26. Matteo
CHAPTER 26
MATTEO
J oey’s body, splayed on the pavement after the shootout, bloody and peppered with bullets.
Dominguez in his sharkskin suit, warning me that death is coming and there’s nothing I can do to stop it.
Heaven in her wedding gown, bloodstains blooming like flowers of the most morbid type.
I crack open my eyes the next morning, trying to stop the brutal and blood-soaked images from looping through my mind. Whatever snippets of rest I may have gotten were splintered by nightmares.
You’d think that after the carnal wedding night activities carried out in my own private sex den, I’d have been too fried to do much else than succumb to sleep. My body had been zapped of all energy, but the turmoil in my head couldn’t be quelled.
Heaven passed out as soon as her head hit the pillow, but too many toxic thoughts haunted me, keeping me awake as the hours crept past. I listened to her even breathing, marveling at how peaceful she seemed.
I wish I could experience that kind of peace.
But I gave up all hopes of that a long time ago.
Because what the fuck am I supposed to do? A murderous rampage against Dominguez could be long and drawn out. I might strike it lucky, but then there’d be the issue of Heaven’s fuckwit of a brother.
Of brutalizing her family.
If I send her away as I’m planning to do, making that move will result in the Mulligans cutting me out. I can see the war there, too. Because to them, I wouldn’t be protecting her. I’d be kidnapping her.
She’d be out of reach, messages in and out relayed through trusted routes until the scourge and threat of Dominguez and his allies was taken care of.
I can sit back and let the Mulligans close ranks. I can watch Declan promote Conor. The man’s tired. I believe he’s ready to hand over the reins and retire. But now that Conor is spinning out of control, it puts Heaven in too much danger.
Every fucking alternative I look at runs a risk of that.
The what ifs pile up.
What if Dominguez finds her?
When I didn’t care, I’d have declared her safe and played the game. But now? I can’t let even the possibility breathe.
I feel like I’ve just torn hope right out of her grasp, and there’s nothing I can do to salvage it.
I stealthily slide out of the bed, leaving her undisturbed. She lies next to me on her stomach, arms clutching the pillow, her bright red hair fanning around her face. She looks calm and relaxed, the exact opposite of how I feel right now.
I pull on a pair of gym shorts and a sweatshirt before heading downstairs to the kitchen. I rake a hand through my hair, crossing the floor tiles.
I’m going to have to do it. Make a move, some kind of move before Dominguez does. He wants Heaven and he’ll stop at nothing to get her. In his mind, taking her will be the perfect revenge. And I think he’s willing to burn bridges, the whole damn town, to get it.
That’s part of what’s so very dangerous about him; he doesn’t ever see the bigger picture, and that’s why I could have used him, manipulated him, played the game I wanted by very careful planning.
But the death of his daughter changes all that.
Heaven goes today.
I’ll take him and his people out as soon as I know she’s safe. I’m going to make sure she’s so locked away not even Sherlock Holmes could find her. I’ll need help from contacts I rarely use but implicitly trust.
I’ll need all of them.
I start making lists in my head as I brew a fresh pot of espresso and pour two cups, taking one outside to Gio. He can probably use it right about now since he’s been stuck in the car all night long. Besides, I need to know if he’s seen anything suspicious lurking around. He texted me a few times during the night to let me know things were quiet, but now that the sun is up and I haven’t heard a peep, it’s a brand-new opportunity for hell to break loose.
I slip on my Nikes and cross to where the Escalade is parked. All windows, including the windshield, are tinted past the legal seventy percent, so I can’t make him out. I walk around to the driver’s side.
“Fuck.”
The driver’s side window has a small hole in it…a hole made by the bullet that exploded into Gio’s left temple.
Bulletproof glass-piercing ammunition.
Oh, fuck me, Dominguez is playing hardball.
I grab the keys in my pocket, click to silence the car alarm, and pull open the door, pushing Gio to the passenger side. I jump into the car, turn on the ignition, and make a sharp left turn into the private parking garage next to my town house. I pull the Escalade inside, shutting and locking the door.
