The Devil I Hate (Devil's Knights 1)

“We have a problem,” my dad said as he dropped into the armchair on my right. “The Albanians stole from one of our containers.”

“Fuck,” I groaned. “Which one?”

He ran a hand across the dark stubble along his jaw with his cold, hard stare fixed on me. “One of the Basiles’ orders.”

“I’ve been tracking the shipment,” Sonny interjected. “I checked the video feeds on the ship. Nothing looks out of the ordinary.”

Dad cleared his throat. “I believe they stole from the container after the harbormaster signed off on it.”

I stamped out my cigar in the tray, breathing through my nose to contain my rage. “What about the other containers?”

“Untouched,” my father said. “As far as we can tell. We’ll know more in the next few hours after a full inventory.”

“What is The F Society doing about it?” Drake asked, his focus on Carl.

“We have teams looking for the Albanians,” Carl said with authority. “Let us handle them. Just worry about keeping my granddaughter safe. Alex is my primary focus.”

“No one will touch her,” I assured him. “You have my word.”

His expression darkened. “If anything were to happen to Alex, things will get worse for The Devil’s Knights.”

I nodded. “I understand.”

“And for your family,” Carl added with a bite to his tone.

“No harm will come to Alex while she’s in our home,” my father cut in. “We have guards watching her twenty-four hours a day, motion sensors, and cameras. Marcello is with her right now. He’s hardly slept since he arrived home with Alex.”

Carl pressed his lips together. “She needs to know the truth about Aiden. This has gone on long enough, Arlo.”

Dad gritted his teeth, then glanced over at me.

“Give us more time,” I said. “We’ve made a breakthrough with Alex. She remembers stabbing me. What happened to Aiden will come back to her.”

“You agreed to my terms, Luca.” Carl sighed as he shoved a hand through his white hair in irritation. “Until Alex is back to her old self, you don’t have my permission to marry my granddaughter. So I hope for your sake, you know what you’re doing.”

I had to marry Alex for the Salvatores to rise within the ranks. My dad would have accomplished this over thirty years ago if Alex’s mom hadn’t run away. Her bloodline traced back to Alexander Hamilton, who her grandfather named her after. And our children would solidify both of our futures.

“Alex is making progress,” I told Carl. “It’s only a matter of time before she comes to terms with everything.”

“The doctors warned you,” he challenged. “Exposure therapy can be dangerous for someone in her condition. It can have the opposite effect.” He pointed a long, bony finger at me. “You did this to her. And you better fix what you broke.”

“Carl.” My dad threw out his hand to interrupt him. “Alex played her part. You can’t blame my son for everything.”

“What about her brother?” Carl ticked his jaw. “Losing Aiden triggered a series of events none of us could have predicted. I tried to stop Aiden from getting involved with The Serpents. He didn’t belong with them.”

“And I agreed with you,” Dad said. “All of us did. Even Alex tried to talk Aiden out of it.”

“I’m partly responsible,” I said to Carl. “I will admit to that. But my father is right. You can’t pass all the blame to me.”

Carl blew out a deep breath. “She needs closure. That’s how you help her. Without Aiden, she will never return to normal.”

Fuck normal.

I sure as hell wasn’t what medical doctors would call sane. Maybe I needed a little crazy in my life. I didn’t know how to survive without the chaos.

Carl rose from his chair and straightened his lapels. “If she shows any improvements, let me know.” Then he glanced at my father. “Arlo, I’ll speak with the Elders about the Albanians and keep you informed of their movements.”

As Carl walked toward the door, a loud boom sounded. The silent alarm on the wall flashed red, illuminating the wood panels in my office. Then all of our cell phones dinged at once.

The Knights checked their phones as I glanced over at the wall of flat screens. I shot up from the armchair, scanning the security feeds. The men at the front door took heavy fire from a small army dressed in camouflage from head to toe. We were also getting hit from the back, a sniper taking out the guards posted at the edge of the cliff. My men dropped to the ground, one after the other, gone before they even knew what hit them.

I reached for my gun with one hand and my phone with the other. Armed and ready to fight, the Knights approached the door, awaiting my orders. Checking the cameras once more, I found Alex and Marcello in her bedroom, so close they could have kissed.