52
Liv
Fucking hell .
Everything hurts, and my stomach feels like it’s been punched from the inside out.
“ Sirena , are you okay?” Alessio yells.
“Never better,” I mutter, shifting slightly and immediately regretting it.
“Are you okay?” There’s blood dripping from his eyebrow, a thin line trailing down his face.
“You’re bleeding.”
“I’m fine,” he says, always the tough guy.
Then the yelling starts, coming from everywhere .
I can see men dressed in all black move around the car.
Well, they really look like shadows since we are on a nearly deserted road, and the only lights are from our car and a third SUV that pulls in front of us, facing our car, from where we skidded out.
I can hear boots stomping against pavement in between the yelling.
I twist in my seat, trying to see what the hell is happening .
We are hit twice, one SUV smashing into Alessio’s side, and another clipping the back passenger side.
No wonder we spin around like a fucking carnival ride.
“ Get that fucker in isolation. Nobody sees or speaks to him until I say so !” Clover’s voice blasts through the speakers.
The call never disconnected.
Car doors slam in the background, then I hear an engine revving.
Thank fucking goodness backup is coming.
Because apparently, I now require backup for a family dinner.
“That’s Clover on his cell, making sure Tito can’t get through to anyone else. We’re on our way, son.” Alessandro’s voice comes through the speaker.
“Kota just texted me. He’s two minutes out.” He adds before the line goes dead.
Alessio grips the door handle.
“Stay in the car. No matter what, you stay fucking here. Got it?”
I stare at him, thrown off by the whiplash.
Five seconds ago, he was all soft words and confessions.
Now, he’s back to growling orders like I take commands from him.
“Olivia, do you hear me? No matter what . ”
His gun is already in his hand, flicking the safety off, and his finger hovers over the trigger.
He’s halfway out of the car, already ready for whatever shitstorms out there.
“No.” I grab his arm, holding him back as much as I can.
“I don’t want you to get hurt.”
Alessio pauses, just for a second, before grabbing my throat and pulling me into him.
His lips crash against mine.
It’s fast and rough, like he’s branding the feeling of it onto me in case it’s the last time.
Then he lets go, lips still close enough to mine that I can feel his breath.
“I’ll be fine. Just do as you’re told.”
Before I can argue, he’s gone, slamming the door shut and locking it behind him.
The rear window is broken, so I don’t think the locks will keep anyone out if they want to get to me, but I guess it might help.
A man steps out of the SUV in front of us.
The headlights behind him are bright, making it hard to see, but I focus on his face.
There’s something about him that nags at me, like a song I almost remember but can’t place.
This has to be Girard, Tito’s son, and I guess my cousin.
Well, half-cousin, who the hell knows at this point.
Alessio once told me Tito had kids all over the place with random women.
I guess that explains why I’ve never seen or heard of this one before .
I don’t know him, but he’s got that same stupid half-smile Uncle Tito has.
The one where only half the face lifts, like when you’re a kid hooking your finger in the corner of your mouth to make a silly face.
And now, here he is, standing in front of me while his goon squad circles the car like some fucked-up welcome committee, minus the guns pointed at us.
We’re surrounded, but everything is quiet until Girard speaks.
“Just give me the girl and go on with your life,” he tells Alessio.
“Get fucked.” Alessio replies, not skipping a beat, pointing his gun at Girard.
“You should pack up your fucking army and forget about her before none of you ever see another fucking day.”
Holy mother of God, why does he look so fucking hot when he’s all bossy and protective, like this.
Girard’s half-smirk barely twitches.
“You’re surrounded, I could put a bullet in your fucking face and take her. But I was trying to ask nicely.”
Oh shit.
Alessio already got stabbed once because of me.
I can’t let him get hurt again.
I take a deep breath, unlock the passenger door, and step out.
“Liv,” Alessio growls .
I glance at him and mouth, I’m sorry before turning to Girard.
“What do you want?” I ask, channeling in every ounce of confidence I have, to sound like I’m not afraid.
