Stolen Dove: Stolen Hearts Series by Blake, Carina (ebook reader 7 inch txt) 📕

"He didn't want you dead. He wanted to make you pay for your mother leaving, so he wanted your lapdog dead." He tilts his head to Fernando, who pushes himself off the wall and has his hands around his throat before Oscar can utter another word.

"Lapdog, puddle boy. I'll rip your fucking head off myself."

"Deja, Fernando. This fool is playing with the devil and doesn't even know it. No one is going to help him out of this."

"What do you mean? Your father said..." I break out in a laugh that echoes in the empty building. I hear the sound of rain on the roof as if the skies opened up so the world could clean up after me.

I lean forward and grab his face, squeezing his cheeks hard before slamming his head back and letting go. "My father's word means shit. You're dead either way. I was just deciding if I'll go slowly or fast. Frankly, at this point, it doesn't matter to me."

"He's supposed to protect me," he whines.

"Who?" I just need clarification.

"Your father."

"A dead man can't protect anyone."

"What?" he gasps.

Are you fucking kidding me? This fucker fainted. "Seriously, this pussy fainted. Get the bucket."

Fernando grabs a bucket and then walks over to the hose, filling it with ice-cold water.

"Son of a bitch," he grumbles as water splashes on his feet, which pisses him off so he launches the water into Oscar's face, shocking him awake, then in a fit of anger hits him with the bucket.

"Do you feel better?"

"A bit."

"So what does Julio have to do with all of this?"

"Nothing. He was supposed to be next."

"What?"

"After your mother, I was supposed to attack him so it would look like it was the Italians attacking his family, even the illegitimate ones."

"You tried to kill my mother."

"She didn't die either?" Oh, I’ve fucking had it. I whip out my gun and put slugs into his heart and head.

The two came inside, soaking wet. "Clean this up. No one comes after my family. Ever. They will pay with their lives." I storm out of the warehouse, fuming with violent need.

"At least you got the one who attacked your mother."

"That is good. Now to deal with the rest of this mess. Are you coming?"

"I'll drive." Good, because I'm not in the right frame of mind for this shit.

1

Victor

Six Years Later

“What’s your plan?” Hector asks, taking a seat in front of my desk and resting his foot over his knee while I walk over to my sideboard for a drink. I look at my brother who has grown into a man over the past six years. With a degree in finance, I made him my personal accountant and the treasurer for the organization. Having seen the fucked-up side to the supposed legal workings, he made his choice to come back and work alongside me.

“I’m going to see if it’s worth doing business with the Americans,” I say, taking a sniff of my new bottle of the latest wine from our vineyard.

“I went to school there. The mafia’s in thick with the politicians and is hiding in plain sight. Depending on what you’re willing to pay, you can have anything you want,” he grumbles, twisting his lips to the side while I pour us a drink.

Passing a glass to him, I sit in the same spot where I ended my father’s life, although this seat is my own. As the head of the Serrano family, I’ve made some changes: one of them was my father’s tacky office. For God’s sake, the old fuck had had a pinup poster of a naked woman on the back of the door like a teenage boy. My father partied harder than he worked, leaving me to clean up the mess, put the Sicilians in their place, and rebuild trust in my men.

It’s been a rocky six years with a lot of bloodshed, but we made peace once the heir took over for the Vitali family. Not that I trust him, but a détente is for the best. They’re out of our territory, and they know never to cross me or the price will be more than they can afford to pay.

Now, I need to ensure that no one, and I mean no one, tries to come at us when my companies are taking off so well.

“You’re probably right, but I won’t let the damn Sicilians see even the slightest sign of weakness.”

“There’s another Spanish crew in the north that are inching closer and closer to our town.”

I rake my hand through my hair, then stand. “I know. I don’t want a war with these rat bastards, but I will—if they don’t get fucking lost, I’ll make them disappear.” Pacing my office, I consider my options. There aren’t many, because my father made us appear so weak that I take all acts against us seriously. We come at you full force, whether it is with guns blazing or clearing all your assets electronically, and we won’t stop until we’re satisfied. “I’m ready for anything. War or peace, the Serrano family will come out ahead.”

“You’re right, brother. Are you going to see Mama before you go?” He shares a frown with me. Last week, my mother was diagnosed with heart disease. She’s not taking good care of herself and won’t let us hire someone to tend to her. The woman is as strong as she is stubborn.

“Yes. I need to try to convince her to take her meds.”

“It’s all his fault that she’s sick. If I could, I’d dig him up and shoot him again. Her heart wants to call it quits after years of abuse,” Hector says, shaking his head. I sit on the edge of my desk facing my little brother. At twenty-three, Hector’s determined to prove himself.

“I know. I know. It doesn’t help that we haven’t given her grandbabies and that all of Dad’s bastard children have tons of kids.”

“That’s because some of them are as fucked up as our dad.” Some