I jump out of the truck and dart back into my house. I’m sure as hell not hanging around outside waiting for the same sniper to turn his rifle on me.
The blood is fresh.
The hit happened recently.
That means the next one will be imminent.
Inside, I take the stairs two at a time, checking on Heaven.
She burrows deeper into the pillow and comforter. I let out a breath and close the door before firing off a text to Roman on my burner.
Get here ASAP. Bring Sergio, have Dante stay with Papa at the hotel. Be fucking careful.
He responds almost immediately.
Ten minutes max.
I pace around my office, figuring out my next steps, recalibrating the plans I just made.
He doesn’t just want revenge. He wants to burn everything down.
My brothers arrive in five and I let them in, leading them to the office.
“What the hell happened?” Sergio asks.
“Gio was hit this morning,” I say. “I found him with his brains blown out in the car. I have to deal with Dominguez. Conor killed not only his second, but his daughter, and I need you to take Heaven out of New York, then out of the fucking country.”
“We heard the first part.” Roman holds up his hand. “What does Heaven have to do with any of this?”
I take a deep breath, pushing back my hair. “Dominguez wants revenge. He wants her. We had a deal, and…it doesn’t fucking matter. She needs to be taken and hidden away, safe. I need to handle this.”
“And get yourself killed,” Sergio says. “You have family who can help, Matty.”
I rub the back of my neck. “No. I do this alone. I have backup, but I can’t go forward if she’s not safe.”
“We’ll help,” Roman says. “Dominguez is gonna come back, fucking locked and loaded.”
“I know. You’ll help by getting Heaven out. I have people. You now need to get her to them. I didn’t want to involve you?—”
“We’re family. We’re fucking involved,” Sergio says. “And yes, she’ll be taken care of, but we need to help you. How the fuck did you get in so deep? I thought your deal was with the Mulligans.”
I explain everything because I know that look. I wear it enough to recognize it, and both of them will waste time arguing with me if I don’t. So, I explain and then finish with, “I have to battle Dominguez.”
“Fuck that,” Sergio says. “Romo will get her and Papa to safety. Then me and Dante are with you. Along with the rest of our fucking army. I have contacts here, and Dante…I don’t know who he knows, but he’ll have reach.”
“I don’t want you on my conscience, too.”
“You won’t have to worry about that,” he says.
I shake my head. “Not risking it.”
“Too bad. This guy is evil. You’d better hope we can stop him,” Sergio says darkly. “Because Dominguez won’t just stop with the Mulligans. He’ll take that revenge to the next level and unleash it all over us. If he wants to get to Heaven, he won’t stop.”
“That’s why I’m going to wipe him from the face of this planet. But you know she has to stay away. He’ll have others who are loyal. It’s going to take time to destroy them all,” I say. “This death changed things.”
“Jesus Christ,” Sergio mutters. “You could give her to him, you know that.” He eyes me a moment. “But you won’t, will you? Because you’ve gone and fallen for her.”
I narrow my eyes at Sergio. “Fuck you.”
Sergio shrugs. “We need a plan of attack.”
I lean forward, my head in my hands. “I have to take care of Heaven first. I have to make sure that she's protected. He’ll come for her. That’s the immediate threat.”
Sergio looks at me. “Fuck this. Let Dominguez torch fucking Hell’s Kitchen.”
I press my fingertips to my temples, the control seeping from my body with each passing second. I know what my brother is trying to do. But I can’t say it out loud. If I do… “I need to find Declan. If Dominguez is going to go after him and Conor, that's our only shot to stop him once and for all. And he will go after them. Let’s get Heaven and Papa ready.”
“Maybe next time you’ll leave your dick out of things. Or is that your heart? Shit, I should be in control,” Sergio says.
“Don’t fucking challenge me, Sergio. Christ only knows you’ve done more than enough in the past to rain hellfire on our name!” I storm over to him, pushing into his personal space and forcing him to recoil. I need to calm down. To focus on what’s important. I take a breath and step away.