Girard flashes that same stupid half-smile.
Alessio’s gun is still aimed straight at Girard’s head, making a clicking noise.
A second later, I hear the sharp clicks of multiple guns cocking, all pointing at me and Alessio.
“For once in your life, do as you’re fucking told. Get in the car,” Alessio grits out.
“I can’t risk you for me,” I say, stepping forward.
Girard’s smirk stretches wider.
“Aww, don’t worry. I’ll make sure to kill the bitch first. But not to fret, you’ll join her soon enough.”
“Fuck you,” Alessio spits.
“Fuck me ? No, fuck you and your rat fucking bitch.” Girard rumbles, spitting while he’s talking.
“Do you know what it’s like to live your whole fucking life without a father?”
Actually, I do.
But I’m pretty sure that was rhetorical, he doesn’t give a shit what life I lived or what I have to say.
So, I keep my mouth shut, while also ignoring the way Alessio’s death stare is currently burning a hole in the side of my head .
“Dad said if I take you out, he’ll name me as his heir, and I’ll finally be in the position I was born to be in,” Girard says.
“What position?” Alessio barks.
“Tito’s fucking scum and has nothing left. The fucking twat has been in prison for fifteen years, he’s got nothing to pass down to you, you sorry prick.”
I see the twitch in Girard’s jaw.
Alessio hit a nerve with that comment, making Girard’s stupid half-smile vanish.
But, of course, Alessio isn’t done running his mouth.
“You wanna be a prison yard bitch like your dear old dad? Because apparently, I now have the connections to make that shit happen,” Alessio sneers.
Girard raises his gun, aiming it straight at Alessio.
“Leave him out of this,” I say, locking eyes with Girard, taking a step forward.
“You want me? Well, here I am.”
And then everything fucking explodes in pure fucking mayhem .
It happens so fast, I don’t know where to look first.
To my left, I see Alessio lunge at Girard just as Girard points his gun toward me .
If time ever slowed down and played my life in slow motion, this would be it.
I watch his finger pull the trigger.
There’s a spark —
Then a giant, beefy gorilla barrels into me, knocking me to the ground.
My head smacks against the pavement, and all the air in my body is ripped from my lungs.
Everything is chaos, but all I can hear is heavy breathing and gunfire.
Pain shoots through my stomach, like my organs are in a full-blown MMA match.
I grunt, but the animal on top of me doesn’t budge.
My head lulls to the side just in time to see Alessio jump on Girard like he’s in the fucking WWE.
He lands a right, a left, then another…
and another.
I feel something wet leaking onto me and really hope the guy lying on top of me isn’t pissing himself out of fear.
I mean, it’s a pretty horrific scene, but come on .
I see Alessandro and damn, for an older man, he’s jumping in the middle of this like he’s bulletproof.
“Where is she? Fucking shit, where did she go?” I can hear the panic in Clover’s voice.
“Olivia!” Clover yells.
I try to respond, but I can’t breathe .
My stomach feels like it’s been ripped apart, and the words won’t come out.
I glance back at Alessio, who’s still going off on Girard, swinging left and right, over and over, making sure there’s nothing left of him.
From where I’m lying, Girard doesn’t look like he’s moving at all.
A groan slips from my mouth.
It’s weak, but at least something .
“Livy,” Clover’s voice is closer now.
A second later, he rolls the bear in a suit off me, giving me room to breathe.
“Are you okay?” he asks.
I blink up at him, trying to sit up.
“Who is this?” My whole body is screaming in protest as I push onto my elbows.
“I’ll be fine,” I lie, wincing as I get to my knees while Clover rolls the guy on his back, to see his face.
“Alonzo?”
His mouth is streaked with blood, and his once white shirt is soaked in red.
His hand is still bandaged from when Alessio shot half of it off.
He took the bullet meant for me.
I scoot closer, my stomach twisting as I lift his head onto my lap.
“Alonzo,” I whisper, looking down at him.
