Chapter Forty-Two
MONIQUE
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Monique stood with her gun aimed at the breakroom door, every muscle in her body stiff with tension. Raz lay unconscious behind the cabinet, his presence a reminder of what was at stake.
There was no one here to help her. She was the only thing standing between the man she loved and the danger creeping ever closer. She trembled when the doorknob turned with an eerie slowness.
In her nervousness, she almost squeezed the trigger. Not yet, she told herself, heart pounding rapidly. She needed to be sure she struck the person and didn't miss. She needed to see the whites of their eyes before she fired.
The knob jiggled a few times. A loud BAM echoed through the small room as someone rammed against the door hard enough to make her jump. Her hands trembled, the weight of the gun feeling suddenly heavy.
Another slam, even harder, made the entire doorframe rattle. That door wasn’t going to hold much longer. She knew that. Still, she couldn't shoot until she was certain she'd hit her target, but the waiting was agonizing.
Another hit to the door, followed by another, then another had her ready to scream. The door finally gave way, bursting open, knocked partially off its hinges. Before she could process the movement, a man charged into the room.
Monique fired, the shot going wide. Damn it. She still missed. He was on her in an instant, the force of his tackle driving her back onto the couch. She heard her dress rip as she fell. Even though her life was in danger, an intrusive thought drifted through her mind: Not the expensive dress!
“You almost shot me, bitch!” he snarled, the palm of his hand striking her across the face with a sharp crack.
The slap stung, bringing tears to her eyes. But she refused to let go of her weapon. Holding her down on the couch, he stood over her, choking her. His grip tightened around her throat, his fingers digging into her flesh.
Unable to breathe, she fumbled around, trying to get the gun into position, trying to get the barrel pressed against him. Fuck! She needed air before she passed out. Her body jerked as panic threatened to overwhelm her.
She couldn't die like this. Not like this. Her vision blurred, spots dancing in front of her eyes, but she managed to push the barrel against his thigh. She squeezed the trigger. The shot echoed in the room, her arm jolting with the recoil.
The man cried out, his grip loosening as he stumbled back. Monique sucked in air, her chest and throat feeling like they were on fire. Her attacker's cries sounded muffled, almost completely drowned out by the loud ringing in her ears.
Monique wasted no time scrambling to her feet and firing again. This time, the bullet hit his shoulder, and he fell backward, landing on Raz. The man started to get up. Monique was about to fire again.
However, she paused, her breath catching in her throat when she saw Raz’s hand move. He was awake! Moving slowly, he grabbed the man's wounded shoulder, digging his finger into the hole and pulling the man back down.
The guy tried to turn in Raz's direction. Before he could, Raz placed his hand over the man’s face, covering his mouth and nose, and held the man's head down on his lap. Staring up at the ceiling, the attacker struggled, his body convulsing as he tried to break free.
Now he, too, felt the panic from not being able to breathe! Raz held firm. But Monique could tell Orazio was still groggy and that it was taking a lot of his energy to hold the man down. Monique was about to rush to Raz’s aid when movement in the doorway caught her attention.
Damn it. Seeing Raz awake had made her forget about the second guy. Another man appeared around the corner, looking into the room, gun raised. He spotted Monique. But she was quicker.
She fired without hesitation, the bullet finding its mark. Red blossomed across his chest, staining his white shirt as his gun slipped from his fingers. He fell backward, the life draining from his eyes before he even hit the ground.
Monique swallowed hard, her breath coming in ragged gasps as she processed what she’d just done. I killed a man. I really just killed a man. She'd watched his eyes widen, had watched the light fade from them as if a switch had been clicked off.
She forced herself to push down the guilt, to bury it deep. These men were here to kill her and Raz. She’d had no choice but to defend them both. Kill or be killed. And she wasn’t ready to die. She strode forward, moving cautiously.
When she reached the man she'd shot, she kicked his gun backward before kicking the man. He didn't move. She peeked out the door, staring both ways to make sure the coast was clear. It was.
"Rosa," a deep voice whispered behind her.
Raz! Monique rushed over to Raz. She knelt beside him, her hands trembling as she rolled the dead body off him. The lifeless weight made her stomach turn, but she swallowed back the disgust, focusing on the task at hand.
"Are you okay?" she asked, peering into Raz's eyes, noticing how they kept drifting shut. He was still out of it. He forced his eyes open and met her gaze.
