The Devil I Desire (Devil's Knights 4)

Aiden offered Alex’s hand to Luca. I’d grown closer with Aiden over the past few years and knew he would do just about anything to protect his sister. Luca kissed her cheek, told Alex she looked beautiful, and then the priest moved through the motions of the ceremony.

It wasn’t a traditional Catholic mass, but my father wouldn’t have it any other way. The priest was an old friend of the family, willing to do us a favor, considering the circumstances.

When it was time to exchange the rings, Alex held up the tungsten ring and turned it so Luca could see the inscription.

He smiled. “What binds us will destroy us.”

The motto of The Devil’s Knights.

What binds us will destroy us.

And what will destroy us unites us.

I had said that phrase hundreds of times. For years, Luca led Alex to believe it was his confession of love. But now that she was our Queen, it meant something to all of us.

The priest finished the ceremony with the nuptial blessing and a final prayer. Then, Luca pulled Alex into his arms and kissed her. Everyone in the room clapped for the happy couple. And for a second, everything was perfect… until the first gunshot sounded.

Our guests’ screams filled the air. Then the ballroom doors burst open. A group of men dressed in black emerged from the hallway, guns in their hands and on their hips, dressed for battle.

We hadn’t anticipated our enemies showing up a day early. How could they have possibly known about the ceremony? No one had spoken a word about it outside of our inner circle. And how the fuck did they get into the house without tripping the alarms?

Luca shoved Alex behind him, and I took up her other side. The Knights stepped forward, creating a wall in front of their Queen and King. I removed the gun from my holster and surveyed the room. I didn’t recognize any of the men. Their leader strolled down the aisle dressed in a black suit and wingtips, his graying black hair styled to perfection.

He was the spitting image of my father, which meant he also looked like Luca and me. Which meant… this was Claudio. I had only seen old pictures of my uncle and heard stories from my father. He was much younger back then, but he still had the Salvatore looks. Claudio was one of us, though he hadn’t been a part of this family since before I was born.

“Claudio?” Dad approached his brother. “What are you doing here?”

Arlo Salvatore would never show weakness. I still couldn’t figure out how he’d gotten past the guards. We had more men on our payroll and at our disposal than a military base. If my uncle had waited thirty years for his revenge, then he had an exit strategy unless he planned to die in a hail of gunfire.

Claudio had a gun in his hand, giving my father a taunting smirk. “You haven’t figured it out yet, Arlo? And here I thought you were the smart one of the family.”

Alex gasped, her eyes wide. “What is he talking about?

“Claudio is my uncle,” Luca said.

“No,” she whispered. “He’s The Carver.”

I tapped her shoulder. “What are you talking about?”

“I met him on the boat on our way to the island. He said his friends call him The Carver.”

“This is about Dad,” I told Luca.

“And Mom,” he added.

“What’s going on?” Alex muttered.

I dipped my head down and whispered, “Claudio was engaged to our mom before she met my dad.”

“That’s why he bought me? To get back at your dad?”

I nodded. “That would be my guess.”

“Mine too,” Luca confirmed. “I didn’t see this coming.”

“No,” I agreed. “Neither did I.”

I was sure a rogue KGB agent ran The Lucaya Group. That was the rumor, anyway. No one knew who was at the top of the food chain. Much like the secret societies that governed the United States, The Lucaya Group also had a network of affiliates worldwide.

Dad stormed down the aisle, a gun in one hand, the other balled into a fist at his side. “What gives you the right to show up at my home?”

“You’re keeping my property from me,” Claudio yelled. “I came here to collect.”

Sonny tapped Finn on the shoulder. “Get Mom and Dad out of here.”

“Take my parents, too,” Drake said.

Some of the Knights worked on getting their families to safety. However, we didn’t need all of them to fight Claudio and his men. With some of the crime families in attendance and our family always armed for any occasion, we had enough men. I tapped a few buttons on my watch to send an emergency signal to my team.

“No one is leaving my house,” Dad said. “Your issue is with me, Claudio. Let’s settle this like men.”

“Your sons took Alexandrea from my island. I paid thirty million dollars for her, and she is coming home with me.”