He forces out a shallow breath, and his eyes are barely open.
“I watched his back for as long as I could,” he rasps.
“Now it’s your turn.”
Then his head tilts to the side, and the air leaves his lungs for the last time.
I’ve never watched someone die before.
I don’t think this is something I’ll ever forget.
The man who hated me just gave his life for mine.
And I have no clue why.
The gunfire starts to slow, then comes to a stop.
The madness shifts when men scatter in all different directions, and that’s when I recognize the ones who aren’t running away—Alessio’s men and, of course, Kota.
I guess that’s the backup he called for.
I’m still on the ground when Kota and Alessio reach Clover and me.
“Liv, you’re bleeding,” Alessio says.
“It’s not mine,” I tell him, looking up at him, only to realize both of his fists are dripping with chunky blood.
From the looks of it, he damn near punched Girard’s face right off him.
He follows my gaze.
“It’s not mine,” he says, already knowing I was about to ask.
Kota kneels down, checking for a pulse.
“He’s gone,” I tell them, feeling the tears sting my eyes.
“He took a bullet for me,” I say, letting them fall.
Kota gently pulls Alonzo off my lap and steps back, standing beside Alessio .
Alessio pulls me into his arms, holding me close.
The pain in my chest outweighs the pain from my wound.
And if it weren’t for Alessio’s tight grip, I don’t think I could stand on my own feet.
“He was an ass,” Kota says, looking down at Alonzo’s lifeless body.
“But he’d do anything for Alessio. Well, maybe not anything , like actually listen to him. But he always had Alessio’s best interest at heart, and this proves it.”
Clover backs away from Alonzo’s body and us, pulling out his phone.
“Get me Warden Reyes,” he says, pacing like a man on a mission.
Everyone quiets down, watching him move back and forth, just as the sound of two large vans pulling up grabs our attention.
I tense in Alessio’s arms, not exactly sure I’m ready for another bloodbath showdown, but he leans down and whispers in my ear, “Don’t worry, they work for us. They’re just here to clean up the mess.”
He says it so casually, like he hired someone to mop the floors, not haul away corpses.
“Warden, I need a favor,” Clover says into the phone.
“Got a guy who needs to be taught a lesson, Tito Morano. He keeps sending his little spawns after my daughter. ”
My chest flutters, that’s not the first time Clover’s referred to me as his daughter.
It’s easier than explaining the truth, but this is the first time he’s said it out loud and in front of so many people.
I slip out of Alessio’s arms and move closer to Clover, trying to catch the voice on the other end of the call.
It sounds like a woman.
“Full punishment?” I catch her asking.
“Do the absolute worst,” Clover answers without missing a beat.
“Transferred right away. He’ll pay,” she replies, and whatever else she says, has Clover smirking before he ends the call.
He slips his phone into his pocket and rests a hand on my shoulder.
“Found the perfect place to send that fucker.”
I want to ask where, but I know he won’t tell me.
Alessio steps beside me, extending his hand and shaking Clover’s hand in a firm, macho, man-to-man grip.
“Thank you,” Alessio says.
Clover nods.
“I’ll protect her with my life. She’s safe with me. You have my word on that,” Alessio says.
“I’m going to hold you to that,” Clover responds.
And just when it looks like the two most important men in my life might share a full-on Hallmark moment, Alessio’s crew starts dragging Girard’s body across the pavement, snapping them out of their male-bonding.
Alessio didn’t just kill him, he beat his damn face off.
There’s literally no face.
Just the back of his skull still barely hanging on to his neck.
Add that to the growing list of shit I wasn’t expecting today.
I swallow hard, fighting off the urge to puke all over the asphalt.
Clover side-eyes the carnage, then looks back at Alessio.
“Well. I guess that fucker’s not a threat anymore.”
Alessio shrugs.
“Told you I’d keep her safe. What, you thought I was lying?”
Clover huffs a short laugh.
“No. But beating someone’s fucking face off wasn’t exactly what I pictured either.”