The One (Untouchables Mafia Series Book 3)
The One: Chapter 11

“How do you think your captive is going to respond when she replaces out you’ve killed more people than her brother?” I ignore Nikolai’s question. It’s not something I want to face right now. Maybe I never have to tell her.

We could leave. I could take her away from here and start a new life somewhere else. I could stop being Church. I don’t need the money. I’ve amassed enough of a fortune that Angel and I could live extremely well.

“How about when she replaces out you got her daddy in your basement?”

“Can you shut the fuck up?” I grit out. When did he become Chatty Cathy? Nikolai and I often work together, but it is usually in silence. Unless you count the screams that were not coming from us.

“She’s not from this world. She’s an innocent.”

“Do you want to piss me off?” I ask him when we make it down to the bay area. We left the girls alone. I could tell they wanted to talk, and if there is anything I can do that will make Angel happy and keep her little ass here, I’ll do it.

‘I don’t think I’ve ever seen you pissed off. In fact, I don’t think I have ever seen you anything.” Nikolai leans against his car and pulls out his phone. Matteo should be calling soon. I also need to go downstairs and check on the senator.

“Is there a point to this conversation?”

“Truthfully?”

“No, I want you to fucking lie to me.” Nikolai actually laughs at that.

“Think that’s the closest thing to a joke I have ever heard you say.” He smirks. “That’s kind of my point. Do you know what you’re doing here, Church, because I’m a bit worried.”

“Why?”

“We both grew up fucked up.” I nod. We did. That might be why we gravitate toward each other when working. There is an understanding between us. We know what it’s like to live in the gutter and steal to feed ourselves. To steel our emotions, to protect ourselves. We have seen some of the most fucked-up people and things. It leaves a mark on you. It changes who you are and what you’re capable of. “If something happens to her⁠—”

I’m moving before I realize it. My hand wraps around Nikolai’s throat. He doesn’t fight me. “What are you doing?” Does he want me to snap his neck? Is he trying to make me unalive him?

“Proving a point. You’ll become unhinged.” We stare at each other for a long moment.

“You wouldn’t?” I release my hold on him, stepping back. I squeeze the back of my neck, trying to calm down the rush of adrenaline pumping through me.

‘Yes, I’d kill some fuckers and lose my damn mind if anything happened to Riley. But you’re different.”

“Sick in the head like her brother,” I mutter. He’s not wrong. I’m unhinged. I think I’ve started to realize why. Emotion. It’s been so long since I let myself feel anything. Now everything is rushing back, and I don’t know how to handle it.

“You don’t prey on innocent people. I also don’t think you get off on your kills.” Nikolai’s hand comes down on my shoulder. I shoot a glare at him. He smirks, lifting it. “You’re not her brother, but you got your own demons.”

“Are we getting to a point here?”

“Get your head on right.”

“My head has never been quite right.”

“Yeah, but you can’t be popping off. Don’t think your Angel up there would be too happy if you killed me.” I glare at him. “Maybe this won’t be so bad. You have something you have to check yourself against.”

“I could make it look like an accident.”

“I think you’d miss me.” He winks at me. I mutter a curse.

“I’d miss your shit mood.” There was a period of time when Nikolai behaved more like a prick than usual. He was working out his own demons. I’m confident that Riley played a role in helping with that.

“I’m still pissed. I want to snap that bitch’s neck and gut the brother.’

“Sounds like a normal Saturday night.” Nikolai barks a laugh.

“Don’t think your girl is going to enjoy those kinds of jokes.”

“It wasn’t a joke.” Nikolai shakes his head. Thankfully, the phone rings, so we can get this show on the road.

“We have a problem.” The moment Nikolai picks up the line, putting in on speaker, Matteo begins to speak.

“You’ve got to be shitting me.” I know what he’s going to say. “How long?”

“A few hours. I have Zero going through some footage, but we lost them.” Matteo syas.

