Chapter Thirteen

Mattia

T he cold steel of my gun presses against the small of my back as I stand beside Rafe in the shadows outside of Elio Cascella's mansion. My heart pounds in a steady rhythm. I'm not afraid. I'm not anxious. I've never felt more fucking calm than I do right now.

Brio is somewhere inside those stone walls. So is vengeance. Other members of the family—Ricci, Angel, and Rafe's lieutenants are already combing through the Cascella family's territory, picking off high-ranking members of his inner circle.

Come sunrise, there won't be anyone left—just a chilling reminder of what happens when you come for our family. Not war, but complete fucking annihilation.

If Brio didn't want to pay the price, he shouldn't have started the fire. Rafe isn't going to let the threat stand. He can't. Showing weakness now means allowing seeds to grow. Others will try to follow in Brio's footsteps.

At least, they would have. Not now. After tonight's brutal reminder of what happens when you test the Valentino family, no one else will ever come for what belongs to us again.

"Everyone knows their roles?" Rafe asks, his obsidian eyes scanning each member of our group. Luca, Gabriel, Diego, Domani, and Coda are all here. So are half of Rafe's personal enforcers. Nico is at home guarding Aurelia, Norah, and Amalia. He isn't mafia. This isn't his fight.

"We do," I say, speaking for the collective group. The tension in the air is palpable. Every single one of us knows what we're here to do and what we stand to lose if we fail. We won't allow that to happen.

Every single one of us will die before we bend a knee to Brio Cascella.

Rafe nods, motioning Domani forward. It takes him and two of the enforcers all of five minutes to disable the gates, allowing us access to the property.

"Be careful," I murmur to Rafe as we pull our guns, preparing to slip through the gates.

He glances over at me, a dark, vicious smile on his face. "It's going to take more than Brio Fucking Cascella to kill me, motherfucker."

We stick to the shadows, creeping toward the mansion as silently as possible, doing everything we can to avoid being seen by Brio's guards and the security cameras. Aurelia's mother can't afford for us to be seen until we're inside. If we are, Brio may kill her simply to spite us.

He's that type of motherfucker.

The doors are in sight when a guard comes out of nowhere, locking eyes with Rafe.

"Shit," Gabriel hisses behind me.

Shock widens the man's eyes as he stares at the Capo. But Rafe doesn't give him time to react. He points his gun at his head and pulls the trigger. Brutal. Efficient. Cold.

The sound of the silenced shot is negligible.

Rafe catches the man before he hits the ground, easing him down.

Without a word, he steps over his body, glancing back at us as if to tell us to move our asses.

We move our asses.

Thirty seconds later, we pause, eyeing the doors. There's no one standing between us and them.

"Now or never," Diego mutters.

Rafe nods, stepping out of the shadows into the sliver of the courtyard between our hiding spot and the expansive porch.

No one breathes as he runs the short distance between the two. As soon as he's clear, I follow behind him.

One by one, so does everyone else.

Coda and Domani go to work on the locks. There isn't one that can keep them out. If they want in, they're getting in.

They prove it now. Within seconds, they've got the doors unlocked.

"Let's go," Rafe says. "And don't fucking die."

It's not a great pep talk, but it'll do.

He slips through the doors, his gun in his hand.

Unlike outside, there's no sneaking through the fucking mansion. That much is obvious as soon as we're over the threshold. Brio's men are crawling all over the goddamn place like ants milling around, as if they've been waiting for us.

Shit. They probably have been. Brio's a calculating motherfucker. I'm sure he's had them on red alert since I carried Aurelia out of her prison. He wouldn't leave anything to chance.

Which means we need to find her mother now. Before he has the opportunity to kill her.

Rafe takes aim at an enforcer leaning against a marble column, his head tipped down as he looks at his phone. He doesn't say a word as he strides toward the man, his finger on the trigger.

The man glances up at the last second and sees us. He shouts a warning, dropping his phone as he reaches for his weapon.

Rafe pulls the trigger.

