Chapter 25 Marco #2
“He owes me. You’ll be gone. He’ll be gone. And La Corona will be in ashes, leaving me ready to take over.”
I snort. “I think Salvatore said the same thing to Roman just before Roman broke his neck. Is that the bullshit Blackwood is serving his informants?”
I look at Gabriella, again nodding to get her to move left. “Is that what he promised you? A woman finally running a Mafia family?”
“You don’t know shit,” Frank spits at me. “I was already stepping in, running the business while he forgot his own fucking name! But then you had to insert yourself, playing the concerned friend. That’s when the attacks started. Don’t deny it, Calabresi. You’re behind it.”
I shake my head. “Sorry to disappoint you. You’re not saving Antonio from me.”
But I find it odd how he seems convinced it’s me, and here I thought it was him. That means we have another player.
Blackwood?
The agent investigating Dom?
Someone else we don’t yet know?
"You know what I think, Frank?" I say, voice dropping lower. "I think Blackwood played you. The both of you, just like he played Salvatore. Tried to play Ferraza’s daughter, but she was smart. She got out. You two are in too deep to get out."
His gun hand wavers slightly. "Shut up," he hisses. "You don't know what you're talking about."
"Don't I? You're not the mastermind here. You're just another pawn."
I shift to the side, creating distance between Gabriella and myself, hoping to draw his attention to me.
"This ends today. But it's between you and me. Let her go. She's nothing."
I glance at Gabriella, trying to communicate with my eyes what I can't say aloud.
Leave. Now.
Her eyes are filled with hate.
“This is business, Frank. Let's handle it like men. Between us." I take another step forward.
“You’ve come close enough.” He raises the gun higher, pointing it directly at Gabriella's head. "If you want her gone, I can eliminate her now.”
The air freezes in my lungs. "You kill her, and I will make your death last for days."
I’ve revealed my hand to Frank.
She matters.
My father would have shot me right then and there.
But what’s done is done.
“I knew it,” Frank sneers. “You two are working to ruin Antonio. Now you both die.”
Frank's finger tightens on the trigger, a movement so slight most wouldn't notice.
But I've seen enough men pull triggers to recognize the tell.
My body moves on instinct, lunging toward Gabriella. “No!” I throw myself in front of her.
The gunshot cracks through the warehouse, the echo ricocheting through the space.
Fire erupts in my upper chest, white-hot pain that steals my breath.
The impact knocks me back into Gabriella.
Somehow, I manage to stay on my feet, shielding Gabriella with my body.
"Marco!" Her scream pierces through the ringing in my ears.
Warmth spreads over my chest and I know it’s blood.
But I’m not dead yet.
Until I am, I’m going to protect her and our child.
Frank's face contorts with surprise, then determination. He raises the gun again, but this time I'm faster.
My weapon is in my hand, muscle memory taking over despite the agony radiating from my chest outward.
Two shots.
One to the forehead, the second to the heart.
Frank crumples to the floor.
Good riddance, mother fucker.
The warehouse tilts sideways as I stagger, my vision narrowing to a tunnel.
I press my hand over my chest, feeling warm blood pulse between my fingers.
Ah, hell. It’s too much blood.
I sink to my knees, the concrete floor rushing up to meet me.
Frank's body lies motionless in front of me, his dead eyes staring at nothing. At least I got that right.
Roman rushes in. "Oh, fuck." He hurries to my side.
I grip his hand now covered in my blood. "Get… her out…"
"Marco—"
"Do it," I snap with the last bit of energy I have.
"Fuck. Don't you die, Marco, or I'll revive you and kill you myself."
He rises, gripping Gabriella by the arm. "Let's go." He tugs her out, his phone to his ear as he calls for help.
She resists. Of course she does. “No, he needs—”
“He needs you gone. I’ll take care of him.”
She looks over her shoulder back at me.
I try to smile, to give her reassurance.
I’m certain I’ve failed.
Once they're gone, I relax.
I always knew I’d go like this.
Very few men in my world survive to old age.
I’m not afraid of death.
Still, it would have been nice to have told Gabriella the truth about how I feel about her.
Apologize for being such a dick.
Tell her that I’d like her child to have my name.
The darkness creeps in from the edges of my vision. I've seen enough men die to know what's happening.
The cold spreading through my limbs.
The struggle to draw breath.
I hope I don’t meet my father in death. He’ll berate me for dying by taking a bullet meant for a woman. A woman I love, no less.
I wonder if this sacrifice will be enough to save her. If my death will free her from the dangers that have surrounded me all my life.
Or if it only seals her fate, making her a target for whoever was working with Frank.
They say your life flashes before your eyes before you die. Thank fuck that’s not happening now. I had to live my life once.
I don’t want to relive it.
But images of Gabriella do swim in my mind. Her flirty smile, sharp tongue, and zest for life. I hope our child inherits that from her.
My eyes close.
I love you. Both of you.
The words I’ve never said drift through my mind.
Then the darkness swallows me whole.