Chapter 27 Matteo
MATTEO
With my hands wrapped in solid cloth, I jump through the window from the balcony I climbed up on to try to get to her in time. I glance at Stella who’s lying on the floor in complete shock, her body covered in bruises, stoking the flames burning up my heart.
He hurt her.
“DON’T YOU FUCKING TOUCH MY WIFE!” I yell, raising my ire at Lucio, who’s standing mere inches away from her, ready to strike again.
That’s it. He’s going to die.
I pull out two of my knives and rush at him, roaring out loud as I throw out my first strike. He dodges and steps sideways, while laughing like a maniac. “You think you can kill me?”
He pulls out his own knife and stabs me in the shoulder, so I return the favor and stab him in the thigh, crippling him even more.
“I already stole your fucking fingers, I can cut off any piece of your body and leave you hanging by a thread!” I retort, before striking again, thrusting my knife straight into his pelvis.
He howls in pain and steps back, while Stella slowly crawls off the floor and steadies herself, as if she’s still woozy from some type of drug.
Did he slip her something?
That fucking bastard is going to pay for what he did to her.
Stella grabs the gun off the floor and points it at the back of Lucio’s head. “Don’t. Move.”
“You don’t have the courage to do it,” Lucio grits, frozen in place.
“Do not speak about my wife,” I warn him. “You have no idea what she is capable of.”
“Oh, is that so?” He laughs.
Behind us, my men are fighting Lucio’s men with everything they have, blasting through doors, tearing his house open to drag them out of their hiding places and kill them on sight. This is not going to end well for him, and he knows it. He’s just dragging things out for as long as possible.
My brother rushes back up the stairs, blood caking his cheek and lips. “I took care of that guy who tried to haul me off. Shanked him right in the gut.”
“Good,” I tell him. “Guard my back.”
“They stole my guns. I’ve only got knives.”
I don’t even have any. I gave all of mine to my men so I could ambush Lucio and take care of him myself, man to man, knives and fists only.
However, Lucio grimaces at the sight of him. “You again …”
“Looks like you two have already met,” I say.
“I stopped him from having his way with her,” Angelo says, wiping the blood off his nostril. “Come here and fight me like a man.”
“Fuck you,” Lucio growls. “You wanna have her? You can keep her… after I’m done making her birth that fucking heir for her goddamn dad so I can have his fucking money.”
Despicable human being that’s not even worth the air he breathes.
My lip curls up in disgust, and I can hear Stella take the safety off the gun. “She’s more courageous and powerful than you will ever be.”
“Powerful? Don’t make me laugh,” he spits. “She can’t even pull the trigger.”
I glance over his shoulder where Stella stands shaking in her boots, her hands barely able to hold the gun. She bites her lip while looking right at me, her brows drawing together as if she’s contemplating whether to go through with it. As if she’s … terrified.
But why?
I know she wants to kill him. She’s wanted him dead ever since he forced his way into her life. She has no qualms about attempting to murder someone. I’ve seen her do it in real life when she tried to off me with that cake and deleted someone off the face of this earth in the cemetery.
There must be something else stopping her, an unconscious trigger, a voice inside her head.
“Stella,” I mutter.
“I can’t,” she murmurs back.
The panic in her eyes is so familiar that it brings me right back to the first time I saw her sink into herself. She’s right back there again, isn’t she? It’s a panic attack, and he’s the cause of all of her misery.
I’m going to tear that fucking asshole from limb to limb.
“See?” Lucio laughs.
Stella only has her eyes on me, and the way she looks at me wounds me. I want to hold her and tell her it’s going to be all right. God, the way she stares into my soul with such pain makes me want to rip this world to shreds.
“It’s okay,” I say.
Her breathing is erratic. “You haven’t avenged your mother.”
My throat suddenly clamps up.
It’s me.
I’m the voice inside her head, the person holding her back.
Oh God.
Suddenly, Lucio spins on his heel and grabs her arm, twisting it so she drops the gun.
“NO!” I yell, and I pull out my knife, ready to strike.
He pushes her in front of him, pulling a knife from his pocket only to jam it against her throat, while she shudders in place, and I stop in my tracks.
“No, don’t do this, Lucio,” Stella says between heavy breaths, shivering in place.
“Shut up, you bitch,” he growls, then looks at me. “None of you will touch me. If you do, she dies.”
“You wouldn’t,” I warn him.
“Watch me.” He pushes the knife farther into her throat until a trail of blood drips down her skin. “You want more?”
Fuck. I can’t bear watching her get hurt.
Stella shakes her head, her breathing even more unhinged. She’s having a panic attack right this very second because of him, and I can’t do shit to help her get through it.
Goddammit!
“Good,” Lucio responds. “And you won’t move a muscle because you want her to live, don’t you?” he tells me.
I grind my teeth so badly I might chip a tooth. “Fuck you. Let her go.”
