with any of the wives.

 
; I always knew I was on the outside looking in with this group and I never minded it. However, things were changing. Falling in love with Blake was changing things and I think for the better.

  “And why does The Church feel helpless?”

  Frankie rolled her eyes. “I still can’t believe people call me that.”

  “It fits, though.”

  “Yeah, I suppose it does,” she conceded. “It’s still ridiculous, though.”

  “So, tell me why you needed a hug.”

  Frankie eyed me. “You know, when I got caught up in that nonsense, I hadn’t given one thought to how I’d been beaten. All that had mattered was Robbie and how she’d been beaten. I was so goddamn angry over what they’d done to her, I hadn’t cared about myself.” She took a healthy drink of her wine. “Then when she got beaten again, I remember wanting to burn the city down. Even though I knew Ciro would and could take care of it, I had wanted to torch the place.” Frankie shook her head and let out a sad laugh. “Then Sienna gets attacked, and even though I knew Leo could handle it…well…”

  “Well, what?”

  “I know Remy is Luca’s wife and the queen in this kingdom, but I can’t help but feel responsible for the women in our family. And with three out of the four of them being attacked, I’m doing a shitty job of looking out for them, Sal.”

  I stared at this beautiful girl, and really, Francesca Fiore was one of the most beautiful women walking the planet, and I started to understand all the reasons why Phoenix had fallen in love with her when he was only seven and why he has never touched another woman in all his life.

  Francesca Fiore was quite fascinating.

  “I always thought you hated me and Leo,” I told her.

  “I never hated you guys,” she claimed. “I didn’t trust you guys.” Frankie shrugged a shoulder. “Truth be told, I love Phoenix, Ciro, and Luca to the point where I don’t really trust anyone else with them. I don’t trust anyone else to watch their backs with the same love I have for them. No one will ever fight for them the way I will.”