Chapter 54
Chapter
Fifty-Four
MATTEO
A s soon as I pull out of the parking lot of DD’s, I put on “Whatever” by Godsmack and blast it. I want this song stuck in my head when I kill this pathetic piece of shit. The is only thirty seconds in when Gio interrupts it by calling.
Hitting the answer button on the steering wheel, I say, “Tell me you found him.”
“We haven’t found him physically,” Gio says, making my foot press down on the gas in anger as I floor it. Aldo, Alessio, and Enzo get thrown back in their seats, but none of them say anything. “But we found his car.”
“Where?”
“Out front of Wren’s old apartment building, Forest Glen.”
“I’m on my way. Don’t go in until I’m there. We’re two minutes out.” I disconnect the call and restart the song.
I breathe deeply in and out three times, trying to contain the rage that’s dangerously close to spilling over. Cain’s parting words keep running through my mind. “She needs you alive more than she needs you six feet under.”
I’ve never felt fear like this before. I feel like my whole life is about to be ripped out from under me and torched in flames. I’ve never had anything to care about. Yeah, I’ve always had my family, but I felt the driving need to come home to them.
I have that driving need with Wren. For the first time in my life, I saw past business. I saw a future with a wife and kids. I didn’t realize how lonely I was until Wren came running into my life.
Literally.
“What’s the plan?” Aldo yells over the music, breaking me out of my spiraling thoughts.
I reach over slightly, hitting the button on the screen to turn it down before responding to him, “I’m going to go in there and fucking kill him.” My annoyance with the question is masked by my anger.
Obviously, I’m going to fucking kill him, Aldo.
We ride in silence, with only Godsmack playing in the background, until we pull up in front of Forest Glen. The tires squeal on the pavement as I slam on the brakes, sliding in right behind Christos’ car.
I’m halfway out of the car by the time I cut the engine, sprinting up to the entrance of the building past Gio and Cyrus, with Aldo, Alessio, and Enzo hot on my heels. Sprinting up to Wren’s old floor, my stomach sinks when I see the door frame cracked and the door kicked in.
Drawing my gun out, I push the door fully open.
A roar I don’t recognize fills the room, making Christos whip around with the gun that was pointed at Wren now pointed at me. It takes me a minute to realize that the roar is coming from me.
The devil is alive .
“You’re a fucking dead man, Christos,” I growl.
Christos throws his head back and lets out a high-pitched laugh, “That’s funny, Matteo. This is all your fault anyway. You were supposed to die that day.”
“Did you cut his fucking brakes?” Gio asks lowly. He’s barely holding it together. “Are we in fucking high school? Grow some balls and do it like a man, pussy ass bitch.”
The smile falls off of his mouth into a straight line, “It was the easiest way to do it. He’s never alone. I was going to finish the job if it needed to be done, but she,” he pauses to sneer at a beat-to-shit Wren, who is bawled up in the fetal position.
“You look at me.” My nostrils flare. “You don’t look at her. She doesn’t fucking exist for you anymore.” He turns his manic gaze back to me. “How did you know where I was that day?”
“You underestimate me,” Christos scoffs. “Someone in your command doesn’t like you as much as he says he does. He was all too willing to give up what I needed in return for him thinking he could jump organizations and climb up with me. Idiot.” He shakes his head as he rants on. Part of me wonders if he even realizes the type of information he’s easily giving up.
“Rob,” I ground out. Gio growls behind me.
Christos doesn’t realize what he just confirmed for us as he continues his rant, “She wouldn’t have even been in my plan if she wouldn’t have stopped to help you. Such a stupid fucking bitch for getting in my way. And then she hurt me. Hurt me bad. My plans for getting back on Nicholas’ good side were ruined! She has to pay. She has to fucking pay!” he screams.
My vision goes red as I watch Christos, in what feels like slow motion, turn back around toward Wren and point it right at her again.
My body reacts before my mind can catch up. I aim my gun right at the back of his head and pull the trigger. Blood splatters all over Wren as Christos collapses to the ground next to her. Blood is quickly pooling around both of them.
Holstering my gun, I quickly cover the feet between Wren and me before I’m on my knees, pulling her into my arms.
“Shh, tesoro ,” I whisper as I shove my face in her. “I’ve got you. I told you I’ll come. I’ll always come.” I squeeze her tighter as her body starts to violently shake. Wren lets out a scream, making me loosen my hold. “What hurts? Shit, I’m so sorry. I wasn’t fucking thinking. Did I hurt you?”
Wren lets out a low whine as her eyes close.
“Aldo!” I yell. “Help her.”
“I want to take her in,” Aldo says, making my heart drop. If Aldo doesn’t think he can treat it, I know it’s bad. I mean, god, look at her. Her ankle is so fucking swollen that I already know it’s broken. She has a little blood coming out of her mouth, and her scalp is bleeding. I solemnly nod my head as Aldo continues, “I don’t have the equipment yet to do the scans and tests I would want to do. She could have internal bleeding, and we would have no way of knowing. I’m not willing to risk that. Not with your woman.”
Very carefully not to jostle Wren, I rise to my feet with her in my arms. “Let’s go. You got this?” I nod toward Christos’ dead body.
I think a small part of me will always regret not being able to draw his death out and torture him in the way I felt he deserved.
“We got it,” Gio says softly as he looks at Wren. “Go make sure she’s okay. Enzo needs the practice anyway.”
“Keep us updated,” Alessio says as he starts unfolding a body bag.
“I will.”
The world is going to burn if Wren doesn’t come back from this.