“Marcello,” I say.
“Maybe he’s already dead,” he continues, completely oblivious to what I said. “And it’s all my fucking fault.”
“Marcello …”
“Claudio knew it was a trap. He warned me. But I threw his mistrust aside because I thought Stefan was the only way for me to gain enough men and weapons to defeat the Irish. And now I’m left barehanded with a missing consigliere. FUCK!”
I stand. “MARCELLO!”
“WHAT?”
His face is like that of a demon, almost glowing red hot with rage, and I have to do my very best not to explode right back at him.
“What’s done is done,” I say. “Stop focusing on what you did wrong, and start focusing on how to save him and get things done.”
He pauses and looks at me for a second, the darkness in his eyes slowly fading away. Approaching me, he nods a few times and then grabs my face and smashes his lips onto mine. Just once, but the kiss is enough to make me feel light-headed. Damn, those lips of his.
“Thank you, Kitten,” he says, rubbing his nose against mine. “You’re right.”
I’m right? Well, that’s something else I’ve never heard coming from his mouth either.
“And I should take more of your words into consideration,” he says, pressing another kiss to my forehead.
Then he turns around and bolts off, throwing the towel in the corner of the gym.
“Where are you going?” I ask.
“To do what you told me to,” he replies, throwing me a wicked glance over his shoulder. “Save my fucking consigliere and bring him back home.”
Marcello
I stare at the cameras, trying to make sense of what I’m seeing. Some of my men are searching the neighborhood around Stefan’s compound to locate Claudio. They already went inside, but there was no one left. It’s like the building has been completely abandoned. Like no one was ever even there.
How he moved all his shit so fast confounds me, yet it doesn’t surprise me. That rat has always had a way of disappearing when the fire got too hot under his feet.
He probably didn’t anticipate my own consigliere sacrificing himself to let me escape.
Molly and Frank must’ve given him an earful.
My fist clenches from the thought of those animals working together. Convincing Stefan to aid me was my last resort. I don’t have any other options left.
Grumbling, I stare at the monitor as my men run around the area, searching every building they come across for a sign of Stefan, his henchmen, or the Irish. But there only seems to be civilians. Where could they be?
Back to the Irish stronghold?
Frank and Molly do not have the men to contain Stefan. He could overwhelm them, so they wouldn’t risk that. But maybe they were as desperate as I am.
The door behind me creaks, pulling me out of my thoughts as I turn my head to see who it is. Harper knocks on the wall.
I nod, and she walks farther inside, closing the door behind her. “I don’t mean to disturb you.”
I sigh. “It’s fine. I’m not getting anywhere anyway.”
I turn around again and continue to stare at the screen. Every second wasted is another where Claudio is in their clutches, probably getting tortured to reveal information. The mere thought makes me grit my teeth.
Harper’s arms wrap around my neck as she peers over my shoulder at the same screen. “What are you looking for?”
“Signs,” I reply.
“Of Claudio?”
“Anything that could lead me to him.”
I stop the footage and start it over to watch it again. Maybe I’ve overlooked something important.
She leans over my shoulder to look at the frame, squinting her eyes like she’s searching for something. As if I haven’t been staring at this same monitor for minutes on end with not so much as a sliver of a clue in sight.
Suddenly, she points at something. “There.”
“What?” I frown.
Her finger rests just beneath a small child sitting on a curb, playing with his ball. I don’t see anything peculiar about it, and I don’t get what she’s seeing.
“That’s a kid.”
“Look at what’s around his wrist,” she says.
I zoom in on the footage and spot a tiny bracelet around the child's wrist with an emblem on it. An Irish Mafia logo.
My eyes widen as I zoom in further on the child and the bracelet to make sure my eyes aren’t betraying me. “Oh my … A lookout.”
“That’s your entry,” she says, turning her head to smile at me. “I saw that emblem everywhere when I was still with Molly. I’d recognize it anywhere.”
I grab her face and make her look at me. “You … You are fucking brilliant.”
Before she can reply, I smash my lips on hers and claim them to be mine. What would I do without this fucking girl? This fucking girl who has stolen my heart, who has forced me to see my own weaknesses. This girl who has now given me a way out.