by Lylah James
What about those who are innocent? Will they perish too? Just because they were doomed to be an Italian—an Abandonato?
Ayla’s question rang through my ears, and I pulled at my hair in frustration, my fingers digging into my scalp. She wanted to tell me. So many times, she wanted to say it, but my hatred for the Abandonatos always stopped her.
I still remembered my words clearly, as if they were said the day before.
There is no fucking innocence in that family. They are all the spawn of the devil. They are tainted with my mother’s and sister’s blood.
How could I have expected Ayla to tell me the truth when those were the words I fed her?
You said you’d kill anyone in your path. But what about the innocent?
When realization dawned on me, I felt sick. She was talking about herself. She was the innocent.
I was running away from home when I found you and hid in your car. That’s how we met. I’m not a spy, Alessio. I’m just someone running away from her nightmare, desperately seeking peace.
Everything she said came rushing back to me until my thoughts went wild. And that was when I lost control.
With a roar, I reached for the coffee table and flipped it over, sending it crashing into the wall. Hundreds of glass shards flew everywhere.
My hands clenched into fists, and I punched the wall again, harder than before. My skin over my knuckles tore, but that wasn’t enough.
I was panting, fighting for breath, fighting against the monster that wanted to be unleashed.
The sudden rush was of realization made my head spin. My lungs constricted. “Fuck!” I bellowed.
The man I hated, the man I vowed to kill…my enemy, he was the one who had hurt my Angel. He was the one who caused her pain. The reason for her nightmares.
Alberto. He had ruined my Ayla.
My blood roared with the urge to kill him. To end his life. To end Ayla’s nightmare.
Turning around, I saw Artur, Viktor, and Phoenix standing there. Their faces were impassive as they stared back at me, waiting for me to give them orders.
But something else caught my attention. Someone was missing. My heart accelerated in panic as I glanced around the room almost furiously.
“Where’s Ayla?” I growled, my knuckles aching as I tightened my fists.
Viktor’s eyebrows raised in question, and he looked behind him. “She was right behind me,” he grumbled, his face twisting with slight panic.
“You left her alone!”
I threw my fist, and it connected with his face. A crack resonated around the room, but I didn’t care. “I left her with you. You were supposed to bring her inside.”
I trusted Viktor to get her inside, to keep her safe while I tried to get myself under control.
“I thought she would follow. She’s probably outside. Calm the fuck down,” Viktor said, holding his bleeding mouth.
Artur came to stand beside me. “I’ll get her, Boss.”
I nodded, pulling away from Viktor. “Bring her inside,” I ordered. Artur nodded and left without a glance. The need to protect her, shield her away from any suffering, was overwhelming. Alberto wasn’t getting anywhere near her.
My head tilted to the side, and I speared Viktor with a glare. He glared back. “Are you done? Because you can’t act like that when Ayla comes inside. You’ll scare her to death.”
I didn’t say anything. Only because I knew he was right.
I had to get out of here, think clearly, away from Ayla so I couldn’t hurt her.
Even though she was my Angel, she still betrayed me. My heart and mind were in a constant battle.
In that moment, I realized that I was more hurt that she lied to me than the fact that she was an Abandonato.
Ayla might have been an Abandonato, but she was innocent. She was another victim. And I couldn’t hurt her for that.
I shook my head at that thought. That was exactly why I had to be heartless. Ruthless. That was why I never wanted to get close to her in the first place.
The human heart was a strange thing. It was treacherous and weak. It made us weak. It was easy for me to forget my revenge, only because what I felt for Ayla was more powerful.
What we had was more powerful than my need for vengeance.
I sank down on the couch and rubbed my forehead tiredly. How did this happen? One minute everything was perfect, and now…it was ruined.
What concerned me more was Ayla’s feelings. How scared and worried she must have been.
“What are you going to do?” Viktor asked, sitting down on the sofa facing me. He regarded me with curious yet suspicious eyes. “With Ayla?”
I leaned forward, placing my elbows on my knees. “Is that even a question?” I hissed. “Do you really think I will hurt her?”
Viktor stared at me in silence and then shook his head. “I know you won’t hurt her.”
“And what if I did?”
I needed to know his answer. I needed to know where Ayla stood with my men, how much she meant to everyone.
I needed to know that when the time came, they would all stand in front her, protecting her.
“I would have had to go against you,” he replied simply, shrugging his shoulders as if it meant nothing. But his eyes were intense and told me everything I needed to know.
My head turned toward Phoenix as I waited for his answer. He shook his head. “We can’t let you hurt her, Boss.”
I felt a sense of relief. They were Ayla’s champions. If something happened, they would protect her.
But the relief was short-lived.
I saw Artur standing in the doorway. Alone. His face was forlorn, and when he caught my eyes, he looked down, shaking his head.
“Where’s Ayla?” I asked, standing up.
“Boss, I’m sorry,” he replied, keeping his head bowed.
“Where. Is. Ayla?” I asked through gritted teeth, punctuating each word as my heart accelerated almost painful.