"What... did you... drug me... with?" he slurred.
"That doesn't matter right now. How do you feel?" she asked, glancing at the door to make sure no one was there.
Raz frowned and placed his hand against his head. Why was she just now noticing the knot there? It had to be from when he hit the floor after she drugged him. She'd apologize later. Right now, she needed to get him to another room with a door that wasn't broken.
"Do you think you can stand?" she asked.
"Why... do you... have a gun?"
"Raz, do you think you can stand?"
His eyes returned to hers. "Why do you... have a gun? Do you plan to... finish the job and kill me?" he asked, voice less slurred.
"I should shoot you in your leg for driving me crazy," Monique mused, getting frustrated. "Put your hand on my shoulder. We need to get you out of here."
"Not until you tell me..."
"Raz!" Monique yelled, gaze darting to the door before returning to him. "If you don't do what I say, I really will shoot you."
"Crazy ass."
"Yes. I am crazy. Now put your damn hand on my shoulder. And why are you smiling?"
Without answering, he placed his hand on her shoulder. She took a deep breath and said, "Try to stand on three. One. Two. Three."
Raz groaned as she helped him to his feet, his body unsteady. However, the way he looked at her and then around the room told her he was slowly coming back to himself.
"Lean against the wall,'" she told him as the sound of gunfire rang out.
Monique faced the door, standing in front of Raz with her gun raised, ready to shoot if anyone tried to enter.
From behind her, Raz's voice was less groggy and more forceful when he asked, "Rosa, what the hell is going on?"
"A lot has happened since you took a nap," she told him, still facing the door.
"Nap?"
"Yeah. Nap."
"Tell me what's going on, Rosa," he ordered.
"We're in the kitchen staff's breakroom," she began. "The old don and his men have taken over the gala."
"My father?"
"Yes. Leo, Rocco, and Stoney are trying to hold them off to keep them from reaching this section..."
"They're doing a shitty job," he mused.
She glanced back to find him staring at the guy on the floor.
"They're doing their best," she defended her guys. "They're only three people against all the guards who betrayed you, plus those your father brought with him."
Raz's gaze snapped to hers. "My guards betrayed me?"
"Yeah," she said, facing the door. "Some of them did."
"Tell me everything, Rosa. Start from the beginning."
Talking fast, she gave him a rundown of everything that had happened, including Frederico being with Tomas and them on their way to help.
"Leo said your father is here to take back his title." She stared over her shoulder at Raz. "He wants to capture me to use me against you."
Raz’s eyes darkened, his jaw clenching. “You should’ve escaped when you had the chance. Why didn’t you leave?”
Monique met his gaze. “And what would’ve happened to you?” she shot back.
"I'm not important. You are."
"You're important to me, Orazio."
He swallowed. "You drugged me."
"You're important to me. But you're also an asshole. So... yeah."
“If I'm important to you, you should listen to me. Give me the gun,” he demanded, holding out his hand. “I’ll be fine. You need to go hide.”
Monique rolled her eyes, frustration bubbling up. “Even at a time like this, you won’t let me in. You still want to do it all by yourself.”
Raz grimaced, confusion flickering in his dark eyes. “I want to protect you, Rosa. That’s all I’ve ever wanted.”
“Just love me, Raz. Love me, and let me help you.”
He swallowed hard. “I already love you.”
“Don’t love me with fear in your heart,” she pressed, her voice calm, but there was a tremor of vulnerability underneath. “Love me unconditionally, with no fear, no jealousy, no doubt. Just love and trust. That's how I love you.”
Raz’s throat bobbed as he swallowed again, his eyes searching hers as if trying to find the strength within himself to love without being paralyzed by the fear of her getting harmed.
“Can you love me that way?” Monique asked, her voice soft, almost a whisper now, but every word carried weight.
For a moment, the world seemed to still around them, the chaos outside the room fading into the background. Raz’s gaze held hers, and she could see the war raging within him, the struggle to let go, to trust, to love without holding back, without being scared of their enemies coming after her, without fearing his father would use her against him.
"All relationships have storms, Orazio."
"My storms are worse than others. My father is here to kill you," he reminded her.
"Yeah, and my father kidnapped me for money, and I’m keeping the truth of what really went down from my family. I understand what it’s like to shoulder a burden you didn’t create. We both know what it's like to deal with storms. I don't fear stormy weather. Not when it's you standing under the umbrella with me."
