CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

REAPER

Looking up her location on her tracker confirmed my suspicions that she was at Frank’s house. I’m not sure why I didn’t think of looking there to begin with, but I know now, I was right. She’s doing this for me, the one thing I never would’ve asked her to do, because this is not what I want. Not that I have any problem with her wishing him dead, or even killing him, but she’s putting herself in so much danger. I believe in my girl and she is capable of many things, but taking on Frank alone is not one of them. Of course, I want her to prove me wrong, but I know for a fact that I’m about to lose the only thing that means anything to me. I was tempted to go straight there to try to get her, but I’m currently trying to think like Bones, and if I run in there like she did, I’ll only get us both killed.

After getting out of the car, I walk the few steps to my brother’s door and open it. I know he’s waiting for me, and the other two if they aren’t here yet. As soon as I walk in, Athena throws her arms around me.

“I’m sorry, Reaper.”

“Me too,” I respond, and I make my way across the great room to the stairs. I know Bones will be in his office, already working on intel. Before we arrive at the house, he will want to know who is there, entry points, and any possible complications. This is why my father chose him for the job. We joke around and give each other a hard time, but I know all of my brothers have my back, and there is no one I trust more than Bones to help me get Bella, and keep us all alive in the process.

Opening the door, I walk in and find a packed room. All three of my brothers are seated on the couch, as well as some faces I don’t know. I arch an eyebrow at Bones, silently asking for an explanation .

“Have a seat,” he says, as he runs a hand through his hair.

My brother is worried. He has nerves of steel, so I know he’s found something out that isn’t good.

“Again, I have to ask you, how serious are you about this girl, Reaper?”

As my heart drops, I fear the worst. He’s not going to help me, and if he isn’t, I’ll go it alone, but chances are I will die.

“As serious as the fucking heart attack I feel like I’m having.”

I stare at my brother dead in the eyes.

“She’s my Athena. Could you go on without your wife? Because I really don’t think I could breathe a single breath in a world where Bella doesn’t exist.”

He nods his understanding, with his arms crossed over his chest, from behind his desk, then clears his throat. “Then we’re doing this. You should know what we’re up against though.”

A short man stands up next to Domenic De Luca, who I have met, but don’t know well. They look comical because Domenic is a giant, and this man is petite, probably not more than five-foot-five.

“Hello, Mr. Bonetti. I work for the De Lucas, in Intel. I have been asked to gather information, so I will share with you what I have. Not long after your father cast your uncle from the family, he went with information to the Abruzzos. He is under their protection, and they know your girl is in the house with him. Any attack will not be a surprise one. They are most definitely expecting you.”

“Fuck,” I say, because what else can be said?

Bones looks at me and shakes his head.

“And this is why it’s a bad idea to kill rival families over parking spots. A fucking parking spot. We could have potentially negotiated to get your girl out safely, but with three dead Abruzzos, that’s not even worth attempting.”

I drag my hands down my face.

“I’m sorry. ”

Domenic glances at me and says, “My brothers will be here shortly. We have your back on this, but I expect the same of your family in the future, should we need it.”

Bones tosses back a drink I’m not sure he should be having, but I don’t dare say a word.

“You know we always have your back, Domenic. Any De Luca that needs us and we’ll be there. The Abruzzos have needed to be wiped out for a long time. My brother has simply moved that to the top of my to do list. All guards are Abruzzo guards, so they are to be killed on sight. The only person in that house that survives is my brother’s girl. If there are other women there, kill them, I don’t give a fuck, but the blue-eyed blonde had better live, if she’s alive when we get there. Understood?”

If she’s alive.

His words bounce around my head, and make me physically ill, because I know there’s a good chance she may already be dead. This may be a recovery mission, and my chest squeezes tightly from that thought alone. If I have to see her dead with my own eyes, I’ll never recover from it. It’s ironic since that’s exactly what I planned, to kill her, but now the thought of it is debilitating.

I want to think of her beautiful eyes, that soft smile she only gives me, the way she makes every part of me come to life, but right now all I can think about is how fucking angry I am with her. She did this for me? Did she ever consider how fucking destroyed I’d be without her? She’s more dangerous than Psycho and I put together, because even we wouldn’t have done this. What the fuck was she thinking?

“Hold it together, brother,” Bones says, as if he can read my mind, as if he knows I’m thinking that last night was the last time I would ever hold her.

“Everybody out except Reaper. I need a minute with my brother. We’ll meet you outside. Give us ten minutes.”

Everybody files out of the room, and he rises from his desk and sits beside me on the couch .

“Alright, brother, it’s just us now. You have ten minutes to fall apart, and then you’ll get your shit together, so we can do what we need to do to get your girl back to you.”

I shake my head and then put my face in my hands.

“She’s probably already dead, Bones. You know the way he is. Either that, or right now she’s wishing she was.”

He places his hand on my shoulder.

“We aren’t going to think about that right now because, yes, any other woman would be dead, but your girl just might be crazy enough to survive until we get there.”

I glance over to him and admit, “I’m so fucking in love with her, and I don’t think I’ll survive losing her.”

He grins. “I knew that already, Reaper. I saw the way you looked at her, so I knew, before I asked you how serious it was, what your answer would be.”

“She’s everything,” I say under my breath.

“Yeah, I know. A couple that slays together, stays together, and all that.”

I chuckle, and he sighs audibly.

“The other De Lucas should be here, so let’s go do your favorite thing in the world.”

Rising off the couch, I follow him and say, “I think it’s my second favorite thing now.”

He turns to me with a shocked expression.

“That must be one magical fucking pussy.”