He chuckles. “Well, isn’t this a nice surprise? You can’t kill me because you want your mother avenged … and she’s so goddamn smitten she can’t bring herself to take that away from you.”
What?
My pupils dilate.
Stella is in love with me?
“You will let me pass, and I will keep her alive,” he tells me. “Now step aside.”
I can’t let him get away with this. I can’t put her through that again.
Enough.
I hold up my knife, aim, and throw.
Right for the eye.
It penetrates his skull and enters his brain, and his entire body caves in on itself. The knife he was holding her hostage with clatters to the floor along with him.
The end.
I rush to my wife’s side and grab her before she collapses. I pick her up and hold her in my arms while her tears begin to flow.
“It’s okay. I’m here. You’re safe now. Breathe.”
I hold her tight as she sinks further into me, and for a while, we just stay there while her lungs keep expanding like crazy.
“Breathe. Just breathe,” I repeat. “Just breathe slowly for me. That’s all I’m asking. Will you do that for me, Tesoro?”
She pushes her nose into my neck and sucks in oxygen through her nostrils, as if my scent calms her, and after a while, the breaths become less labored and more controlled.
“That’s it. You can do it,” I murmur.
“Is it over?” she murmurs into my shoulder.
I nod. “He’s dead. Gone. Forever.”
She cries a bit more, completely overwhelmed with what happened, and I totally understand. He was a monster, and I betrayed her trust when I pushed her away in order to protect her. In fact, I’ve only ever thought about my own needs and fully neglected hers.
“He tried to …” She can’t finish her sentence.
Her pain makes my knees buckle, but I have to stay calm and be as steady as a rock for her.
“I’m sorry …” I murmur. “I should’ve been there for you, and I wasn’t. I’m sorry I’ve been such a bad husband, and I’m sorry I stole your freedom away.”
She hiccups, and the pause that follows feels eternal. “I’m sorry too,” she mumbles back. “For trying to poison you.”
I chuckle. “I guess we both did things we aren’t proud of. But it’s all in the past now …”
She leans back to look at me with concern. “But what about your mother? The revenge you wanted?”
“He got what he deserved.”
She rubs her lips. “But you wanted him to suffer for the rest of his life.”
“And he did,” I reply. “But his pain is not worth yours. He’ll never hurt you again, Tesoro.”
Her hands drape around my neck, a tired smile adorning her face. “Thank you.”
“No …” I wipe the tear off her cheek. “Thank you for reminding me what truly matters in this life.”
I lean closer and closer until our foreheads touch, and it feels like there’s no one else around but us. “You matter to me more than anyone or anything else. Your safety … that’s all I could ever wish for.”
“But I don’t understand…”
I raise a brow. “Isn’t it obvious? I’m in love with you, Stella. And I’m pretty sure you’ve fallen for me too.”
She frowns in a suspicious manner. “Who told you that?”
A laugh erupts from deep within, and I let it all out, the weight finally dropping off my shoulders. “You did.”
She folds her arms. “I never said a damn thing.”
“No, but your lips sure did, Tesoro,” I quip.
She grabs my face with both hands. “Shut up.”
The kiss that follows makes up for the filth that just left her mouth almost instantly, her mouth on mine so divine I could perish now and not give a care in the world as long as she’s with me.
This … this is heaven.
“Ti amo,” I whisper.
Her lips tear away from mine. “What?”
Suddenly, my brother clears his throat. “I don’t mean to interrupt you two lovebirds, but there’s a whole-ass fight still going on down there.”
Stella’s lips tear away from mine, and she narrows her eyes at him. “Who are you?”
He makes a gesture with his hand. “I’m Angelo—fucking—De Silva. Hasn’t he told you about me?”
“No.”
He rolls his eyes. “Of course. Figured you’d be terrified of losing her to my charms.”
“Wow,” she murmurs. “You two definitely are related.”
I laugh. “Is it that obvious?”
She nods with a cheeky smile. “Very.”
“I actually helped him find you. You’re welcome.” He makes a cutesy, fake bow to antagonize me. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some Agostinis to butcher. It was very nice to make your acquaintance.”
“Thank you for helping Matteo,” she says.
“See? She knows how to say thank you,” he says, making a dirty face at me.
I roll my eyes and laugh as he waltzes off. “Always the center of attention wherever he goes.”
“He could never steal my eyes away from yours,” she says, biting her lip.
“Smooth, Stella. Very smooth.”
I turn around, determined to bring her home safely, even if I have to carry her all the way there myself.
“Are we going back through the window?” she asks out of nowhere.
“No. Why would you even ask that?”
“Because that’s how you stormed in.” She shrugs, making me laugh once again.
I carry her toward the door. “You’re going down the stairs. Like a proper lady.”
She giggles. “And kill anyone who stands in our way?”
“Exactly,” I reply, kissing her on the cheek. “Now let’s go back home.”