The bastard crumbles to the floor with a muffled thud, his blood staining the expensive marble. The sound acts like a fucking call to arms.

Everything erupts into chaos as his buddies come pouring out of the fucking woodwork.

Within seconds, the air fills with the acrid scent of gunpowder and the sharp, metallic tang of spilled blood as we take down one of Brio's men after another.

Rafe surges ahead, a shadow among shadows, lethal and precise.

To my left, Luca fires off two shots in quick succession, dropping two guards who were attempting to flank us from the living room. Gabriel is close behind him; his usual wildness tempered into a cold, calculated anger that's somehow more terrifying.

Domani and Coda are a two-man wrecking crew, killing everything in their path without even flinching.

I follow in their wake, making a path through the fray. Every so often, I glance over my shoulder to ensure no one is creeping up on us.

Diego grunts in pain behind me as a bullet slams into his shoulder. "Fuck," he curses, spinning to the side.

Coda steps in front of him, dropping the motherfucker who shot him. Someone else takes his place. Brio's men are fucking relentless, swarming like insects, but we're an avalanche, unavoidable and devastating.

"Mattia!" Rafe shouts, pointing toward the stairs.

I don't need further instruction or explanation. I know exactly what he's saying. We're going for Brio. We don't have time to waste with this shit.

We barrel up the stairs, leaving the rest of the family to deal with his people. Each door we come across is kicked open and swiftly cleared. Some rooms are empty, while others are filled with more of Brio's fucking lapdogs. They don't have time to react before they die.

There is no room for sentimentality here—it's kill or be killed.

In a room halfway down the hall, we finally find the motherfucker. He damn near shoots Rafe when we kick the door open.

The bullet lodges in the wall beside Rafe's head.

The room is set up like a hospital room, but aside from Brio, it's empty. It looks like it's been empty for days.

Fuck.

"Look who finally made it," the prick sneers, his green eyes filled with contempt. His body is tense, ready for a fight. Physically, he and Rafe are nearly the same size. But he's a fool if he thinks he stands a chance against Rafe. "You think you can just waltz in here and take me down?"

"My son?" Rafe snarls, stepping into the room. "You targeted my fucking son?"

Brio's smile is cold. "I wouldn't have had to if you weren't a miserable fucking Capo, Valentino. You don't deserve the throne. You know it. I know it. So does everyone else. Taking it off your hands is doing you a favor."

I bristle at his words, clenching my fists as I watch Rafe's obsidian eyes darken with fury. He's an idiot if he believes that. Rafe is the only reason this city hasn't descended into chaos. The families are what they are and have what they have because of him.

"You go too far, Cascella. He's your fucking Capo."

"No. He's your Capo. To me, he's a pezzo di merda on my shoe." His lip curls. "Just like his fucking son."

Rafe lunges forward with a roar, his fist colliding with Brio's face in a brutal blow. Brio tries to bring his gun up, but Rafe knocks it out of his hand.

Glass shatters as he shoves Brio into a shelf housing various medical equipment, sending it crashing to the floor. He strikes him again and again. Brio attempts to fight back, landing blows here and there, but like I said, he's no match for Rafe. He never was.

He's a delusional fool.

"Rafe!" I shout, trying to remind him not to kill Brio just yet. We have questions that need answers. "We need to know where Tabitha is."

The sounds of fighting echo throughout the mansion, growing closer as the rest of our family continue their rampage.

Brio spits blood onto the floor, staggering back from Rafe's relentless assault. He falls to his knees, laughing. "She's dead, Agostino. She was dead days ago. Did you really think I'd keep her alive?"

My vision blurs, a red haze settling over my eyes. I hear nothing but the rush of blood in my ears and the echo of those three words—She's dead, Agostino.

Cristo. I failed Aurelia.

I think I knew it the moment I walked in the fucking door, but I didn't want to believe it. I wanted to believe that I could keep this promise to her. I never stood a fucking chance.

Brio looks up at Rafe with a cruel glint in his eyes. And then his lips twist into a savage grin. "I almost feel bad about it since Aurelia was a great fuck. She probably deserved a reward for keeping my balls empty."