“Okay, now what, boss ?” Roman says. “What’s the fucking plan? I get your wife out of the country for good?”
The office door opens, slamming against the wall with such force that the frames on the wall shudder and crash to the floor. Heaven stalks into the room, her eyes spitting emerald fire, and she’s pointing a revolver at me.
My revolver.
“Yeah, Matty ,” she hisses through clenched teeth. “What is the fucking plan?”
I look at the barrel of the gun, then lift my gaze up to her face. “Heaven,” I say, slowly stepping toward her.
“Tell me why I shouldn’t shoot you the fuck dead? I heard it all. The plans. Why you want me gone, and I’m betting it’s nothing to do with Dominguez. It’s easier without me here, isn’t it? And I heard what you set up to bring down my family. So.” She cocks the gun. “Tell me exactly why I shouldn’t kill you right now.”
“I meant it when I said that I chose you. And as for sending you away, I told you, I want to protect you?—”
“Protect me? By conspiring with my family’s enemy? By giving them to that lecherous scumbag? By getting rid of me and stealing my rightful place? My heritage?” Her voice shakes with anger, her nostrils flaring. She stalks closer. “You betrayed me, Matteo. You betrayed all of us!”
But her arm is steady, and her eyes spit fire. My wife is ruthless and lethal without a gun in her hand. With it, I might be a little turned on.
“Were you working with Dominguez?”
“Yes.”
“And did you deliberately marry me to steal my family’s businesses? Not a business arrangement for a piece of it all in exchange for protection, but to take everything and throw us to that greasy wolf?”
“Yes.” Fuck, ask me a question I can say no to.
“And did you tell me yesterday you were going to take care of Dominguez to keep us all safe?”
I scrub a hand down the front of my face. “Yes,” I say. “Heaven, we don’t have time for this. I might have set out to do all of that. But things changed. And you…I want you safe. That’s why I want you gone.”
“Maybe I’ll take my chances with Dominguez. Fuck you, Matty . Fuck you to hell and back.”
She shakes her head, and then she swings the gun toward a mirror hanging to my left and fires.
The glass shatters, the frame smashing onto the wood floor. Shards of glass scatter at our feet, and a pang in my heart tells me it’s damn close to suffering the same end.
“Fuck you. I trusted you! I told you things I’ve never told anyone…things about my family, about Molly…” Her spine stiffens. “I fucking loved you, Matteo! Last night I realized it. And you know what? You don’t deserve even a second of me. I fell in love with a goddamn liar. Well, let me just tell you this.” She drops her gun-clenched hand and grabs my shirt with the other, pulling me close so she can hiss her next words right into my face. I’m too shocked to move or protest. “I don’t need your fucking protection. If Dominguez wants me, he can come for me, and I will protect my own damn self!”
“ Amore mio ?—”
“No.” She pushes me away and stumbles back. “Just stay away from me, Matteo. Consider us annulled.”
Heaven points the gun at the art hanging on the walls of the foyer and opens fire.
Then before I can do a damn thing, she turns and dashes into the kitchen. Seconds later, I hear the alarm sound. I rush to the front door and out to the stoop and look around, my brothers right behind me. I’m about to fly down the stairs when I hear the garage door open and the engine of my Lamborghini roars as she peels out and into the street in my car, and then she’s gone.
“Goddamn,” Roman mutters, letting out a low whistle. “Mrs. Villani is a fucking fire-breathing dragon from hell.”
I start down the stairs, ready to drag the body out of the other vehicle and take off after her when Sergio grabs my arm. “We’ll get her. Romo, put out the word, now.” He looks at me and drags me into the house. “We have to go on the offensive with Dominguez. What’s the plan?”
“You get Heaven, and I go kill Dominguez,” I say.
Roman looks at me. “I know where she’s going. I don’t need word.”
I close my eyes a second. “Fuck.”
Molly’s. That’s where she’s headed.
She’s looking for Declan and Conor.
And Dominguez is looking for all three of them.