60. Matteo
CHAPTER SIXTY
MATTEO
F ury infusing me, I crouched down and inched toward the backs of the trespassers who dared to shoot at my wife.
I didn’t bother with a silencer since the only people around to hear the shots would be the ones who were about to die.
When I got an alert about a disturbance on the island and footage showed a boat cloaked in the night docking on the shores, I rushed out the door, desperate to reach Arianna. I knew my wife could handle a gun, but she didn’t stand a chance against ten men.
So I crept closer, then pointed the gun at the snowmobile parked about a mile away from Arianna’s favorite spot. There were four men standing around it, waiting for their accomplices.
Narrowing my eyes, I aimed at the gas tank. The explosion was instantaneous, engulfing each man in angry flames.
Four down, six to go.
Snow crunching beneath my feet, I ran hard, praying to anything or anyone who was listening to keep Ari safe.
I moved silently through the snow, but my tracks were impossible to cover. I used trees as my cover as I approached the cliff and a bone-chilling terror shot through me, seeing my wife cornered on the ledge.
If she fell, it would be to her death.
Aiming my gun, I shot the man closest to her and her gaze jerked up to me. A terse nod, and we worked in tandem.
Five down, five to go.
Leaping from tree to tree, I aimed and shot while Arianna did the same from her end. Until we were down to the last one.
Before Ari had the chance, I pulled the trigger, making sure to only wound him.
I closed the distance to find my wife’s pale face locked on me, her mouth opening and closing in silent gasps.
Dropping to my knees, I gathered her in my arms, feeling her trembling against me.
A sob tore from her lips and I tightened my arms around her. “Shhhh, I’m here.”
“I thought?—”
I pulled back slightly, examining her body and her face, but was relieved to find only a small scrape on her cheek and the material at her knees torn.
She buried her face in my neck, her body shaking against me. “They said you were dead. Hannah too.”
Fuck.
“They lied, baby.” A whimper had me tearing my gaze from Arianna to the last surviving attacker. “I’m sure Hannah’s safe too.”
She gripped my jacket, shaking me with force. “But you can’t be sure. Matteo?—”
The anguish in her voice gutted me and I cupped her cheeks.
“Let’s question the assailant.” We both glanced at the guy bleeding out and whimpering like a pig. “He won’t last long, so we need to act fast.”
I shot up, helped Ari, and then headed over to the wounded man. His breath was coming out in jerky gasps, his face starkly pale against the crimson stain on his white snowsuit.
Arianna remained standing as I crouched in front of the dying man.
“Who sent you?”
“Fuck you,” he rasped.
Not willing to waste time roughing him up, I reached inside his pocket and pulled out his wallet, then said, “Don’t make this more difficult for yourself. Who are you?”
His upper lip twisted in a snarl. “Fuck. You.”
I flipped through his wallet, finding his identity, along with a few family pictures tucked behind a key card.
“You can tell us or I’ll find your family and ask them these questions, Mr. Johnson.”
Arianna gasped, but she didn’t say anything.
Of course I wouldn’t hurt his family if they were innocent, but this man didn’t know that. Arianna understood our world, but I imagined she was in a good amount of shock, unable to keep herself contained.
I casually pulled a knife out of my pocket, flipping the switchblade.
“Last chance.” I smiled darkly, rammed my knife into his kidney, and twisted as I shoved the photo of his family in front of his face. The scream that ripped from his throat sent birds soaring from the trees. “Who sent you?”
When he remained quiet, I slashed through the pants of his snowsuit, exposing his limp dick.
“I don’t know,” he screamed, his eyes darting to Arianna wildly. “I swear. It was a job we got through the dark web. It was supposed to be a… quick one. In and out.”
“And my sister?” Arianna asked. “You said my twin?—”
When he remained quiet, I brought the knife to his shriveled dick.
“We have her.” He coughed, spitting up blood. “We have her, okay?”
“Her?”
“The crazy twin.” Fuck.
I shared a glance with my wife, then returned to glare at the killer whose face was getting paler with each breath.
“Who sends you instructions?” I demanded. When his eyelids closed, I shook him hard. “Who?”
“The King heir.” He laughed, spitting up blood. “Every family that worked against the Belles and Mobsters auctions is on the list.”
Within seconds, his eyes grew vacant and his chest stopped moving as his head lolled to the side.
I stood up and met Arianna’s stunned gaze. “You’re right, baby. It’s time we go home.”