"Rosa," he whispered, his voice rough, tears swimming in his gaze. "I... I can...try to change...." he started.
Monique felt her heart squeeze in her chest. He was about to be on his same old BS, which was why she cut him off before he could finish.
"I need you to do better than that, Orazio Cattaneo. I'm worth more than a try ."
He peered into her eyes. Moments ticked by. It felt like hours of him just staring at her.
"You're right. You're worth more than a try . You're worth my all." He paused. "I'm... I'm willing to trust in our love, and to trust in my ability to keep you safe. I already trust you to..."
Raz paused again as Monique's phone rang. Was it Leo or Tomas? She didn't have time to answer the call. She already heard footsteps heading their way. She raised her gun. It was a good thing she knew how Tomas looked. That would prevent her from mistakenly killing him.
"Give it to me," Raz whispered. "The gun. Pass it here."
"Shhh," she told him just as a figure in black peeped around the corner.
That was not Tomas. Monique fired. Her mouth dropped open as a hole formed in the man's eye.
"I didn't miss," she exclaimed seconds before the body dropped to the ground.
Looking shocked, Raz stepped around her to stare down at her. "Are you okay?"
She nodded. "I didn't miss," she told him.
"I..." He glanced at the body in the hall. "I saw that." Facing her again, he asked, "Are you sure you're okay?"
"I'll get therapy later. I had to shoot him. He was here to kill us."
Raz nodded. "Yes, he was. But that's not what I'm asking you. Taking a life isn't easy. And you've taken two. Are you okay, Rosa?"
She swallowed. "If you keep talking about it, I won't be okay. If you don't want me to fall apart just yet, stop asking questions and start helping. We need to go help Leo and our guys."
"Our guys?" He frowned.
"Yeah. They... uh, they're mine too. They call me Lady Boss."
His eyes widened, and she could tell he was trying not to smile.
"Really? My guys... I mean, our guys call you that?"
She nodded. "We can talk about that later. Grab the guns from the men we've killed. We'll need them."
Raz frowned. "So, you're in charge now, huh?"
"Raz! Grab the guns," she insisted, moving over to the couch to grab her phone.
Behind her, Raz said, "Yes, ma'am, Lady Boss."
The call had indeed been from Leo. She called him back, putting him on speakerphone.
"Monique, are you okay?" Leo asked.
"I am," she replied.
"How is Raz?"
She felt Raz step up behind her.
"I'm fine," Raz answered from over her shoulder. "Lady Boss is protecting me."
"Raz! I'm so fucking glad you're awake from your nap, boss," Leo told him.
"I wasn't napping. I was drugged. I should chop Rome's hands off, so he won't be able to make all these weird ass drugs."
"How did you know it was Rome who gave it to me?" Monique asked, noticing that he was placing all of the blame on his brother instead of on her.
"Where else would a prim and proper woman like you get drugs?"
Gun in hand, hair mused, dress ripped, she smiled up at him. "I am prim and proper, aren't I?" she bragged.
He chuckled. "You are. You're also my vicious little protector. You guarded me well, my Rosa. You're even a good shot. Let's get you a diamond-encrusted gun one day. It would suit you better, Lady Boss ."
Monique beamed up at him. "Sounds good to me, Don Cattaneo."
"If you two are done flirting, we could use your help to hold the old don's guards off," Leo told them.
"We're coming," Raz and Monique announced at the same time before ending the call.
“Let’s do this,” she said, her voice firm, resolute. "Stay behind me. You're not one hundred percent yet."
"Yes, ma'am," Raz told her. "And Rosa," Raz started just as she was about to turn away.
"What's up?"
"Thank you... for not leaving me. And for not hating me. And for... just for being my everything. And embracing all of me, even the dark clouds."
Monique smiled. "You're welcome, my love. But just so you know, I don’t consider anything about you dark. You’re my sunshine, Orazio Cattaneo. Things only get dark when we’re apart. So let’s not do that again."
“Yes, ma’am.”
He leaned down and kissed her forehead. And with that, they left the breakroom, stepping over bodies as they entered the hall. Later, she'd process what she'd just done to survive and protect the man she loved.
Later, she'd let the guilt in and let the tears fall. But not right now. Together, guns ready, she and Raz strode down the hall with her in front and her don behind her, guarding her back, trusting and loving her as only he could.