Please, God, no. Not Gianna. He couldn’t survive without Gianna. She was his mate. His heart. His life. He loved her more than he thought it possible to love anyone. If something had happened to her… He picked up his speed.
The police stopped him a few houses before the address Gianna had given him. It took endless minutes to make himself understood, to find the appropriate words in the appropriate language to convince them that he belonged on the other side of their blockade. That his future wife was involved. That she needed him, and only him.
Someone down the line waved him through and he took off at a swift jog. Luc stood talking to a police officer. Gianna was nowhere to be seen. He charged toward her brother and would have taken him down if his bride-to-be hadn’t chosen that moment to come flying out of the house and straight into his arms.
“Constantine!” She wrapped her arms tight around his neck. “You’ll never believe what happened.”
“I’ll tell you what’s going to happen,” he growled, snatching her close and enclosing her in a hold she wouldn’t soon escape. “I’m going to knock your brother on his ass.”
“I’d really rather you wouldn’t. Listen to me.” She caught his face between her hands and forced him to look at her. “I said listen to me, Constantine. They caught David. He’s in police custody. I don’t think he’s going to get out of this one, thanks to Brimstone.”
Luc approached, a huge grin on his face. “You should have been here, Romano.” He slapped Constantine on his back. “You could have helped us take d’Angelo down.”
“Let go of me, Gianna,” Constantine demanded.
She clung tighter. “Not if you plan on hitting my brother.”
“I said, let go of me.”
Luc’s attention switched from one to the other, a frown forming between his brows. “I don’t understand. What’s the problem?”
“What’s the…” It took Constantine a moment to recover his breath enough to speak. He seized Gianna around the waist and set her to one side. “How would you like my putting Téa in the sort of danger you’ve put Gianna in? What would you do to the man who used her in such a fashion and never discussed it with you first?”
Luc froze. For a split second, his gaze landed on Gianna then bounced off again. “You’re absolutely right, Constantine. I apologize. I was so anxious to get my hands on d’Angelo that I didn’t even think about the risk my sister was taking. I guess I’m so used to the security business it never occurred to me that she’d be in any danger.”
Constantine closed his eyes, his fury deflating. “You thought I knew,” he said to Luc.
Gianna’s brother winced and shot him a look of intense sympathy. “Yeah, sorry. Should have known better. Gia has seven older brothers and cousins, all of whom set a horrible example for her. There’s not a trick she hasn’t learned.”
“I’ll keep that in mind from now on.”
“Still, I should have spoken directly to you about it.”
“Are you very angry?” Gianna had the nerve to ask.
“Furious.” Constantine spared her a brief, speaking glance. “We’ll discuss it later. Right now I have some very confused businessmen waiting for me.”
“I’ve already given my statement to the police.” She checked with Luc, who nodded. “I can leave now, if you’d like.”
If he’d like? Words fought for release, none of them fit to be aired. “I don’t like,” he said gently. “I insist.”
She cleared her throat, perhaps becoming aware of the extent of his anger for the first time. “Great.” She plastered a cheerful smile on her face and glanced around. “So, how do we get there?”
It was only then that Constantine realized he’d paid off the cab. Luc jumped in and waved Juice over, who waited on the tiny front stoop of the Mereaux house, hovering protectively over the slender woman standing beside him. “You can use our rental while we go to the police station and finalize everything.”
Luc had chosen a nondescript sedan and Constantine helped Gianna into the car. He managed to drive a full dozen blocks before he couldn’t stand it any longer and pulled over. His hands clenched around the steering wheel. “Okay, let’s hear it.”
Gianna sighed. “I’m sorry, Constantine. I knew if I told you what we planned, you wouldn’t agree.”
“Wouldn’t agree?” he repeated. He swiveled in his seat to face her. “Have you lost your mind? Of course I wouldn’t have agreed. I’d never do anything to put you in jeopardy or allowed you anywhere near d’Angelo, especially after what he did to you last time.”