“Where the hell are we?” Alphonse’s eyes darted around as we stepped out of the vehicle with my men, scanning the landscape with a mix of impatience and irritation that was almost comical. I couldn’t help but chuckle at his discomfort.
Alphonse shot me a glare that could have melted the snow around us. “Something funny?”
“Just a bit,” I said. “You act like I’m going to off you. Come on, Alphonse, you’re the most notorious motherfucker out there. If anyone’s going to off someone, it’s you.”
A flicker of amusement danced in his eyes as his lips curled into a smirk. “Is that what you kids are calling it these days? ‘Offing’ people?”
Before I could come up with a smart-ass comeback, Luca, Matteo, and Lo came to stand in front of the house.
I instructed my men to proceed ahead to secure the area as we were unfamiliar with the location Enzo had selected to hold Davina.
“How’s our guest?” I asked while tightening my jacket around me.
The corners of Luca's mouth twitched with dark amusement. “She’s been threatening to cut off my dick if I don’t let her out of here.”
I wanted to laugh, to release the pressure building inside me, but the reality of the situation had me tightly wound up, like a jack in a box ready to pop out and shoot a motherfucker.
We ventured into the house with Alphonse and his men trailing behind us.
Davina was sitting in the living room in a wooden chair, dressed in dark jeans that clung to her like a second skin; her black boots looked scuffed. The stupid fluffy hood of her coat hung around her shoulders, and her hair was a tangled mess, sticking up as if she’d fought tooth and nail against Enzo’s men. Tears streaked down her face, leaving smudged trails of makeup.
Enzo stood in front of her. “Remember what we talked about,” he reminded me.
I wanted to punch him in the face and tell him to fuck off, but my priority was to find my girl. So, for the moment, I played along, biding my time.
“What is this place?” Alphonse asked, looking around.
“It’s one of our safe houses,” Enzo replied.
I shot Enzo a pointed look. “I can’t ask her questions with you standing in my way.”
With a heavy sigh, he moved aside, allowing me to take my place on the coffee table.
“Davina.” Her name left my mouth like poison. I glared at the woman, ensuring my disdain was evident. “Do you know why you’re here?”
Tears continued to stream down her face, but she remained silent, her lips pressed together as if sealing away the truth.
“Nothing to say?” I taunted.
When her silence persisted, I leaned in closer, watching her shoulders quake with silent sobs. “Before I killed Walsh, he mentioned you were working with the Puppet Master to betray me. Is that true?” I demanded.
The mere mention of the name sent a shudder through her, and I could see the fight in her eyes waning.
“Davina, it’s a simple yes or no question. Are you working for him?” I asked again.
Davina’s chest heaved with shallow breaths, her eyes darting between me and Alphonse. “No, but I know who was working with him.”
Alphonse stiffened beside me. I could feel the tension radiating off him.
“Who?” I hissed. I clenched my fists tightly, my nails digging into my palms.
She inhaled sharply. “Lana. She told him you and I used to fuck. The Puppet Master contacted me with an ultimatum. To work forhim, or he would kill me. But when he revealed that my job was to spy onyouand report back to him…” Her voice hardened as she continued.
“When I refused, he slapped me around a bit, then he brought out Lana. After a while, he got a call and left us alone. That’s when she told me everything. He threatened to kill her family if she didn’t comply. Her job was to plant a device in your office and keep you distracted. When you fired her, that fucker came afterme. I pretended to go along with it but ran off instead.”
The room seemed to shrink as I processed this information, my anger growing with each passing second.
I rubbed my hands down my face. “Then what happened?”
