Chapter 02 — Invasion.

Klaus.

In the warehouse on the south side of the city...

"Are you really going to marry one of the daughters of Manchestary, sir?"

Felipe asks, standing at my side while I torture two sons of bitches — father and son, both hanging upside down — taking out my frustrations by making them suffer slowly.

"I don't know yet. I only agreed to this shit because, like it or not, the council wasn't going to give up on seeing me married anytime soon."

"Why not just marry Laura?"

He asks, bursting into laughter. I stop hitting the man in front of me and fix Felipe with a stare. He stops laughing and swallows hard.

"God, I was just kidding."

"Shut up and bring me the iron."

I order. He grabs the iron, its tip glowing red from the fire it's been sitting in. The man panics and tries to scream, but his lips have been cut and the rest sealed shut with superglue, leaving him unable to make a sound.

I grip the iron with a rag and give a diabolical smile, then drive it into the man's abdomen and drag it downward, slicing his belly nearly in two. He convulsed while he wept, and before long he died in agony. The floor was a mess — organs and blood everywhere. The younger one's eyes went wide. He knew the same end was coming for him.

My phone started ringing and I handed the iron to Felipe, who looked as delighted as a kid on Christmas.

"Playtime."

"Make sure you send him to hell, Felipe."

I say, stepping away. I grab my phone and answer.

"You finally remembered you're my consigliere, Angelo."

I say, and on the other end he laughs.

"The honeymoon made me forget everything, brother — my apologies. I'm calling to let you know I'm back in the city. I'll stop by home first and then come by your place."

"Excellent. Welcome back, brother. Oh — did you do the research on the Martinelis?"

I ask.

"Yes, and that's exactly what I want to talk to you about. I found something very important about those bastards, but it has to be in person."

"That's fine, Angelo. I'll be waiting for you at the mansion."

I hang up. I look back at Felipe and survey the damage he's done — the torture room is total chaos, blood and organs everywhere. We're both drenched in it, so we leave the warehouse and head to the mansion. Felipe goes to the soldiers' quarters and I go up to my suite, where I take a long shower to get rid of every trace and smell of blood.

Afterward I go to the closet, change into something lighter — it's already night — and my phone, sitting on the bed, won't stop ringing. I come out of the closet and answer it.

"What the hell is going on?"

I say, picking up.

"That stress is from lack of sex, princess?"

That idiot Victor asks — my youngest brother.

"No shit, Victor... are those gunshots?"

"No, of course not — those are fireworks being launched from a machine gun."

He mocks, pushing my patience to the limit.

"Stop clowning around and tell me what's happening."

"The Martinelis — they crossed into our territory and hit one of our posts. Get over here, we're losing men, we need you!"

Without giving me a chance to say anything, he hangs up. Damn Martinelis. When I get my hands on those sons of bitches, I'll drag them through hell before they even get to die. I run back to the closet, pull out the false bottom, where several weapons are hidden, grab two Five-seveNs, tuck them in my waistband, change clothes again, and rush out. I take my car and head toward the location — I assume it's the east side of the city, since that's where the post closest to the Camorra lies, the Martinelis' mafia.

On the way, I grab my mask from the glove compartment. I park two blocks from where I think they are and step out with weapons drawn, feeling the adrenaline surge through my veins — hungry for the fun that's waiting.

I hear gunfire and see our men pursuing the intruders. The number of bodies scattered around the post is high — thankfully most of them are the invaders'.

With silencers on the pistols, I help our men take down the ones that remain.

"Where are my brothers?"

I ask one of the soldiers as we fire on the enemies, who appear to have received orders to retreat.

"They're inside the warehouse, sir."

He answers, and we finish off the stragglers. On the ground, one of them was dying.

"Mi... misericordia..."

I let out a laugh anyone would call diabolical.

"You invade our territory and now you're begging for mercy? You're too pathetic for a man who's dying."

The soldier beside me laughs, handing me a knife. I use it to tear open the man's throat, making him drown in his own blood as it poured like water — then I ripped his throat out with my bare hand, leaving my clothes a total wreck.

"Well. Looks like someone's having fun."

Mikael says, and I look at them — both covered in blood.

"I am."

I say, getting to my feet.

"Where are the Martinelis?"

I ask, and they scoff.

"Those bastards — they weren't here. There were two men wearing masks identical to theirs, but it was a setup."

Victor says, frustrated.

"What? Are you telling me those sons of bitches invade our territory and on top of that they're making fools of us?!"

I say, furious.

"Someone let them in. This part of the city is the council's responsibility — specifically Hector's."

Mikael says.

"What you're implying is serious. If that's true, one of our council members is a traitor."

Victor says.

"We need to investigate this further. From today, we keep a close eye on everyone around us."

I say, and my phone rings.

"Felipe?"

"Sir, come quickly — it's Angelo... the Martinelis took him."

"What the f—! Where are you?"

I ask.

"At Angelo's house, sir. His wife called me just a few minutes ago asking for help, but since you weren't available I came to try, but it was already too late."

Without another word I hang up.

"What happened? What's with that face?"

Mikael asks.

"It was all a trap, and we walked right into it like a bunch of goddamn sitting ducks. The Martinelis took my consigliere."

I say, and my brothers are just as furious as I am.

"But why would they take Angelo?"

Victor asks.

"He'd discovered something about them — something that was clearly a weakness, since they came after him so fast."

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