Taken_ A Dark Mafia Romance - Piper Stone Page 0,73

could sense his increasing anger. Whoever was on the other line wasn’t expected nor were they welcome.

“Let me make myself very clear. If you attempt to threaten me again, I will hunt you down and I will kill you.”

I expected him to end the call and flew back toward the railing. When he didn’t come right away and there was no sound, I turned back toward the door, able to see he was in the same position, the phone still placed against his ear.

What in the hell was happening?

When he finally returned, he stood in the doorway for a full minute staring at me.

“What’s wrong?” I had to ask, knowing I wasn’t going to get an answer.

He walked closer, taking the glass and draining the contents. As he turned to face me, the look on his face indicated one thing.

Retaliation.

“The beginning of the end.”

Chapter Fourteen

Matteo

Threats.

I’d grown accustomed to them during the time working with my brother’s company. I knew how to dole them out and enjoyed the process of issuing them when necessary.

Maybe my father had been able to shield me from the bullshit he’d likely endured with his company as well. As did the others in the sect. Our way of life had been threatened by reporters several times, the last nearly getting Christian and his wife killed. Then we’d laid down the law, making certain our community was tighter than ever and that every rule was followed.

No talking to the press.

No sharing information about our practices with any outsiders.

No deals made without Council approval.

Maybe the tight reins were part of the reason the old rituals still held a special place. At last things had been much calmer, allowing sect members’ lives to return to some kind of normalcy. The quiet that had ensued had been welcoming, at least for a few months, but I’d always suspected it had been the calm before the storm.

“You and your people are going down, Mr. Capodanno. You have no say and you won’t know when it’s coming. You can no longer hide behind the façade of pretending you’re good and righteous people. There are those who know the truth.”

The words remained in the forefront of my mind. The bastard had taken his time in making his statement, no emotion in his voice. Meanwhile, I’d fought to keep from reaching through the phone. This call had been blatant, leaving me enraged to the point I still had no game plan.

Other than to hunt the motherfucker down and kill him. Or them. Hell, if I had to guess, this was bigger than the Taglionis. I even had a thought that a deal had been entered into with the crime syndicate.

The list of possibilities of who’d initiated the threat was a mile wide.

And every one of them damning.

I seethed as I dialed my brother’s number, uncertain how much I should tell him until my return. Christian could go off halfcocked and we needed to focus in order to beat this motherfucker at his own game.

However, the threat the asshole had made regarding Winter had sealed the asshole’s death warrant.

“That lovely woman you’re beginning to appreciate isn’t who you think she is. I’d be careful making the same mistake.”

The same mistake. What the fuck was he talking about?

It was time for Christian to come clean. Maybe it was time to make deals of our own.

While Winter hadn’t asked a single question about the call, I knew it was only a matter of time before she did. Her tenacity and perseverance would refuse to let this alone.

What disturbed me the most was that the caller was calm, merely stating exactly what was going to happen. There were no concrete threats or demands, just... a statement.

Information regarding the Sacred Sect, including several incriminating documents was poised to be given to the special prosecutor hired by Senator Bellows as well as to other law enforcement officers and the press. While there’d been no specifics, I had a feeling that included names of outsiders we’d done business with over the years.

I wasn’t a fool by any means. I gathered the caller was hoping to put me on edge, perhaps enough to confront the senator. That was too clean. Too easy. My gut told me he’d been dropped into this pit of hell as well. This would need to be played very well.

“It’s time for you to come clean, Christian,” I said without inflection.

“Hello to you, brother,” Christian said, half laughing.

This wasn’t a laughing matter. “I received a threat last night,