Chapter 25
MATTEO
AMALIA SHOVED ME DOWN into the dirt without a second of hesitation, and I can’t get it out of my head. She just threw herself in front of a bullet meant for me, and no one in my life had ever decided I was worth that before.
I head down the hallway toward her room with no clear plan, just a thing I want to say and no idea how to start it. Maybe I’ll ask her why she did it, even though I think I know, or I want her to say it out loud so I’m not the only one feeling something.
We had a deal that feelings were never part of, but somewhere along the line, I started wanting her for reasons that have nothing to do with the work. I like her. I can admit it to myself, at least, even if I have no clue what to do about it.
Maybe we should talk about it, or maybe I’m an idiot for thinking she’d want to.
But as I get to the end of the hallway, something moves near the window at the far end, just a flicker behind the curtain that’s gone before I can get a good look. I go still and watch the spot where I saw it. Nothing. The house is quiet and dark, and I tell myself it was an illusion.
Except it wasn’t. I see a shape slipping along the wall toward the side door, so I break into a run after it.
Someone is inside who shouldn’t be, and I’m not about to let them get to Amalia.
The shape ducks through the side door and out into the dark, and by the time I reach the threshold, the yard is empty.
Whoever it was moves fast. Faster than me, and I’m no slouch.
I look around the garden, the hedges, and the wall along the back. Nothing but shadows. They’re gone. Where the fuck are the guards? Why aren’t they here? It makes no sense. They should’ve caught the intruder and never let them get close to the house in the first place.
I spot a folded piece of paper on the step, pressed down by a stone so the wind won’t take it. I pick it up and tilt it toward the light.
Matteo, come out alone.
Well, that’s not ominous at all.
I pull my gun from the back of my waistband. Whoever left this is probably watching me right now, and they want me away from the house and away from Amalia, which is exactly why every instinct I have tells me to go back inside, lock the door, and find the guards. But I’m also curious.
So I head out into the yard, keeping close to the wall, and I check every dark gap between the hedges before I move past it. My heart thumps harder the deeper I get, but my hand is steady, and that’s what counts.
There’s another note pinned to the gatepost at the edge of the garden.
Keep going.
I rip it down and shove it in my pocket. They’re leading me somewhere, and I know better than to follow a trail laid out by someone who won’t show his face, but turning back just makes me a target. Besides, if they wanted to kill me, they probably would’ve already attacked.
I spot the two guards posted at the front.
“Did either of you see anyone come through here?” I ask, keeping my voice down. “Anyone at all?”
The taller one shakes his head. “No one, sir. It’s been dead quiet all night.”
“Are you fucking sure?” Because I just got a bunch of notes from someone who shouldn’t have gotten past these guys, and I don’t know what to think about it.
Are they traitors? Working with the enemy? Or did the intruder know exactly how to avoid them?
“Positive,” he says. “Nothing’s moved out here since the shift started.”
“Keep your eyes open and watch the house,” I say, then I head back into the dark along the side, because the notes are pulling me out toward the trees at the edge of the property.
I slowly creep through the dark, my gun ready, as I check everything around me.
“You can put that away.” A voice comes from my left, and I swing toward it, my gun up.
A man steps out from between the trees, as if he’s got all the time in the world.
Dominic.
Fuck!
I keep my gun trained center on his chest.
“I’d think hard about your next move,” he says.
I glance over my shoulder. A group of men, all with their guns up and pointed at me, comes out of the shadows. Fuck.
“Put it down,” Dominic says. “You’re not going to win this one, and I think you know it.”
One shot at him, and I’m dead before I can even tell if I’m going to hit something, and that does nothing for me or Amalia. I lower the gun, then I crouch and set it on the gravel and straighten my back with my hands up.
“Smart,” he says. “Now you’re going to come with me.”
“And why would I do that?”
He pulls out a phone and turns the screen toward me. It’s a live feed, showing a window, and through it, I can see Amalia moving around. My hands curl into fists.
“I’ve got a man on that window right now,” Dominic says calmly. “If you come with me, he’ll go home. If you make this difficult or try to run or shout for your guards, she dies. It’s a simple choice, really.”
I look at the screen, and there’s no way I’d let anything happen to her. She put herself between me and a bullet, so the least I can do is return the favor.
“Fine,” I say. “Call him off. I’m going with you.”
Dominic gives me a small nod, as if he never doubted it, and he lifts his phone and says something before tucking it away. One of his men moves up to take my arm.
I’d hand myself over a dozen times before I’d let anyone put a bullet through that window. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for Amalia, and I guess I’m done pretending otherwise.
But what the fuck does Dominic want with me? If he knew Amalia and I were here, why not just take us both out? Why me? I have no idea what’s going on, but I’m going to find out.