Page 49 of Toxic Devotion

Neil took his eyes off the road for a second to look at Stanton.

“Us. The information he has is about Derek’s death. You need to getitand my operative back.”

Will frowned. “He’s gone rogue, and you still want him back? In one piece, I assume?”

“Yes. He’s very valuable to me and the Agency. To you, as well.”

Stanton’s grunt didn’t surprise him. The man didn’t trust him, and he couldn’t exactly blame him.

“Find him, contain him, and bring him to this location.”

He grabbed the piece of paper he’d left in the cupholder and handed it to Stanton. He’d written down the GPS coordinates for the handover.

“You make it sound easy,” Will said.

“Oh, trust me, he won’t make it easy for you. Not in the least. His name is Colt Castillo. The information you need is on your phone. There’s a bag in the trunk with essentials for you. Castillo was last seen in Orlando, Florida.”

“How am I getting there?”

“Private plane,” he said.

Will arched a brow at Neil. “Doesn’t sound like company policy.”

“It’s not.”

He drove onto the tarmac where a small plane was waiting for them. He’d had to pull some serious strings, but it was worth it. Anything was worth a shot at taking Hughes down for good.

They stepped out of the car, and he popped the trunk to grab the go bag he’d put together for Stanton. He handed Stanton the bag and said, “Good luck,” then watched as the man walked on board the plane. He waited until the plane door was closed before he got back into his car. It was out of his hands now. What happened next depended on Stanton and Colt.

He knew putting those two together was a risk. He knew both of them quite well and there was a real possibility that they’d find something in each other. Something very real and vulnerable. Something that would make them even more dangerous. He was willing to risk that happening because the alternative was far worse.

Chapter Twenty

Marco

HE STARED out the big windows in his office, not even the beautiful view of his backyard was able to curb some of his anger. The drink in his hand hadn’t helped so far, either. His own men were stealing from him. How they’d thought they could get away with it, he didn’t know. They had to be delusional. Or perhaps they knew something he didn’t.

His phone buzzed with an incoming text. He didn’t bother looking. He knew exactly what it would say. He’d sent Rome out to take care of some business. Said business was an asshole who’d thought he’d get away with stealing from him. He wouldn’t live long enough to regret it.

First, he’d discovered that his accountant Cosimo had been skimming off the top and he’d suffered the consequences of that betrayal. The man Rome would end tonight was a street dealer named Antonio. The man was a sleazebag to begin with but along with Cosimo, he’d been ripping Marco off for months. The books weren’t matching up and Cosimo hadn’t just known, he’d been in on it with Antonio.

He didn’t think either of them smart or brave enough to have started it on their own. Someone had given them a push. Someone who wanted Marco to suffer. Figuring out which one of his enemies was behind it wouldn’t be easy.

His life had been anything but sunshine and rainbows since Alicia’s death four years ago. He did what he could to give Dantea better life and upbringing than he’d had, but it was tough with the life he had to lead.

He could never relax. Not truly. There was always someone who wanted to challenge him. Someone who wanted to kill him. They thought they could rip his crown off and take his kingdom. They would soon learn. No one got to take anything from him anymore. He would kill them all if he had to. He would leave no one alive who could hurt Dante.

He turned around and pulled open the desk drawer to grab the bottle of alcohol he kept in there but the damned thing got stuck halfway. With a groan, he reached a hand inside, fingers searching for whatever had jammed it. He managed to jerk the drawer open and the contents of it all slid forward and one of those things had his heart skipping a beat.

It was a picture. One Alicia had taken.

He hesitated for a moment before grabbing the picture. He sat down in his chair with a heavy thump and stared at a younger version of himself. The man in the picture was happy. He was in love. That was clear as day to see.

He didn’t know when Alica had the photograph printed but he knew she was the one who’d taken it because he recognized it. Neil’s profile was visible in the picture but mostly, it was Marco’s face as he looked at Neil with so much love and trust in his eyes it almost made him nauseous to see now.

He hated that that man was gone. Hated that that man hadn’t appreciated every single second with Alicia. He hadn’t known then that he wouldn’t have his sister for more than a few years. He hadn’t known he would lose the two people he loved the most.

Looking at the picture, at the way he was so clearly in love with Neil then, hurt too much and he put the picture back into the drawer and grabbed the bottle of vodka, unscrewed the cap, and drank straight from the bottle.