“Boss, I tried to stop to her. I really did. But she left. With that fucking bastard. I couldn’t believe my eyes, either.”
“No!” I bellowed, rushing past him.
Panic rushed through me as I ran down the steps and into the driveway. The gates were closed, and I tore them open, but I was too late.
There was no sign of Alberto. No sign of Ayla. My Angel. She was nowhere to be seen.
I heard Viktor, Phoenix, and Artur behind me. The air crackled with tension.
“Ayla was just playing with you this whole time. She lied to us. That little bitch,” Artur said in disgust.
Turning around, I grabbed Artur by the collar. “You are lying!”
It was impossible. Ayla couldn’t betray me. She wouldn’t betray me…not like that.
Artur winced as I pressed my fingers around his neck. “Don’t ever call her a bitch! Where is she?”
“Boss, I saw Ayla going to him. She was in his arms,” he wheezed as I pressed my fingers tighter around his throat.
I wanted to scream. Rage. Hit someone. I wanted to kill…I needed to kill.
“She betrayed you, Boss,” Artur said, his voice hoarse.
And that was when I exploded. I lost it.
“Shut up! Shut the fuck up!”
Taking my gun from my waistband, I pointed it under Artur’s chin. His head tilted up in surprise, and his eyes shone with sudden fear. “You are lying!” I growled, pushing the barrel into his throat. My fingers itched to pull the trigger and end his life.
He gulped hard and shook his head slightly.
I almost pulled the trigger then. If it wasn’t for Viktor pulling me away, Artur would have been dead.
“Alessio! Damn it!” Viktor hissed in my ears. I glared at Artur as he coughed for air.
“Have you lost your mind? Pointing your gun at your man. We are a brotherhood, Alessio,” he tried to reason with me. But I barely heard Viktor.
The only words that rang through my ears were Artur’s.
She betrayed
you, Boss.
She left. With that fucking bastard. I couldn’t believe my eyes, either.
She was just playing with you this whole time.
“No!” I gripped my hair in frustration, in denial. “Ayla wasn’t lying!”
It was a lie. Ayla wouldn’t betray me. I didn’t believe it. I couldn’t believe it.
I was sixteen when I was raped.
He raped me on my sixteen birthday, and he continued to do so every single night for seven years.
My father never did anything. He never even paid attention to me. I was a loner, never allowed to leave the house. And then he handed me over to him. A cruel man who destroyed me.
He used to beat me. He would chain me to our bed and then whipped me if I did something wrong or what he perceived wrong.
Every word, every moment rushed back to me until I was blinded with grief. My lungs constricted as I fought for breath, my heart aching in the most painful way.
When Ayla was telling her past, I heard the truth in her words. Her pain-filled eyes, her nightmares, they weren’t lies. They were real. Her suffering was real.
But why would she leave? With him…the same monster who destroyed her?
It didn’t make sense. None of it made sense.
I refused to believe it.
Because I believed her. I believed in us.
“She didn’t leave,” I said, staring at the gates. “She wouldn’t go back to Alberto.”
“I agree,” Viktor said beside me. “There’s no way she would leave of her own will. I saw how scared Ayla was of him.”
There was only one conclusion.
Alberto took her. Snatched her away right under my nose.
My eyes widened, and a sudden pain went through my chest and I almost doubled over.
My stomach lurched, and my hands shook beside me. I shuddered as I thought of the things Alberto had done to her. And now she was with him again. At his mercy. She had been thrust back into the darkness she’d been running from.
And it was all my fault.
I had one simple job to do. Protect her. But I failed. I failed my Angel.
“Are you sure you saw her leave with Alberto?” I heard Phoenix ask behind me.
“I saw her getting in his car,” Artur replied.
“So it’s possible Alberto had threatened her,” Viktor added.
It didn’t matter.
None of it mattered. How or why it happened.
The only thing that mattered was getting Ayla back safely. And making sure Alberto was no longer a threat.
In that moment, my vengeance was forgotten. The reason why I needed to finish the Abandonatos was forgotten.
It was replaced with another purpose.
Getting rid of every single person who had hurt my Angel. Slowly and painfully. Until they wished they had never laid eyes on her.
Chapter 29
I swiveled around and stalked back inside. My men followed close behind me.
“Boss, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know. I thought—” Artur started but then quickly broke off.
I faced him, and he went to his knees, bowing his head, his gun placed in front of him. A posture of submission.
“I have failed you and Ayla. You have every right to take my life.”
Bending down, I took his gun in my hand. “You are right. I can take your life right now. Only because you called my woman a bitch. You made a mistake, but that will be your last mistake.”
I stood up to my full height, but instead of pointing my gun to his head, I gave him an order. “Stand up.”
He stood up, facing me with his head still bowed down. “You have one more chance. Protect Ayla with your life and you will be forgiven.”
I couldn’t condemn him for thinking what any of us would have thought. It was easier to think that Ayla had betrayed us.
But I knew…my Angel would never do such thing.
“Viktor, track her phone,” I ordered. He nodded and took his phone out.
I rubbed a hand tiredly over my face as I looked around the room. “Phoenix, call in the other men. We are leaving as soon as we have Ayla’s location.”
