“Valentina,” he said.
“Someone is in the house, Giovanni. I don’t know what to do.”
“How do you know someone is in the house?”
“Armond, he screamed for me to run. To call you.”
Armond was the guy he had inside the house. “Where are you?” he asked, putting the call on speaker so that Thomas could hear him.
“I used the passage you showed me from the bedroom.” She stopped talking and he knew why. The sound of footsteps was close.
Thomas came to his side, and Giovanni waited.
“Valentina, come out, sweetheart.”
He looked up at Thomas, and the old man knew that voice. They both knew that voice.
Leonardo was in his house, and he didn’t even need to say a word as he ran out of the office, pushing guards and people out of his way, as he charged toward his car. There was no way he was losing his wife today. Not to Leonardo. Not to anyone.
His cell phone was still turned on.
“Keep moving, baby, but do it quietly. The passage will lead you to the kitchen. Once you make it out, you can go to the main gate. You know the access code. Go and I’ll be there.”
He saw Thomas and several of his men climb into cars, but he ignored them, pressing his foot to the gas to get to his home. The drive was too long, and he needed to pick up speed to get to his wife.
“Come on!” He slammed on the horn when cars got in his way. He was so fucking pissed at himself, at everyone getting in his way.
He needed his wife, now.
The line was still open, and he heard her heavy breathing.
“I’m in the kitchen,” she said. “I don’t think anyone’s here.”
“Take your time. Wait.”
He gripped the steering wheel tighter, closing the distance between his wife and himself, needing to get to her as fast as possible. He didn’t want her to be in any danger, but he sensed it was close.
Behind him, Thomas and his men struggled to catch up with him.
If Leonardo killed his wife, that would be the end of the Rossi line. He didn’t care that Thomas was like a mentor to him. There was no way The Butcher would allow anyone to get away with murdering his wife.
“No one is here. I’ve got to go.”
He wanted her to wait and was about to tell her as much when he heard the scream come over the line.
“Valentina!” He screamed her name, pressing down harder on the gas. “Answer me, babe. Fucking answer me.”
“Oh, you want your wife to answer?” Leonardo asked.
“Listen to me, you little piece of shit.”
“Is that any way to talk to the man who has a knife to your wife’s throat? I’ve got to say, Giovanni, I didn’t know you had such great taste in women. The negligee she’s wearing…” He groaned. “It’s making me think of tasting the woman who was supposed to be mine.”
“Hey!”
A female voice that wasn’t his wife spoke.
“She fucking bit me. I thought you said she didn’t know how to fight back.”