<h4>Chapter 149: Chapter 149 : Right Hooks & Foreseeable Futures</h4>


    James.


    As soon as I managed to get things situated with my uncle, I took the next private flight out headed for New Zend. I was tired of counting on someone else to keep what belonged to me safe. I had shit to correct and things to make right, and now was the time to do it.


    With everything going on and too many whispers circting around the Michaelson brothers moving in on Neal, I couldn’t hold off in the hope he would be able to handle his shit.


    From the sounds of it, he had not a single f*cking clue what he was doing.


    The moment the ne finallynded in New Zend, I took in the same beauty that must have captivated Ba to begin with. Everything was so green, and the atmosphere of the ce when you stepped off the ne was just—breathtaking.


    “Damn, this ce is nice,” Tony, my right hand said as he stepped off the ne behind me. “Sucks, we have to go back to Italy.”


    ncing at him from the corner of my eye, I shook my head with a smallugh. “Well, maybe when all this shit is finally over we cane back here. Vacation homes are all the rage,” I said mimicking the annoying energetic girl who wouldn’t stop talking to us at the airport.


    Thinking briefly about the girl, we bothughed as we made our way towards the ck sedan waiting for us. “Yeah, she was something else.”


    “Yep, but time to get our game faces on. This isn’t a trip for pleasure. We will be collecting Ba and the kids and leaving today. I don’t want to be here any longer than we need to with everything that’s going on.”


    “Understood,” he replied as he slid into the back seat of the car.


    As soon as we arrived, we made our way along the narrow roads of the ind, heading straight for the location of Ba’s home. I had seen photos of it for months now, and the idea of finally being able to see her blew my mind.


    Was she going to be excited? Or was she going to hate me?


    Lost in my thoughts, Tony cleared his throat and caught my attention. “We’reing upon the house now, sir.”


    My eyes looked up towards the road ahead, and sure enough, as soon as we turned off the main road onto another, we came to the long spiraling driveway that led up to a massive home sitting on the coast overlooking the ocean.


    It was beautiful, and the fact she had bought it for herself and the kids created a sensation of pride within me. That was until we came to a stop and I realized with all the cars here and the mass amount of men swarming the area, something was off.


    I didn’t bother to exin who I was as I quickly climbed out of the car and made my way towards the house. “Sir, stop now or I will shoot you.”


    My gaze narrowed as I turned to the young man, who obviously had no f*cking clue who I was. “You have two seconds to drop that gun or I’ll f*cking kill you myself.”


    The young man looked hesitant, and as another older man approached, he gestured for the man to lower his weapon. “Sorry about that, Mr. Valentino. He is new and doesn’t know who you are.”


    “Well, I’m d that you actually do. So start exining what the f*ck is going on.”


    With a heavy sigh, the man gestured for me to step aside with him before he began to speak. “There was an invasionst night. Two men were killed, and the woman was taken.”


    My heart sank as panic slowly set in. “Which woman?”


    “Allegra, Neal’s sister. She and the two men came here to collect a few things, and were abused. Neal’s inside at the moment.”


    It was hard to hear Allegra, a woman I had known for many years, had been taken, but she wasn’t my main concern. Ba was, and if she wasn’t here, that meant Neal must have gotten her to the safe house like he said before the attack happened.


    “Thanks, I’ll go find Neal.”


    Not wasting another moment, I moved forward to the house. The murmured voices of Neal and a few others piqued my ears as soon as I crossed the threshold. The ce was a mess, and the smell of the dead filtered in through my nose the closer I got to the living room.


    I could almost imagine what the house looked like before it was destroyed, and as soon as my eyes fell on Neal’s back, I couldn’t help but feel slightly bad for him. He clutched a phone in his hand as he ran his hand through his hair.


    “Well, damn... I leave you to take care of things, and I find out blood has been shed and your sister has been taken. Thought you were supposed to be skilled.”


    He spun around quickly with widened eyes as if seeing me was thest thing he had expected. I had told him I wasing, but it was clear he didn’t believe me.


    “You have a habit of showing up at just the right time, don’t you, James?”


    I wasn’t sure what he meant by that, but shrugging my shoulders, I nced around at the dead bodies and mess scattered everywhere. “Where’s Ba?”


    “She’s safe.” His in response wasn’t the one I wasn’t looking for, and trying to keep my cool about it I cleared my throat and red at him.


    “I’ll ask you again. Where’s Ba, Neal.”


    Neal stood for a moment clenching his jaw as he thought over his next words very carefully. I wasn’t about to let him keep her from me, and regardless if she knew I was alive or not, I would cross that bridge when it came to it.


