Total pages in book: 98
Estimated words: 95049 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 475(@200wpm)___ 380(@250wpm)___ 317(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95049 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 475(@200wpm)___ 380(@250wpm)___ 317(@300wpm)
And as I’m dragged farther away into the dark, my heart breaks at the thought of never seeing Lorenzo or Leo again.
“Stop right there!” Lorenzo barks, causing the person dragging me to lose their footing.
It’s only for a split second, but it’s long enough that I’m able to squirm out of their hold and kick them in the shin.
They stumble back just as Lorenzo catches up and starts to pummel the person with his fists. Two of Matteo’s men join us, but they’re not interfering, letting Lorenzo handle it.
He rains hit after hit on the person, forcing them to hit the ground, and once he’s on top of them, he rips their mask off and shoves his forearm against his windpipe, threatening to cut off his air supply.
“Who fucking sent you to try and take my wife?”
“Leysa!” the guy barks. “She said to tell you that she’s hers.”
The words have barely left his lips when Lorenzo stands up, pulls out a gun I didn’t know he was carrying, and aims it at the man’s chest.
“Actually, she’s mine.”
He pulls the trigger, and the bullet goes straight through the man’s heart, instantly killing him.
As I watch the life drain from the man’s eyes, I sag in relief. Maybe I should feel bad that Lorenzo just ended someone’s life, but I don’t because he was trying to take me and wouldn’t have thought twice about killing me.
Lorenzo tucks me into his side and glances at Matteo’s men. “Can you handle the cleanup?”
“Of course,” one of the guys says.
“Thanks. I’m going to call Matteo now.”
He pulls his phone out of his pocket and walks us to the side.
“Hey,” he says. “Your guys are here and handling the cleanup.” He glances around and then curses under his breath. He listens for several moments before he says, “Which hospital?”
He swallows thickly, and my heart stutters in my chest. Something is wrong.
“I’ll be right there.”
“What’s wrong?” I ask.
“It was a setup. Leysa knew we were trying to lure her out. While we were getting ice cream, she made her presence known, so Matteo went after her, just like she had known he would. And then that asshole”—he nods toward the dead man on the ground—“went after you. Figured if he got you, he’d make his boss happy, and if he didn’t, he’d send a message. But thankfully, Matteo called for backup, which is why they showed up.” He juts his chin toward the men dealing with the dead guy.
“Okay, but why are we going to the hospital?”
“We’re not going to the hospital. I am, after I drop you off at home, where I know you’ll be safe.” His eyes, filled with worry, lock with mine. “And I’m going to the hospital because Matteo’s been in an accident.”
19
Lorenzo
“I have one question,” Matteo says when I walk into his hospital room after dropping Vanessa off at the condo. Kane and Bri insisted that they would stay with her and Leo until I got back so I knew they were safe—despite two of Matteo’s men guarding the door. “Where the hell was all that rage when you were getting the shit beat out of you in prison last year?”
He smirks like the fucker he is, and my shoulders sag in relief that he’s okay enough to crack jokes.
“You’re a dick.” I grab a chair and slide it over to the side of his bed. “And how the fuck did you see me kill that guy?”
“Russo …” Matteo laughs. “You didn’t just kill him. You pummeled his ass into the ground and then shot him.” He lifts his fist to bump mine, and I glare at him. “Eddy got the footage to wipe it so there’s no proof of you killing him, and my men handling the cleanup said you surprised the hell out of them. They were prepared to step in, but they didn’t have to.”
“Thanks.” I brought the gun just in case, but I wasn’t expecting to use it. Thankfully, Matteo’s forced me to go to the range with him several times a year to practice, just in case. “I don’t know what came over me,” I admit. “I saw him with his hands on Vanessa and lost my shit.”
“Because you care about her.”
“Yeah, I do. And I’m done fighting it. I don’t know what the future holds, but I know I want her in my and my son’s life.”
He nods in understanding. “It’s how I feel every day of my life. How I justify killing the people who threaten my family’s lives, especially my wife.”
The last thing I wanted was my sister being caught up in this shit, but I can’t deny that Matteo loves my sister harder than anyone ever could. And he would die trying to protect her.
“How are you?”
Aside from a gash on his forehead, he looks okay.