Chapter 26 #2
I’ve been trying to put into words the immense changes that have swept through my life in such a short time. But nothing feels right. My emotions are too vast and complex. My lexicon is seemingly incapable of achieving what I want.
Hovering my mouse over the floppy disk icon, I hit save and then stand, stretching my arms over my head. I’ve been hunkered down with my laptop and an espresso for over two hours now, and I still don’t have much to show for my efforts.
Maybe I need a break. To clear my head.
Pop-pop-pop.
A new sound reaches me.
A familiar one.
Gunshots.
My mouth goes dry and I freeze, halfway across the office.
Panicked, I spin around, looking for a way to alert Priest or the authorities.
But there’s nothing. I still don’t have a phone, and the internet is disabled.
I’m alone here, other than the guards. And if the gunfire erupting in the hall is any indication, the guards are under attack.
I have to do something. Find a way to arm myself. Because if someone is out there killing my guards, that means they’re coming for me next.
My feet start flying before my brain is even aware I’m in motion, carrying me to the kitchen where I throw open drawers, frantically looking for something I can use against whoever is coming for me.
A knife block on the marble counter catches my eye.
I lunge for it, pulling out knives until I find the biggest, sharpest one.
As I pull it from the knife block, the door to the penthouse bursts open.
My cousin Amedeo is standing there, covered in blood spatter, the barrel of his pistol pointed at me.
“Is that any way to greet your family?” he asks.
My grip tightens on the knife. There’s nothing I’ll be able to do with it. Not when he’s armed with a gun and at least three of his soldiers are standing behind him, the fallen bodies of my dead guards at their feet.
“Amedeo,” I manage. “What do you want?”
He gives me a smile that’s pure evil. “So good of you to ask. Put the knife down first. I wouldn’t want anyone to get hurt.”
I don’t want to put the knife down. It’s all I have.
I stare at him, wondering if I can run. If I can lock myself inside a room and wait him out until Priest gets back. But the instant I have these thoughts, I recognize how futile they are.
I’m a sitting duck.
“Drop the knife,” he repeats, a hard edge entering his voice. “Now, Luna.”
With a whimper, I do what he says, the knife clattering to the floor.
He and his men rush into the penthouse and surround me.
The last thought I have is that I’m going to die.
I feel a blinding pain in the back of my head, and then everything fades away.
Priest
“Everything is set,” Saint tells me, looking as grim as I feel.
I’ve been wanting to kill Amedeo the Animal Revello for years. And I finally have the excuse to do it. But it’s a hollow victory. Because to achieve it, I’m going to have to put Luna in danger.
“Triple-check everything,” I tell him, wishing I had a glass of Johnnie Walker right now.
I can’t risk it.
Not when shit’s about to go down.
“Already done,” he says.
“Fucking quadruple-check,” I bite out.
“You okay?” he asks.
“Jesus, do I look like I’m fucking okay?”
I’m pacing the office in Lucchese, which Scorpion and Saint have converted into a makeshift security headquarters for the day. A collection of screens is showing security footage in real time and a careful selection of guns is laid out on the desk.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this tense,” Saint says.
“We need to get this right.”
“We will.” He gives me a look. “You sure you want Luna to be here for the dinner?”
I tried to talk her out of it this morning. The thought of anything happening to her… I told myself that I could do what needed to be done. That nothing mattered to me more than being the don of the unified Andriani and Revello families. That power and money are everything.
But when I held my wife in my arms last night, I recognized that for the lie it is.
Our father may have raised us to be ruthless, heartless bastards.
To be unfeeling monsters who could kill without blinking an eye.
I’m every bad thing Luna thinks I am times a million.
But somehow, she slipped past my defenses.
She found her way into a part of me I didn’t know existed.
And now, I couldn’t pry her out even if I wanted to.
I blow out a breath. “I don’t want her to be here for the dinner, no.
The last thing I need is that greedy son of a bitch trying to take a shot at her.
But I’ve talked to her about it, and she’s right.
If she’s not here, Amedeo is going to know what’s going down the second he sets foot in the door.
We’ll never be able to get him off guard and clip him. ”
“She’s a smart woman.”
“Yeah.” I scrub a hand over my jaw. “Yeah, she fucking is.”
And brave too. Strong. Incredible. She’s all those things and more.
“So she’ll be here,” Saint says quietly.
Luna is back at the penthouse under armed guard right now, getting ready, while I do my due diligence and make sure we’ve crossed every t and dotted every motherfucking i . Nothing can go wrong tonight. One false move and everything goes up in flames.
“She’ll be here,” I echo, still hating it.
Saint nods. “We’ll get him, frattore mio .”
“We have to get him. Failure isn’t a fucking option.”
My phone vibrates then, and I pull it out. Bruno’s name is on the screen. He’s head of the security detail at my penthouse again today.
I answer.
“Don Andriani,” Bruno chokes out on the other end of the line.
A chill goes down my spine. “What’s wrong, Bruno?”
“They…came in six…cars. No way to…stop them. Took…a few shots.”
I instantly know it’s Amedeo. Has to be. Fucking fuck .
I’m already reaching for a gun.
“Where’s Luna?” I bite out, fury making me see red.
“So…sorry, boss. They…took her.”
I feel like I just got shot in the gut. “Fuck!”
Saint’s instantly at my side. “What the fuck is it, Priest? What’s going on?”
“Amedeo’s men stormed the penthouse. Bruno’s been shot, and they’ve taken Luna. We need all the men we have. This is fucking war.”
That bastard has my wife.
I’m going to rip Amedeo Revello into pieces with my bare hands.