“Are you fucking shitting me!?” Nikolai booms.

“We’ll replace them.” Matteo doesn’t sound fazed. At the moment, I don’t care about the fate of the brother, the girlfriend, or the senator. I do wonder what my girl would want, though. Angel is by the book. She’d want them in prison, but life isn’t so cookie-cutter. Angel goes by the rules of the law. I never have. Those rules never worked in my favor, so I made and lived by my own.

“What do you need?” He didn’t just call to give us this update. Matteo needs something, and I have a good idea of what that is going to entail. I just need to know what information I am trying to get. Once I know that, I can get to work.

“He’ll have safe houses. Brent and Becky are going to stay close to the city.”

“How do you know?” I ask. I’d be in the wind if I was them. His father is missing, and now Matteo Cattaneo is on his trail, but the kid may not know that.

“Brent has an obsession. An uncontrollable one.”

“Where did you replace this?” I’d dug into Brent for a few days. It’s how I gathered up all the information I had on him.

“He has a type.”

“Of girls he targets?” I shuffled through the missing girls. A few had some similarities.

“When it’s his pick, yes.” Isn’t that fucking sweet? Ken and Barbie take turns picking their next victim. “You put it together yet, Church?” He picked half of the girls. It clicks.

“No.” Dark hair with green eyes. Tiny little things. Just like my Angel.

“Yes.”

“What the fuck?” Nikolai waits to be filled in.

“He’s got a hard-on for his sister,” Matteo informs him.

“Oh gross.” Nikolai runs his hand down his face. “That means Becky wanted Riley. That cunt.”

“How sure are you?” I ask. I thought there might be a chance to get out of killing her twin. That might make things easier for her and me. My phone goes off. I take it out and see that Zero has sent me some pictures. “I’ll kill him.” An anger like no other I’ve ever felt courses through my veins.

The little shit had a room dedicated solely to his sister. There are pictures of her taken over the years, as well as a few missing girls who resembled her. He’d even dressed them up like her. Sick motherfucker. I could discern that some of these pictures had been taken without her knowledge. She is in her own bedroom and bathroom.

I think Nikolai was right; I am unhinged when it comes to my Angel. Because the thoughts of what I’m going to do to Brent are far darker than anything I’ve ever considered in the past. Brent hadn’t really been my concern before this. Sure, I didn’t care for what he was doing, but it hadn’t really affected me personally. But after seeing how he violated my sweet Angel, he is enemy number one. And no matter what Matteo or anyone else says, I will be the one to send him to meet his maker.

“Well shit,” Nikolai mutters next to me, along with a few words in Russian. “He got a better collection of pictures than you?”

He jumps back as I swing, barely missing him. He’s damn lucky, because it would have rattled a few teeth loose. Nikolai holds up his hands again, fighting a smile. As if the little fuck has room to talk.

“I replace it really hard to believe that the father didn’t know about any of this.” I speak my thoughts.

“He did.” Matteo confirms my suspicions. ‘I think he used her to try to keep him in check to some extent. I don’t know for sure, but the more I dig, the worse shit gets.”

“What is your plan here? You let that little fucker go for some damn reason.” I’m trying to keep it together and respect Matteo.

‘Senators and their children cannot simply disappear, Church. I have pull, but not that much pull. All eyes would be on us from everywhere.”

“Then, what?” Tension is filling my body, and I need to release it. “It’s only a matter of time before people notice the senator isn’t at home.”

“We need the kid. Then, I’ll do the rest.”

“All right.” That’s all I need to know. I head toward the box. I hear Nikolai follow behind me down the stairs. I enter the code for the thick lock loudly when it flips over.

When I enter the room, Rothschild’s head rises, his eyes wide with fear. Blood has dried at the corner of his mouth. He lets out a whimper.

“Fucking hate that smell,” Nikolai mutters. The smell of piss can come with this job.

It’s about to get a whole lot worse.