Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 80550 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 322(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80550 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 322(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
The smile disappears from his face. “I will kill him if it gets to that. I swear on my life.”
My nostrils flare. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
He averts his gaze toward the road again when the back gates open for us after he presses a button, and we drive off the property.
I can’t help but turn around and stare through the rear window, wondering if Matteo is going to make it out alive. I don’t want to leave him behind. Despite the fact that he forced me to marry him as part of some revenge plot, he was right … I do care about him. A lot.
I can’t let him kill himself like this.
From the corner of my eye, I search the vehicle until my gaze lands on the gun in Franco’s pocket. Without thinking, I lunge for it, catching him off guard. The car swerves from left to right as we struggle for control of the weapon.
“Don’t!” he yells. “Mrs. De Silva, stop!”
I ignore him and grasp the handle, pulling it out, only to point it right at the back of his head.
“Drive back.”
“What?” he mutters.
“Turn around,” I bark.
“No,” he says.
I push the barrel further into his head.
“Think about this for a second,” he pleads.
“I did. I made a decision. Now I’m sticking to it.”
“You wouldn’t shoot me. You’ve never—”
I pull the safety off. “You think I don’t know how to handle a gun? I killed one of Lucio’s guards in the cemetery.”
His pupils dilate as he looks at me through the rearview mirror.
“I’m sorry, Franco, but you give me no choice. I don’t want to do this either, but I am not leaving Matteo to die in there.”
“He’s not going to die,” he says.
“I won’t risk it.” I’m fighting the tears. “And if that means I have to shoot one of his men, then so be it.”
“Who’s going to drive the car then?”
“I will,” I retort. “Now drive if you want to live another day.”
Grinding his teeth, he finally does what I tell him to do, making a U-turn while the mansion is almost out of sight. It’s silent for a few seconds, but he keeps eyeing his phone.
I push the barrel into his skin even further. “Don’t even think about calling him. He’s busy.”
“What’s your plan once we get there, hmm?”
“I’ll figure it out,” I say.
“You can’t just go in there. They’ll kill you.”
“Then at least we die together.”
“You’ve really gone mad, haven’t you?”
I roll my eyes, still keeping the gun firmly pointed at his head. “I won’t die, I promise.”
“Right.”
“You think I’ll let that scumbag Lucio win?” I retort, mentally getting ready to shoot some guys. “You heard Matteo. No one touches his wife.”
MATTEO
With our guns prepped and loaded, we head out the front door and meet Lucio head-on. There’s no fucking way I’ll let him barge into my house like this. He messed with the wrong mafioso.
I position myself behind my car and wait for them to break through the gates before I signal to my men. Everyone knows their position, and it doesn’t take long for everyone to get ready, guns pointed at the cars driving closer to the mansion.
“Fire on target!” I call out. “Leave Lucio for me.”
My men aim at their tires, and some cars swerve when hit, but others keep driving until they’re in position too. My men shoot bullets through their windows, but some of Lucio’s men avoid the shots and jump out, using the doors as shields while they aim and shoot.
BANG! BANG!
Gunfire erupts all around us, and I focus on protecting my men as best as I can, while also searching for the car that contains Lucio, but I can’t seem to find him anywhere.
Dozens of cars are strewn about the destroyed front yard, and men come pouring out of each vehicle.
BANG!
One of my men goes down behind me, his body bleeding out on the concrete floor of my garage.
Fuck.
I shoot at the man who gunned him down and hit him in the head, his body flopping down onto the pavement near my fountain.
“Lucio, you motherfucker, show yourself!” I bark, trying to draw him out of his hiding place.
BANG! BANG!
One of his men shoots at me, and I jump behind the car to make sure I don’t get hit. I wait until the shots are fired before turning around and shooting back at him, hitting him in the knee. He goes down, and I stand and aim from the top of my car, gunning down anyone in my sight until my chamber is empty and I have to go for a new round.
BANG! BANG!
Another one of my men falls down the steps to my house.
Fuck, I have to get rid of these assholes quickly before they kill every last one of my men.
A new car drives up the road with the windows rolled down, a machine gun hacking away. I duck for cover and watch my men do the same behind the cars next to me. Cries of agony fill the air, and I’m pretty sure one of my men just got blasted somewhere down the road.