Dark Souls

34.blame

By the time we arrive at my Palermo Estate, Katarina is deep asleep.

She has a slight fever and has been talking gibberish, so I sigh in relief once I spot Russo, Olga, Evan and Sophia waiting for us in the entrance of my mansion.

Evan rushes to the side of the car where Katarina is, opening the door of the Rolls Royce and in a swift movement carrying her out and taking her inside with Sophia, Olga and Mateo right on his heels.

I stay behind, gathering my thoughts and trying to normalize my sudden, unusual breathing.

"She's alive, Wolf, she's alive," I reassure myself, steadying my pulse and heartbeat, "Calm the fuck down, man. She's alive."

I don't feel like I'm moving until I'm standing right in front of Russo, feeling lightheaded.

He gives me a concerned look, "Boss, are you alright?"

I shake my head, stepping into my mansion and walking directly to my office.

Russo walks in after me, closing the door behind him.

He walks to the mini bar and serves me some whiskey before I ask him to.

"The same thing almost happened to her," I mutter, leaning against my desk and drinking all of it in one gulp.

"What do you mean?"

"The same thing as Pearl, Russo, and it would've been my fault— again,"I hiss through my teeth.

"She's alive and that's the only thing that matters right now."

I give Russo a murderous glare that makes him scoff.

"Oh, I see. You blame me for what happened to her—"

I shake my head defensively, "I blame everyone, including myself."

Victors steps into the office, his shirt and jeans covered in blood.

He shows me a picture from his cellphone of the burned down hotel and pours himself some whiskey too, slumping on my leather chair.

"It's you're fault, Wolf," he butts in, "She clouds your judgment and makes you stupid with her high cheekbones and long legs."

I scowl at him, "Who the fuck asked for your opinion?"

He chuckles, looking like a psychopath who'd just taken a blood bath, "You keep thinking she needs some hero to save her when she's probably more fucked up than us."

"She remains a mystery," Russo adds.

I think about Katarina's face when I found her in The Cecilia Hotel. She was a completely different person, fueled with so much hate and anger. I know she's drugged, but something tells me things would've just gone worse for Salvatore if she wouldn't have been.

She knows what you're capable of doing, Wolf, but do you know what she's capable of?

"We talked about a few things," Russo says, making me stand up straight with interest.

"About what the fuck?" Victor asks.

Russo continues to tell us about his conversations with Katarina, how her father left her when she was just 7 years old and only left behind the pocketknife, also about her mentioning she has beaten men bigger than Ramon Salvatore before. He tells us about his visit to Raul and Jose's boutique, who apparently know Kat's parents but have no communication with Gian because they know he's a dangerous person.

When he's done I pull out the pocketknife I've been holding for Katarina, noticing for the first time the dragon engraved in it.

I exhale harshly, "We're missing something. Maybe he contacts her without her even realizing it—"

"Have there been any more messages from the burner phones?" Victor asks.

Russo and I shake our heads.

We hear some loud commotion outside, when suddenly my office's door flies open and Evan barges inside with his face red with anger, Mateo following him. He stomps towards me in a hurried pace, catching me by surprise as he grabs me tightly by my jean jacket's collar.

In a microsecond Russo has the barrel of his gun pressed against the back of Evan's head and Victor has the tip of his butcher knife against his throat.

"I suggest you let go of me, Mr. Ramirez," I say calmly.

Mateo clears his throat, "Wolf, Evan and I were just leaving," he says, trying to ease the sudden tension in this damn office.

Evan looks unfazed. He just glowers at me, holding my jacket tighter with each heavy breath he takes.

"Ms.DeLuca is the daughter I never had. If something worst would've happened to her I would've cut your head off along with your two minion's," he spits out fearlessly, "Listen to me carefully. I'm not scared of you, Mr.Vier. You can be the mafia god and I still won't give a damn. The only thing that's holding me back is the fact that all Katarina says is your goddamn name."

I glance at both Russo and Victor, giving them permission to put their weapons down.

Once they do, I swiftly push Evan's hands off of me.

"No, Evan-" I hiss, fixing my jacket, "The only goddamn thing saving you from death right now is that I know how much you care about Victoria and Katarina..."

And how do I know? Because I've seen Kat's text messages with him, how he's always mentioning how much he loves them both and his duty will always be to keep them safe.

I continue, calming my anger, "This won't happen again. I'll make sure of it," I automatically say, forgetting Russo and Victor are in here too, listening to every word that's coming out of my mouth.

"Stay the hell away from her, Mr.Vier. If you really care just stay away," he snarls at me and hurries out of my office.

I drop my gaze to the floor, wishing I could tell him that that's the reason I can't stay away from her, because I feel so many things, things that I've only felt with her since Pearl was taken from me.

Mateo walks towards me, patting my shoulder twice in a discreetly comforting way, "Go to your room, Kat's been asking for you."

I feel my eyes burn with angry tears I'll never let go of. First, because I don't understand how she's calling for me when this is all my fault and secondly, because I never thought Mateo would be the only one who could see right through me, see how transparent my sudden feelings for Katarina actually were.

I swallow past the lump in my throat and nod, exiting the office without making eye contact with anyone and heading towards Katarina.