My blood boils at the mention of Aurelia, at the insult. He never touched her. I know for a fact that he never did. Her virgin blood stained my cock. But that's beside the point. He's done enough harm to her. He doesn't get to speak her name now. Not to insult her. Not to taunt Rafe. Not to claim any fucking piece of her.

"You miserable piece of shit." I charge at him like a wild animal, the rage coursing through me all-consuming. The only thing left is the desire to rip him apart, piece by fucking piece.

"Mattia, no!" Rafe shouts, but it's too late. I crash into Brio with enough force to knock him off his knees and onto the cold marble floor.

His head bounces off it with an audible thud.

I wrap a hand around his throat as we roll around, exchanging blows and curses.

"You'll never come near her again, you fucking bastard!" I growl, landing a solid punch to his face. "You'll never see her, never touch her, never win. She's the reason you're going to live long enough to see your goddamn dynasty crumble to dust! We're going to keep you breathing until every fucking member of your family is dead, Brio. That's your fate. Not the fucking throne, but the complete destruction of your own empire."

Something perilously close to panic flickers through his gaze. In that moment, I realize this is precisely what he wants. He isn't taunting us because he thinks he can win. He knew the minute we showed up that he'd lost. I think he knew the minute Tabitha died that this ended with him in a grave.

He took a calculated risk and failed. And now, he wants us to kill him. Because he'd rather die here and now than suffer through the torture Rafe is going to visit upon him for what he's done.

Well, fuck that. I'm not giving him what he wants. He doesn't get to go out easy.

I haul myself off him, refusing to give him what he wants. I want him howling for mercy until the very fucking end.

But I fail to notice the sharp glint of broken glass in his hand until it's too late. He rears up suddenly, grasping for me. I try to jump back, but it's too late.

With a vicious grin, he drives the jagged piece deep into my side, ripping downward.

Pain blasts through me, immediate and excruciating. Red-hot agony radiates from the wound, invading every cell.

"Fuck!" I gasp, staggering to my knees. My vision swims as I collapse forward, gasping for breath.

"Mattia!" Rafe shouts, terror in his voice.

"Seems like your fucking family isn't so invincible after all, Valentino."

"Rot in hell," Rafe snarls, aiming his gun at Brio.

Brio's head snaps back, crimson painting the wall behind him. His lifeless body crumples to the floor like a discarded ragdoll.

I grit my teeth, fighting to stay conscious as blood rapidly pools beneath me. There's too much of it. Far too fucking much of it.

Cazzo.

I promised Aurelia I was coming back to her, but I don't think I'm going to be able to keep that promise, either. First, her mother, and now this. I'm going to break her fucking heart, and there's nothing I can do to stop any of it. She made every moment worth living, and now, she's going to have to live without me and her mother.

I'm sorry, little mouse. I'm so fucking sorry.

Blood pounds in my ears, drowning out the sounds of chaos and death reverberating through the mansion. All I see is Aurelia, her sweet face burned into my mind. Her cries of pleasure ringing in my ears.

"Mattia!" Rafe drops to his knees beside me, pressing down on my wound in an attempt to staunch the flow of blood. There is no stopping it, though. Not this time. "Don't you fucking die on me, Mattia."

"R-Rafe," I gasp, pain and weakness threatening to pull me under. My vision blurs, but I force myself to stay conscious, if only for a moment longer. "P-protect her. T-tell her… ti amo ."

"Damn it, Mattia, don't you dare talk like that," Rafe growls, his voice cracking with emotion. "You're going to survive this, and you'll tell her yourself."

But he's wrong. I'm not.

As my strength fails me, I cling to the image of my little mouse, her love blazing like the sun in the darkness. The thought of her touch, her warmth, and her fierce fucking spirit stay with me even as darkness swims forward.

"Mattia! Goddamn, you!" Rafe's broken cry is the last thing I hear before the world fades away, leaving nothing but her.

Aurelia.