Emmanuelle never thought about how many men she might have to kill in order to make it safe for Valentino’s men to enter the neighborhood. She had pushed Val out of her mind. The only goal was to save the children kept in the dirty dog cages Stefano had told them about. Not once had her brother’s expression changed. Not one single time. His voice hadn’t changed when he gave them their orders.
Stefano had seen a lot of things in his life. He had grown up fast and had to make very tough decisions at a young age. She knew her brother could be counted on no matter what. She also knew he was ruthless and every bit as merciless, and then some, as Valentino. She’d often wondered if that was why she had been so drawn to Val in the first place.
Stefano was dangerous, but he was loyal, and he would protect what was his with everything he was, no matter how difficult the decision. She knew she was tough, and she could do what was necessary to defend those she loved, but she had a soft heart. Bringing murderers and rapists to justice didn’t bother her, but she could never do what Stefano or Valentino did to get answers fast in order to find out where innocent children were being held. She knew that would tear her apart. She couldn’t watch or hear it or think about it. Sometimes she tried to be like her brothers and put on her stoic face when they had to cast a vote on prisoners living or dying, but somehow, her family seemed to know. The moment she voted, her brothers escorted her out.
This was different. This was about saving children and stopping the monsters who sold them without a qualm. She dropped the last pair of sentries and carefully patrolled every inch of the ground around the houses, marking any place she found that could hold a hidden trap for those walking. Already, the cleanup crews were working to remove any of the lethal bombs hastily placed in the ground.
The good news was Miceli’s men didn’t have a lot of time to build the bombs. The subdivision was small enough, and there were still people living in the run-down area. It might be old and dilapidated, but those people called it home. Miceli couldn’t order them all killed. That meant those living in the houses had to have a way to safely leave to go to work or get groceries. It would be stupid to place a bomb that would go off in their path and tip off Valentino that Miceli had prepared traps for him.
“Moving into the neighborhood now,” Valentino’s voice whispered softly in her ear.
Her heart instantly accelerated. The outside sentries were taken care of, but there were so many in the three-story apartment building. And what about the other side? She and Vittorio had ensured the sentries were down on the western side and Giovanni and Max along with two others had taken apart the bombs—a much longer and tedious process. That had to happen in three other quadrants. Now she worried about Valentino.
“We’re moving into position to back you up in the building,” Stefano’s voice answered. “Tell your men to look sharp and avoid any area on the ground marked with a small check formed by something natural such as a twig or grass blades. A bomb will still be live. My people are still dismantling them.”
There was a small silence. At once, Emmanuelle felt Valentino’s concern. Not just his, but Dario’s as well. She knew that concern was for her.
“Sir.”
Emmanuelle didn’t recognize the voice, but it was familiar.
“Your wife. She’s out there. We need to get her back here with us.”
That was definitely unprecedented. No one spoke on an open channel to the head of the family about his wife that way. There was genuine worry in the voice. The man didn’t seem to care that he might be taking his own life in his hands. She realized that had to be one of the bodyguards assigned to her. Levi or Axel. They were brothers and sounded a lot alike.
Again, there was a short silence. Stefano broke it. “She’s safe.”
“Sir. The threats are credible.”
“One thing at a time.” That was definitely Val.
“She’s safe.” Stefano’s voice was flat. Cold. That shut-thefuck-up voice that demanded instant obedience.
Wait. What? Threats? Credible? Were they talking about threats to her? She took a deep breath and let it out. Valentino had worried about that. In fact, it had been his number one concern. He’d said showing any kind of emotion for her made him vulnerable. By marrying her, he’d put a target on her back. He was stirring up trouble taking over as head of his father’s organization. They hadn’t been married that long, but it was no secret they’d been seeing each other on and off for years. She wasn’t going to be surprised or concerned.