“Matteo, what can I do for you?” Orazio said.

I’d never been more relieved that Orazio was our spy in the Outfit. He had been working with us for two years now and had never let us down. “In case Luca shows up in Chicago, make sure you knock him out before he gets near Dante.”

“What?” Orazio muttered. “What do you mean?”

“Never mind.”

Orazio was silent. He wasn’t a very communicative man anyway.

“I need you to find someone for me. It’s a photographer. I sent you an email with the details. Get him as fast as possible and ask him who paid him to take the photos of Dante and Aria.”

“Wait, what? What photos?”

“Read my fucking email. And when you’re done asking him, you will take him to New York.”

Silence. “You want me to come to New York?”

“Not for long. You will return to Chicago once you’ve handed over the photographer.”

“Will do,” Orazio said, but I could hear a hint of hesitation in his tone.

“You’ve been working for us for two years,” I reminded him. If Dante found out, even Orazio’s status as Valentina’s brother wouldn’t grant him a quick death.

Orazio got the unvoiced threat and hung up. He would bring me that photographer, and then I’d have a very long, intense conversation with the fucker.

It was evening when Demetrio called me over my headset. He was Luca’s and my cousin, Gottardo’s bastard son. “What is it?”

I still hadn’t found any trace of Luca, and I couldn’t involve anyone in the search except for Romero. If word got out what had happened, things would get uncomfortable in the Famiglia. “Someone slaughtered every member of the Jersey MC.”

My foot on the gas eased up. “Where?”

“Their clubhouse. I’m there. Orfeo and I were supposed to meet their president to give them a warning, but someone got to them before us.”

Fuck. “I’ll be there in thirty minutes.”

I floored the gas and bent low over my Kawasaki, weaving through traffic at blinding speed.

The moment I saw Orfeo’s and Demetrio’s faces, I knew it was bad. They had been Made Men for five years now and had seen a lot of shit. They were good soldiers, efficient and loyal. I walked into the clubhouse and my nose clogged up from the stench. Blood. Sweat. Piss. Shit.

Fear.

My eyes took in the bloody mess. Limbs, skin and blood everywhere. “How do you know these are all the members?”

“We counted the bodies,” Orfeo said with a grimace.

“I don’t see any bodies,” I muttered. Someone had pretty much torn every single body to shreds. I spotted a bloody axe on the ground covered in blood and pieces of flesh.

“We counted the heads,” Demetrio added with a wry smile, exchanging a look with Orfeo.

The heads were in bad shape too, but they were still recognizable as heads.

“Burn down everything. Don’t leave any traces behind,” I ordered.

“Don’t you want to find out who did this?” Orfeo asked.

“No,” I snarled. “Burn everything down.”

I knew who had done this, and I had to make sure I stopped him before he did worse.

“Fuck,” Demetrio exclaimed, eyes filling with realization. He and Orfeo exchanged another look. Best friends since birth. “It was Luca, right?”

I considered my options. Luca needed to appear strong. If I tried to hide his involvement, people would get suspicious. I shrugged. “He thought it would send the other MCs a nice message. Take photos before you burn everything down, and send it to every fucking MC in our territory who wants to piss in our pond.”

Orfeo let out a disbelieving laugh, a mixture of disgust and respect on his face. “He did this alone? Fuck, he’s a beast.”

I turned around and left them to their task.

Where the hell was my brother?

LUCA

I watched the girl thrust her naked ass up before she swung herself around the pole, her dark eyes locking on mine, red painted lips pulling wide into a flirty smile. She fell to the floor and crawled toward me, her drooping top revealing big fake tits.

“I see you’re checking out our new stripper,” Matteo said as he sank into the armchair beside me. I ignored him as the girl rolled onto her back and pulled back her top, revealing fat pierced nipples, which she began twisting as she fucked me with her eyes. I could take her into one of the rooms in the back of the Pergola and fuck her brains out.

“I’ve been searching for you since yesterday,” Matteo said, his voice on edge.

He leaned forward, barring my view of the girl. I narrowed my eyes at him. His brown eyes searched my face as if he was looking for a fucking treasure hidden somewhere. “You look calm.”

“I am calm,” I said.

“Demetrio told me he got word someone massacred every member of the MC in New Jersey. Remember the fuckers who thought they could take over the gun trade in Jersey?”

I watched the girl over Matteo’s head. She returned to the pole and whirled around it topless, tits jiggling up and down.

“I went there. Complete bloodbath. Limbs and skin everywhere. Ten dead.” Matteo raised his eyebrows. “They were chopped into pieces. Most of the work was done with an axe, but a few got a bit of love with a skinning knife.” He leaned forward and tapped the knife strapped to my chest.

The dancer lifted herself up on the pole and spread her legs in a wide V. Matteo whirled around to her. “Why don’t you fuck off?”

Her eyes grew wide and she released the pole before she ran toward the changing rooms. My eyes followed her ass. I hadn’t fucked anyone’s ass since Grace four years ago.

“Do I have to get naked so you will listen to me?”

I leaned back in my chair. “I’m listening.”

“I assume you did that.”

“Their screams and their blood felt like fucking paradise,” I murmured.

Matteo shook his head. “Fuck, Luca. You won’t go ballistic on me, right? The last time I saw you…fuck. And now you’re all calm—that’s strange even for you.”

“I am calm.”

Matteo sat back in his chair, bringing distance between us, and I knew I’d hate what he had to say next. “I saw Aria in the mansion yesterday morning.”

My heart clenched fucking tight, but I kept a calm face. “She will stay there. She won’t return to New York. Have Sandro watch her.”

Matteo rubbed his temple. “Luca, listen, I know you don’t want to hear it, but I don’t think Aria cheated on you.”

I stood, my eyes drawn to the changing room door where the stripper had disappeared. Matteo shoved my chest, eyes blazing with fury.

“For fuck’s sake, will you stop this shit? You’re freaking even me out and I’ve seen you at your worst.” He paused. “Though I have to admit what you did in that clubhouse may be the most twisted shit I have ever seen.”

“You saw the photos of Dante and Aria,” I pressed out through a fucking tight throat. I clenched my fists, hating that my body betrayed me.

“They show nothing. I talked to Orazio. He got his hands on the photographer and will bring him to us tomorrow.”