    “She’s at my safe house. I can have one of my men show you.”


    Pressing a finger to his lips, he gestured for me not to ask any further questions before pointing to his ears. I quickly got the hint he was giving. He wasn’t sure if the house was bugged and if anyone was listening.


    Neal had his men, but I came with a small f*cking army and if the Michaelson brother’s thought they could go toe to toe with me they were f*cking wrong.


    “Which one did this?” I asked Neal as I nced around.


    “The only one who coulde into New Zend without raising red gs.”


    Xavier. Of course that little prick has something to do with it. Nodding my head, I turned to Tony at my side. “Ensure Xavier Michaelson is aware I will rip him and his brother apart if theye anywhere near my family.”


    Tony didn’t hesitate as he nodded and quickly left the house. He had his ways of getting messages across to people, and I had learned a few days ago to trust in his instincts because he was good at his job.


    “What are you going to do?” Neal’s voice drew my attention once more, and as I ced my hands into my pockets, I shook my head.


    “I’m taking Ba and the kids back home where they belong. I’ll have a cleaning crewe in here and take care of this, but honestly... it looks like you have shit to take care of.”


    There was no denying what Neal was going to do next. Xavier had taken his sister, and knowing Neal, he was going to do everything in his power to get her back. “I could use your help, James.”


    Staring at him, I contemted the idea. But getting involved in Neal’s shit wasn’t a wise business move. I had my own issues to deal with, and even though they had helped me in taking care of Ba and the kids while I was away, I couldn’t.


    “Neal–” I sighed, “you know that I can’t.”


    Anger red through his eyes as he fisted his hands at his sides. “I f*cking kept her safe for you. Kept your daughter and your grandson f*cking safe, and you’re telling me you won’t help me get Allegra back?”


    “It wouldn’t be a wise move for me to make,” I replied in an indifferent tone. “If I get involved, it’s causing more problems than I need.”


    “You’re aplete f*cking prick, James.” The scoff that left him was mixed withughter as Neal shook his head in disbelief. “Here I thought all that time away had changed you, but you’re still the same man you always were.”


    “There is more at y here Neal than you f*cking realize,” I snapped at him, watching his mouth close quickly. “I don’t have much time in this ce, and I have to be on my way back to Italy. Now, I can point you to someone who can help you. A man named Vince from Sicily. He takes no sides and is attracted by money.”


    Pulling out my phone, I pulled up the guys number and wrote it down on a piece of paper I had in my jacket pocket. The moment I held the number out to Neal, he didn’t hesitate to take it.


    Neal may have had his connections, but I also had mine and with my new position I had more than I ever had.


    “Go see my man Greg outside. He will take you to Ba,” Neal muttered as he stared at the number. “Keep her safe... and give her time. She will need plenty of it when she finds out you’re alive. She isn’t the same woman you left.”


    Turning, I stopped in my tracks as I looked over my shoulder at Neal. I wasn’t sure what he meant by that, but the moment his eyes met mine once more, I had a feeling I wasn’t going to like what I was walking into.


    Of course there had been a lot of time since I hadst seen Ba, and with the way we left things, I wouldn’t me her for initially hating me. But I would do everything in my power to earn back her forgiveness and her trust.


    I stepped out of the house and an older man and woman jumped out of the blue SUV and came running towards the house. “Where is she?! Where’s my daughter!”


    “Mr. Jacob Woods, I presume?” His eyes met mine, and for a moment, he seemed to look through me but the longer time passed, it was as if things clicked together and his eyes went wide as his mouth parted.


    “You’re dead...”


    Nodding my head, I gave him a small smile as I held out my hand. “James Valentino, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”


    Thest thing I expected was for Ba’s father tosh out the way he did, but without warning, hended one hell of a right hook to my jaw that caused my men to grab at him holding him back. “You f*cking ruined her life!”


    Rubbing my jaw, I let out a smallugh as I nodded my head. “Let him go...” I said as my men looked at me like I was crazy. “I deserved that... you have a mean right hook, Mr. Woods.”


    “I should f*cking kill you—”


    “Yes, but then my men would kill you, Jacob, and then Ba wouldn’t be any safer. So, let us hold off this conversation and go get your daughter.” As I nced at him, he puffed out his cheeks, his ears red showing just how angry he was.


    Ba had told me once upon a time her dad was a docile man who would never hurt a fly. It was obvious she didn’t know her father as well as she thought she did.


    As much as I wanted to eventually have this man know I was sorry for what I had done, now wasn’t the time for it. But there was no telling what the future would hold.