Bastian nodded. “But what if it wasn’t him?”
“After tonight, it doesn’t matter. Lorenzo’s men conspired with us. They want him dead even more than we do.”
We boarded a seaplane that had just enough room to fit a few of the Knights. Marcello sat beside me on the plane with his hand on my knee, giving it a reassuring squeeze. He was better at communicating his feelings than me.
Alex had shown me I didn’t have to be a corpse all the time. So I grabbed my brother’s hand.
Twenty minutes later, we landed the plane in the water beside the Luciano brother’s yacht. Two men leaned overboard and threw ropes to us. I grabbed one rope and Marcello took the other.
Slow and steady, we climbed up the side of the boat. More athletic and conditioned for battle, Marcello was already onboard, lending a helping hand by the time my feet hit the deck.
“You’re out of shape.” Marcello slapped me on the back and laughed. “You should come for a run with me when we get back to Devil’s Creek.”
I rolled my eyes at him. “I work out seven days a week. I’m good.”
Damian and Bastian climbed up the ropes behind us. I waved to Drake, Sonny, Callum, and Finn.
A dark-haired man raised his hand, then turned his back to us. “Dante is waiting for you.”
The seaplane floated across the Atlantic Ocean, eventually lifting into the air. I took one last look before following Dante’s right-hand man into the cabin. We walked down a long hallway that had a Tuscan-style vibe that reminded me of Dante’s casino.
He had inherited The Portofino Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City after a rival family murdered his father last year. It was one of many legitimate businesses his family used to launder drug money.
We entered the last room on the right.
Dante sat behind a long mahogany desk with his younger brothers, Stefan and Angelo, in the chairs across from him. Even Nicodemus, the black sheep of the family, was in attendance. All four of them rose from their chairs as we entered the room.
Dante moved out from behind the desk with a proud grin on his face. “You made it.”
I shook his hand. “Thanks to you.” We embraced for a second and then our eyes met. “Where is Alex?”
He tipped his head toward the couch at the far end of the room. “She passed out the second her head hit the pillow.”
“Where’s Aiden?”
“He’s getting stitched up,” Dante confirmed. “He took a bullet to the shoulder on his way out of the mansion.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “A flesh wound?”
He nodded.
After almost losing Marcello, our girl couldn’t handle another shooting. Alex would completely fall apart without her twin brother.
She slept soundly on a plush couch, her head propped up on a stack of pillows. Someone had covered her with a blanket. I wanted to rip the fucking wedding dress off her beautiful body and shred it to pieces.
I approached the couch with Dante at my side. “Did she say anything before she fell asleep?”
He shook his head. “Not much. She kept talking about a dark closet and mumbled something to Aiden about their mother.”
“Fuck.” I raked a hand through my hair and groaned. “Did she seem like she wasn’t with the program?”
“Yeah, I guess.” He shrugged. “Aiden told us about her condition. So we gave her a sedative to calm her down.”
I dropped to my knees beside the couch, studying her face. Brushing Alex’s hair off her forehead, I pressed my lips to her skin.
No matter what condition, I would always want her. She was my girl from the moment I laid eyes on her. Beautiful and pure, I had dreamed of all the ways I would break her. But I never anticipated that she would change me. I never expected her to make mefeelagain.
“Drea,” I whispered into her ear. “Wake up, baby girl.”