AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You don’t want me to track down Felix?” Rio asks, looking over at Alessio. “He could stay with them while I go out and hunt.”
I shake my head and look at the flames climbing higher up the side of my club even as the firefighters try to douse them. “No. I want you with her. You are the person I trust to look after her. Others will be there but I question their loyalty to the job.”
“Easy enough ways to test that,” Rio says, his voice gruff as he looks back at Hadley. “I’ll pick up Kennedy and meet you at your house.”
“Thank you.”
Alessio looks at me as Rio disappears down the street. “So, Hadley, she’s it for you, huh?”
“It sounds strange to admit, but yeah.” I swallow the lump that rises in my throat. “I don’t know what I’m going to do if anything happens to her.”
“You’re going to get your shit together and keep going, even though it’s going to hurt like hell.” Alessio reaches out to clap me on the shoulder. “Look, I don’t want to see you get hurt the way my mother did when my father died. She still hasn’t been able to pull herself together. I don’t want that for you.”
I study him for a moment, noticing the distant look in his eyes. “Is that why you’re still alone after all this time?”
Alessio frowns, tucking his hands into his pockets. “We’re not talking about me and my love life right now.”
“So, there is one to talk about?” I try to keep my tone light and teasing, but I feel sick to my stomach. I need Hadley to get through this mess with Felix without getting hurt.
Knowing that she will be his target and being unable to hunt him down before he gets to her is killing me inside.
He’s out there somewhere, waiting for the right moment to strike like the other night when he ambushed me. He’ll die waiting if it’s up to me.
“Love is for people who like pain. I’m not one of those people. I’ve witnessed what it does to people when it ends or when you lose your loved one and I’m not sure I could take a hit like that now. Not when I’m already doing something I was never meant to do.”
“Sorry about that. No one expected you’d lose your dad and your brother so close to one another,” I say, holding his gaze with my own. “Whatever you need once we’re done with the Felix thing, you got it.”
He nods to some of his men standing off in the shadows. “I’ll start looking for Felix. Sooner or later, we’re going to be able to drag him out from whatever rock he’s crawled under.”
“I really do appreciate you coming out here. I know that you have enough going on back home.”
“It’s being handled and you need help. I’m not about to turn my back on you.”
“Are you sure? I can sure use the help, but I’ll handle this if you need to be back in Atlanta.”
Alessio shakes his head. “Right here is where I need to be. The situation back home isn’t good, but it’s stable enough for now. Keeping my friend alive is more important than the mafia anyway.”
“Your father would hate to hear you say that,” I say, the corner of my mouth turning upward slightly. “I’m glad that you’re nothing like him.”
“Me too.” He sighs and nods in Hadley’s direction. “You should go take care of your woman, loverboy. I’m going to go join the search.”
“Alright. Thank you.”
Alessio takes off while I get back in the car with Hadley. She looks at me, a thin line appearing between her eyebrows as she tucks a strand of hair behind her ear.
“Is everything alright?” she asks as she reaches over to turn down the music. “The two of you looked pretty serious.”
“I’m going to be taking you to the house where I know you’ll be safe. I asked Rio to go get Kennedy so you aren’t completely alone.”
Her smile is enough to make my heart beat against my ribcage. “Thank you for that. I wasn’t going to say anything but I don’t really want to be surrounded by a bunch of strangers while there’s some man that wants to kill me on the loose.”
I start the engine and head in the direction of home. “I want you to grab a gun from the safe when you get home. One for Kennedy too. Rio is going to be stationed inside with both of you while I have other men outside. The security system will be armed but in the event that something does happen, I need to know that you are able to take care of yourself.”
Hadley takes my hand, her thumb smoothing over the back of it. “Everything is going to be okay, Jovan.”
As I drop her off at home, I’m not so sure about that.
“Stay safe,” Hadley says, her voice wavering as I finish setting the security system.
