MAVERICK“How could he hurt her? I thought he loved her?” I felt so bad for Celestina. I saw the deep pain and sorrow in her eyes.I wished I could do something to save her, but I knew it would not be easy without men to help us take back the compound. I couldn’t fathom how scared she must have been to the man to whom she gave her trust.“I don’t know, baby. Maybe it was his plan all these years to make her fall in love with him so he could take over Siciliano’s businesses. Gaetano is more powerful than his father. Without Terzo in the equation, he can take over the Don of two crime families.” Lake tightened his grip around mine as our vehicle entered the huge villa at the top of the hill after detours.What amazed me the most was the view of the ocean. It was magnificent.“What if he’s the one who tipped the authority about Terzo?”He looked at me as if my words made sense. “Son of a bitch, and we just walked into the trap.”“Maybe he wasn’t planning on killing us. Maybe he’s scared
MAVERICK“I missed you, too, sis.” He caught me in the air and spun me around.“Put me down this instant, asshole!” I stared at him in disbelief. He looked exactly the same Terzo I met last week. “You’re alive.” I blinked rapidly, cupped his face, and gripped his arms, making sure he was not a ghost. I hit him in the chest because I was pissed off. “You son of a bitch! How are you even alive? I mourned for you, asshole. I spent hours crying for you, and here you are, still a smug son of a bitch!”“I know. I can explain,” he said calmly while I was so furious I could barely breathe.“I don’t need your explanation, asshole!” I actually do. I couldn’t care less about the people watching me. I was caught up in my emotions of being furious and happy at the same time that he was not dead.“Do you know anything about this, uncle?” Lake asked.“Not until I arrived here this morning. I came here with my son and Gabe to make sure you can come out alive. We were prepared to attack the compound i
LAKE“No. I’m coming with you. I won’t just stand here and wait till it’s done.”“No offense, cuz, but you have no military training. These people we’re after are ruthless, and they’ve killed, tortured, mutilated people. No offense, Mr. Siciliano.”“None taken,” said Gaetano. I couldn’t believe they were alive, and they did all that plane crash to catch Giosue in the act.“So in what these people and the enforcement know was that you were dead. Why take chances? Why not just stay dead and run your business underground?”“Good point, but it only works for Papa. For me, I can’t stay dead,” Terzo said.I was sitting across from my father-in-law, a powerful mafia don. I knew one day this information, this meeting would catch me in the ass, and I had no idea how to make it go away.People would eventually find out who the father of Maverick was, and I had a name and a company’s image to keep. Yeah, but for the sake of my love for my wife, I took risks.“Let the enforcement come after me. I
MAVERICKI paced in the basement, which was literally a bunker. One reason was that I felt claustrophobic. Second, I was worried about the guys who went to the compound. I hoped they had the element of surprise, or they could have walked into the trap.I checked my phone. No service. “There’s no service down here.”“So if we got locked up here, no one could find us? What if there’s a massive earthquake, and this villa falls down? We’re stuck, die in hunger and suffocation?”“If there’s a massive earthquake, we’re likely to be dead drowning from a tsunami, baby. Remember, the villa is facing the ocean.” He held my hand, pulling me on his lap.“Jeez. You’re not helping. Can you be a little more optimistic?”“Sit down. It’s only been twenty minutes.”I released a shaky breath as I sat on his lap. “I should have been out there, helping them. This wouldn’t have—”“Okay. Okay. This is not your fault. Your father has been doubtful about Giosue’s loyalty and is investigating his corruption. D
LAKEMore gunfire echoed. It was dark outside the basement. The intruder might have cut the electricity and disabled the alarm, considering I did not hear it go off.I made sure Maverick locked the door before I walked away. I stopped by the stairs, hid myself behind the wall, and listened to footsteps coming my way.I couldn’t hear any, and the gunfire seemed outside the house. I blindly walked through the hallway to find a room.My phone suddenly vibrated, and the service came back. I took my phone and dialed my uncle. I knew his men would not risk him getting outside.“Why do you have service? Where the hell are you?”“I got out. I left my wife in the basement,” I whispered.“Are you insane?” my uncle asked sharply.“What’s going on? Did Giosue’s men manage to breach the house?” A suppressed gun sound caught my ear. “I’ll call you back.” I hung up the call and hid myself.Hiding behind the pillar, I noticed a shadow of a man despite the darkness and the lack of generator backup. Fr
MAVERICKI started to hyperventilate the longer I stayed alone, and tears kept rolling down my cheeks.I was terrified that Lake and everyone outside might be hurt. I gave a jolt as I heard someone must have twisted the doorknob from the outside.My hands were sweaty as I held the gun up. Until I finally heard five knocks. I released a shuddering breath as I got up and stuffed the gun in the band of jeans. Then I fumbled to unlock the door.The door swung open. The first person I saw was Lake, smiling at me. I lunged straight to him, jumped into his arms, and squeezed him tight. “I was so worried.”“I’m fine, baby. Thanks for listening to me.” He hugged me tight and kissed my temple. “Sorry for leaving you alone.”As I pulled apart, he looked at me, eyes filled with pain. “You’ve been crying.”“I thought I would be left here alone.” I rolled my eyes. “Fine. I was worried you’d get hurt.”He beamed at me, cupped my head, and kissed me hard, and that was what exactly I wanted— to prove
MAVERICKThere were bruises all over Celestina’s chest and probably more all over her body. If I were her, I would have been in a coma. How did she tolerate that pain was a miracle?“That motherfucker!” I jumped at Terzo’s voice, booming inside the study. He said something in Italian before the door slammed next, vibrating in all corners.The room went utterly silent, but my sobs.“Shit.” I thought it was Linden.I turned to find his voice, and he just went to the door. “Gabe, what is it?”“They took Giosue with them,” said Celestina. “Terzo is gonna torture him in inhumanely possible.”I swallowed hard as I found it hard to digest. “You should take a rest.”“I’m fine. I’ll rest later.”“I can find you some painkillers.”“I’ll go find a medicine cabinet,” Lake volunteered.“So you’re Lake, the husband?” asked Celestina.“Yeah, the husband. I wish we’d met not in a circumstance like this.”She smiled. “Don’t ever raise a hand at her, or I will kill you.”I held my laugh as I sat next t
LAKEShe worried me. What she’d just witnessed was traumatizing that she shouldn’t have seen. And she just slept it off and didn’t want to talk about it.I informed Owen. “When is the jet going to be ready? I have to take Maverick out of here.”“I’m so sorry, boss. She must have been terrified.”I shook my head without a word. There were no words to describe what had just happened in two days. These people were terrible for her and would do nothing but cause her pain and put her life in danger.That was my biggest regret of digging up her family tree. I’d seen and experienced it since she learned about her father. If only I knew this would happen, I wouldn’t have taken her here.“I’ll get it done as soon as possible.” He gripped my shoulder before he left.I went inside the room where we stayed for a night. After what happened at the compound, I wouldn’t trust a hotel room. Conti loyalists could have come after Siciliano.I hadn’t reached the bed when Maverick started screaming and jo