I was still talking when I caught a glimpse of the cake Ayla baked for me the night before. Walking over to the dining table, my chest tightened with an unyielding pressure. All I could see was her sweet smiles. I heard her laughter, her melodious voice. And I felt her soft kisses.
When I reached the table, I froze, my eyes going to the item next to the cake.
I heard Viktor swear behind me before he spoke. “Alessio, her phone—”
I tried to suck in a breath, but I couldn’t breathe. I clenched my fists together as my heart fell. Screaming out in rage, I took Ayla’s phone and threw it at the wall.
Without thinking, I threw the cake too. It splattered against the wall. I couldn’t stop. My anger was fueled further with the thought of my Angel being with Alberto and having no way to find her.
The thought of him hurting Ayla drove me insane.
My vision was covered with a red layer as I seethed. I destroyed everything around me. Nobody stopped me, because they knew I would destroy them too.
My body trembled with the need to kill. I was caught in the bloodlust.
There would be bloodshed. People were going to die, even those who were innocent. There was only death for those who would be in my path.
“This is war,” I growled, my voice as sharp as razors. My chest was heaving, my breathing ragged as I imagined blood around me.
I wanted to watch Alberto’s blood pour out his body as he breathed his last breath. I needed it.
My blood boiled under my skin, fiery with a searing burn, prompting me to kill. Death. The monster roared, and this time I unleashed it. I embraced the darkness inside of me.
Because this was war.
Alberto started it.
And I was going to end it.
Chapter 30
Nikolay
My car came to a stop in front of Alberto’s beach house. I sat silently for a second, contemplating what to do and what was happening.
Whenever we had a meeting, he would call me to his clubs, but never to his estates. But now, I was sitting right outside one of his houses. He called me, asking me to meet him urgently.
And I came without a second thought.
Not because I wanted to. It was because I had to.
I couldn’t stand his ugly face. Every time I saw him, I had to repress the urge to cut his fucking body into pieces and feed it to the dogs. My hatred toward Alberto held no bounds. I was disgusted by the very air he breathed.
And I wished that every time I saw him, I had the power to kill him and watch the life slowly leave his eyes as I ripped his fucking black heart out.
But I couldn’t do any of that.
I leaned against my seat with a sigh. Taking a deep breath, I tried to calm my raging thoughts and the need for bloodlust. I was here, and I had to get my job done.
Although one question burned through my thoughts.
What was he doing in Florida? I didn’t tell him about Boss’s trip.
That was a big fucking coincidence that he would be here at the same time as Boss.
Shaking my head, I cleared my thoughts and stepped out of the car. The door was already opened, so I walked inside without knocking. I didn’t have to. His men would already know I had arrived.
I saw a maid cleaning the kitchen, her back to me. “Where is Alberto?” I asked, my voice grating.
She jumped almost five feet in the air before turning around, her hand over her chest. “Umm…he was in his office the last time I saw him,” she squeaked, her eyes filled with alarm.
“Where is his office?” She pointed silently to the end of the hall. Without a second glance, I followed her direction.
When I reached the end of the hall, I saw a man standing in front the door, guarding it. I nodded toward the door before speaking. “I need to see Alberto. He called me.”
“Who are
you?” he asked, his hand reaching for his gun.
“Nikolay.”
Recognition flashed in his eyes. “He’s not here. Boss went out about an hour ago. He had something to take care of.”
“I will wait for him,” I announced, sending him a chilling glare, daring him to refuse me. The man huffed and opened the door for me.
“He should be back soon,” he said, nodding toward the room. I went inside, and he followed me, closing the door behind him. Of course, he would follow me. No way would he have left me alone in Alberto’s office. To him, I was an outsider.
What he didn’t realize was that I was also the insider.
I didn’t sit down. Instead, I paced the office.
Something felt wrong. Alberto would never call me to his house, especially if he wasn’t here. And most importantly, what was he doing here? At the same time as us.
Did he have more spies than we thought?
I rubbed my hand over my head in frustration and tried to suppress the growl that threatened to escape.
I was still pacing when something caught my eyes. It was just a small glimpse, but it was enough for me to stop dead in my tracks.
No fucking way. Fuck no.
I stomped to Alberto’s desk and took the picture frame in my hand. I thought it was my eyes playing tricks on me. Maybe it was. I blinked several times, but the picture was still there. She was still there.
I was looking into her green eyes.
Ayla.
My mouth fell open, but I quickly snapped it shut, my jaw grinding with the force. I stared at the picture, my mind going blank for a second.
“Who is she?” I asked out loud, although I already had my answer.
“Boss’s woman,” the man simply replied.
My fingers tightened around the picture frame. “What’s her name?”
“Ayla Abandonato. The bitch ran away months ago. But Boss just found her. That’s where he went. She was hiding with the fucking Russians all this time. Can you believe it?” he said in disgust.
My stomach dropped, and I froze, my muscles locking tight at his words. This couldn’t be happening.
She was an Abandonato. And Alberto’s woman. Was she the traitor?