She gasps, her eyes widen, and she looks shocked. I fucking warned her.
A cell rings, and within seconds, I hear Dante speaking.
I sink my knife into Annika over and over again. Her body trembles. She’s no longer full of herself. She’s scared. She’s finally realized she’s going to die.
“Last chance, Taras. Where is my nephew?” Dante growls.
Taras just chuckles.
“I’d say goodbye to your wife, if I were you.”
“You fucking wouldn’t—” Taras shouts, but Dante ends the call. “Joe called,” he announces, pushing my cell away from him. “We have three locations as to where that fucker could be hiding Anthony. The boxing club, the strip club, or the Midnight Lounge.”
When Dante says the Midnight Lounge, Annika whimpers. She’s just given us the location of where her husband is.
“Don’t worry,” I tell her. “He’ll join you in Hell soon enough.”
“What?” she gasps, not realizing what I’m saying.
This time when I slide my knife into her, I purposefully tilt the blade, pushing it up into her lung and piercing it.
“Hurts?” I laugh as she whimpers. “Good. I hope to fuck it does.”
I release her and she crumbles to the floor, gasping for breath. She’ll be dead in minutes. There’s no one that’s going to save her. Not today.
By the time we reach the exit of the restaurant, Annika’s no longer breathing. One down, one more asshole to go.
Twenty minutes later and we’re in the parking lot out front of the Midnight Lounge. The darkness is keeping us hidden from view. This is the bar the Russians own, and by the looks of it, the cunts who helped Taras get my child. Anyone who stands in my way is going to die.
“You know the plan,” Dante says as he looks at his men.
“Fuck the plan,” Joe snarls. “These fuckers have gone too far, Dante. It’s not going to be plain sailing. We take out anyone who’s in our way.”
I nod in complete agreement. It’s time to end this fucking shit.
“We will, but we also need to ensure no one escapes. It’s all well and good taking as many of them out as possible, but what happens if Taras escapes?”
Joe doesn't answer him. Instead, he turns to me, and Dante continues talking to the men, making sure they understand the plan and stick to it.
“My daughter loves you, Alessio. She’s never had that before, and I’m grateful that it’s you.”
I raise my brow in surprise. I never expected to hear that from his mouth.
He grins. “You’ll burn the fucking world down to protect her. How many other men would do that? Not many.” He turns to gaze at the bar. “You know that I’m going straight?”
I nod. Gabriella told me. She wants to believe he will, but she’s not sure.
“I want you to take over from me. I want someone I can trust, and that’s not many people. By birth, it should be Gabby’s, but she’s not going to want to it You, on the other hand… You’ll be agreat leader. You can join my men to the Famiglia. They’ll come because of who you are to me and my daughter. When the time comes, Alessio, I want you to give Anthony the business.”
I stare at the man in complete shock. What the fuck? Surely he’s not being serious.
“You will lead my men, Alessio. I have no doubt about that. The question is, do you want it?”
I grit my teeth. Do I want to lead my own men? Yes. But I have a loyalty to Dante, and this is already a life Gabby doesn't want. “I need to talk to my family.”
The fucker smiles. “Excellent answer.”
I step away from him. This isn’t the time to have this conversation. My focus needs to be on my boy. I need to protect him, to get him home where he belongs.