Leadership wasn’t something you chose-it was something thrust upon you. After Dante’s death, it became clear who the next king of Algreen Cove was. The whispers had already started during the wedding reception, even as the gunfire echoed and the blood of Dante’s last ploy stained the marble floors.
Paulo had made his stance clear long ago. “I’m not cut out to lead,” he’d told me. And I believed him. Paulo was loyal, ruthless when necessary, and dependable in the trenches, but he didn’t have the vision or the temperament to run the cartel. That left the mantle of leadership squarely on my shoulders, a weight I had carried before I even realized I was strong enough to bear it.
Two days had passed since the wedding. Two days of waking up beside Helena, the woman who had brought light back into my life in ways I hadn’t thought possible. She was mine now-my wife, the mother of the child growing inside her. I had her in my arms every morning, her soft brown eyes meeting mine as sunlight spilled through the windows of our bedroom.
This morning was no different. She stirred as I trailed kisses down her neck, my lips brushing over her delicate collarbone, moving lower to the soft swell of her breasts. Her body arched into me as I took one hard nipple into my mouth, her quiet moans filling the room and driving me wild. I trailed my hands down her stomach, stopping at the band of her underwear, fiddling a little before I slipped my fingers inside and her soft cries filled the room.
“Matteo” she moaned, her eyes closed and her back arched in pleasure.
But today wasn’t like the others. No matter how much I wanted to stay tangled in bed with her, lost in her warmth, I couldn’t ignore the storm waiting for me outside the door.
“I need to get going,” I murmured against her lips, reluctantly pulling away.
Helena frowned, her fingers tracing the slight curve of her belly as if grounding herself with the life we had created. “It’s our honeymoon,” she said, her voice soft yet tinged with frustration. “What could possibly be more important than spending the day with me?”
Her pout made me want to forget everything else, but the memory of the man lying in that makeshift prison room was enough to keep me grounded. I leaned down, kissing her deeply before brushing my lips against her forehead.
“I’ll be back before you know it,” I promised. “I’ll even bring you chocolates.”
It was a cheap bribe, and we both knew it, but it worked. She sighed, her lips curving into a reluctant smile.
“You’d better keep that promise,” she said, her voice playful yet laced with a warning.
I nodded, kissed her once more, and slipped out of bed. By the time I grabbed a shirt and headed out the door, my mind was already spinning, piecing together the puzzle of Dante’s last twisted plan.
The building where they were keeping the prisoner was unremarkable-just another shell in Algreen Cove, one of many places used for “business.” When I arrived, Paulo was already there, leaning against the wall with a cigarette between his fingers.
“Thought you’d never show,” he said, flicking the ash to the floor.
I ignored him, slipping on my dark shades and pushing the door open. The room was dimly lit, the only illumination coming from a single bulb that swung slightly from the ceiling.
The man was lying on a narrow cot, his curly hair matted with sweat. His leg was bandaged where Paulo had patched up the gunshot wound. As soon as I stepped inside, he sat up, his hateful eyes locking onto mine.
“You know,” I began, my voice calm but laced with steel, “I’m going to make this easy for both of us. Who sent you?”
He spat on the floor, his lip curling in defiance. “You’re going to kill me anyway. I’m not saying a damn thing.”
A smirk played on my lips, slow and deliberate. “Yeah, but you get the option of dying peacefully rather than through the most painful torture you can imagine. So make your pick.”
I stepped closer, my presence filling the small room as tension thickened the air. “I’m going to ask you one more time: who sent you?”
Silence stretched between us, heavy and suffocating. The man’s jaw tightened, his hands clenched into fists, but his resolve wavered. I could see it in his eyes.
It was a taunt, one meant to rattle me, but it only strengthened my resolve. I turned to Paulo, who was standing by the door, watching silently.
“Leave us,” I ordered.
Paulo hesitated for a moment before nodding and stepping out of the room.
I turned back to the prisoner, my smirk widening into something darker, more dangerous. “Let’s try this again,” I said, pulling a chair over and sitting directly in front of him. “Who. Sent. You?”
For a moment, he said nothing, his expression unreadable. Then, without warning, he lunged forward, his hands clawing for my throat.
I was faster. Grabbing his injured leg, I twisted it sharply, eliciting a scream of pain that echoed off the walls.
“You’re already dead,” I told him coldly, leaning in so close he could feel the heat of my breath. “The only question is how much pain you’ll feel before it happens.”
He gasped, his chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath. Blood seeped through the bandage on his leg, staining the cot beneath him.
“Fine,” he spat, his voice hoarse. “Dante might be dead, but his reach wasn’t. He planned for this. He always planned for this.”
“Planned for what?” I demanded, my patience wearing thin.
“For you to take the throne,” the man said, a cruel smile twisting his lips. “And for it to destroy you.”
His words hung in the air, a dark promise that sent a chill down my spine.
Dante was gone, but his shadow remained-a specter that threatened to unravel everything I had built.
I stood, my fists clenched as I stared down at the man. “You’ve outlived your usefulness.”
Before he could respond, I turned and walked out of the room, leaving the door open for Paulo to finish the job.
As I stepped into the cool night air, I pulled out my phone and dialed a number.
“Double the men around the house and I want Helena guarded at all times, she doesn’t have to know but keep your eyes on her always,” I said the moment the line connected. “And make sure no one gets close to her. No one.”
Because if Dante thought he could reach beyond the grave to take her from me, he was sorely mistaken.
I’d burn Algreen Cove to the ground before I let that happen.