By Fate I Conquer (Sins of the Fathers #4)(101)

My eyes burned as if I might cry. I couldn’t remember if I’d ever cried in my life. Mom said I had on occasion when I was a little boy, but since then nothing had ever brought me close to tears. Not even when my sister had been kidnapped by our worst enemy and I’d been sure we wouldn’t see her again. Certainly not pain.

But looking down at Greta’s pale face and her bandaged hand resting on her belly, where no child of ours would ever grow—, I was on the verge of tears. I fought it and my eyes remained dry. I linked our fingers and my gaze slid down to her leg which was in splints to keep it immobilized. The cast looked massive on Greta’s slender leg. I pressed my forehead to hers. Just like I never cried, I never prayed, but now I sent a prayer up, asking that Greta would dance again. I didn’t want to consider that she lost that too.

My hand that wasn’t holding Greta’s hand curled into a tight fist. I would kill Cressida. I’d never killed a woman in my life. Looking at the woman I loved more than life itself and thinking of how I’d soon have to tell her that she would never carry a child, though she was one of the most caring and kind people I had ever met, I knew it wouldn’t be a quick end for Cressida either.

I knew why she’d told the attacker to stab Greta’s belly. She’d wanted to make sure that Greta could never bear a child, my child. Maybe she’d thought I wouldn’t want her then. She could never fathom what it meant to love someone as I loved Greta. Nothing would ever tear me away from her again.

“Where is he?” Nevio snarled somewhere outside of the room.

Remo turned and barred his son’s way. “This isn’t the time for you to lose control. Greta needs quiet to heal.”

“I want to see him!”

I kissed Greta’s fingers then I straightened and walked toward the doorway where Remo was still trying to hold his son back.

The moment Nevio’s eyes met mine, his flared with hatred.

“We can talk but not when Greta can hear us.”

Nevio leaned forward in his father’s hold, his lips curling like a dog baring its teeth. “Now you’re making the rules in Las Vegas?”

Remo pushed him back and I stepped out of the room and closed the door behind my back.

Nevio ripped away from his father and got in my face. I shoved him away, and despite my desire to do so I didn’t reach for my gun. Greta had suffered enough. No matter how much I hated the crazy fucker in front of me, she loved him.

He was a crazy ass killer and his eyes would have scared the shit out of most people.

“Where is the bitch?”

I shook my head. I knew whom he was talking about, but this was Famiglia business. I still needed to call Dad and inform him about the Antonaci and Cressida situation. Who knew what else the old bastard had planned. Maybe he and his Traditionalists were on the verge of a revolt. We’d kill every single traitorous asshole with our bare hands if necessary.

Nevio grabbed my shirt. I clamped my hand down on his and jerked him forward, bringing us face to face as my patience ran thin. “Not now. Not in front of Greta’s door.”

“Tell me where Cressida is, or I’ll kill every fucking member of the Famiglia until I find her. The bitch will die.”

“She’s mine to kill.”

Nevio shook his head. “Greta wouldn’t want that.”

I raised an eyebrow. “And you care? Come on. You want her to have a reason to stop loving me. That would be your chance.”

“You’re right. If it were up to me, you’d be dead right now. Because all of this is your fucking fault, but Greta seems to care about you for some ridiculous reason, and as long as that’s the case, I won’t act against you. With a little luck, she’ll hate you once she finds out your wife ruined her fucking life, then all bets are off.”

I gave him a harsh smile. “Thanks for the heads up.”

“Nevio has a point. This is our revenge to dish out. We want your wife and everyone who was involved. If the Famiglia wants peace, you’ll deliver them to us on a fucking silver platter, or we’ll march into New York and get them ourselves, but then you can kick peace goodbye.”

Nevio opened the door to Greta’s room. For a moment his expression softened and it was such a strange thing to see on his madman face that it creeped me out more than his murderous glare. “Greta needs you. I don’t know what she fucking sees in you. Do you really want to complicate things between you only because you insist on killing the whore yourself? If one of ours had attacked your sister or mother, you and your father would have insisted on dishing out punishment yourself. When my father and Nino found out about Kiara’s past, you allowed them to dish out punishment. This is our revenge. You know Greta wouldn’t want your wife’s blood on your hands. She’d probably want the whore to live.”

I looked down at her peaceful face, knowing he was right. Even after Cressida had taken the most precious thing from Greta, she’d still not want me to kill her. Greta was too kind. A new wave of burning rage crashed down on me. Cressida should have never touched Greta. This had never been about me or her goddamn heart. She’d wanted to protect her status in the Famiglia. She’d gone too far.

Remo didn’t say anything, only walked toward Greta and kissed her forehead. “Mia cara. The world will burn for you. We’ll burn it down.”

Remo straightened and fixed me with a hard stare. “Where? We’ll find her either way. It’s up to you if we kill every soldier standing in our way, and her whole goddamn family.”