Chapter 81: Chapter: 81

SHADOW

“Nonno, dov'è la foto di mia madre?” (grandfather, where's my mother's picture?) I asked, feeling an ache in my chest as I stood behind his larger-than-life frame, longing to see her face.

My curiosity about the woman who gave birth to me was a silent, persistent hunger that I couldn't ignore, and I desperately wanted to understand my past.

I know both my parents are dead. Nonno had told me this. I had visited my father's grave with my Nonna a few times without Nonno's knowledge; he was buried on the property.

While I know where my father's grave is, how he looked, his name, and what he looked like, I didn't have any such knowledge about my mother.

I had never seen her pictures, knew her name, or anything about her. The curiosity about her was eating at me. Whenever I saw other kids with their mothers, I always wondered where mine was and if I would ever see her.

It's a hunger inside me, this need to know my mother. There were no pictures of her anywhere in the villa. So I thought to ask my grandfather.

Nonno had backhanded me until my ears rang, and both my mouth and nose had bled crimson from the hit. From that day onwards, I was forbidden to speak about or ask about either of my parents.

Nonno had smashed my father's picture with anger, called him a traitor, and had warned me never to call him grandfather again. He was Don Marchetti to me. And would always be.

Research has shown that the earliest long-term memory a person can recall is between the ages of 2, 4, 6, and 8. Mine had been five; that moment was my earliest memory. I don't remember any event or time before that day.

I had been raised with an iron fist, molded into the best manipulating killer I could possibly be. I had killed my first man at the age of seven, fuck my first woman at fourteen, and had gone on my first mission at seventeen.

There was nothing I hadn't seen, little I hadn't done. I was rarely surprised or caught off guard; I could see my opponent's next move a mile away, and I would already be ten steps ahead. But this is something I haven't been ready for; I'd made a mistake and had begun to trust in a woman.

The first woman I had ever claimed as mine. And she fled me, but I'm fucking getting her back! My Vixen had been a very bad, bad girl.

I look forward to seeing you very soon!

Oh Vixen! Why did you do such a stupid, stupid thing? I do applaud her, though, for getting rid of her phone and buying two plane tickets for two different countries in her name. It was smart; she could probably have gotten away with it if I were someone else.

But unfortunately for her, I wasn't. True, I haven't been able to locate her for two months, which was quite impressive of her. I would have kissed her just for being able to hide from me this long if I weren't so damn angry that she ran from me! And for her going back on her words and taking the proof of our arrangements.

Andrea shouldn't have done that; she was mine and mine alone. I wanted to keep her for a few months, but now I realize I want her forever, and I won't let her go without a fight.

I'm going to get her back, and I'm going to punish her first for running away from me, then I'm gonna fuck her hard until she can't walk for a week, that would remind her who she belongs to. That night two months ago, when I came back after Logan had caught little Miss Walker, and I didn't see my Vixen, my heart fucking froze. I thought Jake, that bastard, had come here and had kidnapped her.

I had been enraged and had instantly checked the secret cameras installed throughout the penthouse. That's how I found out the truth: Andrea had learned about the secret no one outside half a dozen people knew, and that's why she ran.

I watched the CCTV feed of her at the airport again. Andrea was fidgeting as she collected her passport and visa before walking past the check-in, dressed in black jeans, a black jacket, and a fake black wig. She probably looks different to anyone but me.

She could change her hair and disguise herself however she wants. But I will fucking recognize her anywhere, anytime! I've already claimed every part of her. I knew that luscious body so well I could imagine every dip, hollow, and mole on that body as if she were right in front of me. There's no way I couldn't recognize her anywhere. After all, I'd suck and lick it all.

Oh Vixen! Running will get you nowhere; it will only make your punishment more severe. I'm going to blister her ass just for thinking she could get away, then I'm going to do it again for running. Logan steps into the office with my laptop, which I had left under the car seat earlier.

“Boss, an email was sent to you. I thought you might want to check it out. It's Miss McCain's,” he said.

I took the laptop and sat down, then I opened it. More than a hundred thumbnails appeared, so I tapped on the first. Blind rage blasted through me like a fucking storm.

It was a photo of Andrea and a man kissing, they were on the roadside, this dead fucker had his hand on her face holding her possessively as if she was his. Oh, I'm going to punish her for allowing another man to touch her, and that fucker will regret ever laying his finger on what's mine.

I kept scrolling through the pictures; they were all pictures of Andrea, eating, dancing, laughing, and walking, pictures taken in secret, without her permission or knowledge. My heart squeezed with the knowledge of how open she was to attack.

I stared at another picture of her with a woman I've also seen in some of the other pictures—must be Beth, her friend from college.

The same copse that kissed her in the first picture was sitting with her on a ship on the Seine River, holding her hand. Andrea was smiling; she was less guarded here than she was in the other pictures.

It was hard for me to tamp down the rage of seeing that fuckhead touching her, but I did it. What's most important right now is that, just like me, someone knows where she is, and that person, for whatever reason, wanted me to know that he got her!

Fuck!

I quickly tapped on the buttons; my hand flew as I worked to trace the IP address. A few minutes later, I was staring at a familiar IP address, and my blood ran cold. Fuck! Damn it all! Andrea's life is in more danger than she knew.

“Logan, prepare for my departure. I'm going home.”

“Yes, boss, do you need me to come with you?” I shake my head.

“No, if you come with me. He will kill you for lying to him, and besides, I want you to take care of things here,” I said, knowing Don would already have soldiers waiting for us at the airport. I wouldn't take the risk and put Logan's life in danger.

“In that case, I suggest you take Crow with you; we will worry about you,” Logan said emotionless, belying the concern in his eyes.

“Have our living here made you forget who I am and what I am capable of?”

“No, boss, but even a Shadow can not be in two places at once. He might be strong, smart, and ruthless, but he's only one man. Taking Crow with you is in your own best interest, boss. We swore to protect you, and that's what I'm trying to do,” Logan said, not afraid of my wrath.

He's the only one who could talk to me like that and get away with it. He and she, My Vixen!

“Alright, have Crow prepare for our journey. We leave in the morning,” I relent.

“Okay, boss.”

With that, he walked out of the office. I stared at my Vixen face through the screen while my thoughts ran rampant. I knew what Don Marchetti wanted; it's what he had always wanted, control over me.

He was a tenacious bastard. And like me, he likes to play games, only this time he'd made a mistake, and I'm going to show him that a student can indeed surpass his master.

Andrea, I'm coming for you! I'm coming to remind you that you ar e mine and that you've always been mine from the first time you gave yourself to me!