“If all the others were masked, do you think that was intentional?” Lea asks cautiously.
“Has to be,” I mutter. “I still don’t understand why Emilio and Erica would want to kill my wife. I wasn’t the target. If I was, they would have waited until I got home. This doesn’t make any fucking sense.”
I turn back toward the helm and steer the mini-yacht toward the coast, but I head north, instead of the dock that the ferry uses. If anyone is looking for us, that’ll be the first place they look. It’s safer to make landfall somewhere else. Then I have to get back to Las Vegas.
“I don’t know if I should kiss you or take my belt to you,” I grumble, shaking my head.
“I couldn’t let you die without knowing about it,” she whimpers. “But we need to do something about your shoulder. Do you still have your first aid kit?”
“That won’t do much,” I sigh, motioning to my bag. “It’s in there. You ever removed a bullet before?”
“N-no,” she whispers, her eyes getting wide.
“There’s a knife in the side pocket. Clean it with alcohol and give me the bottle,” I mutter. “I’ll dig it out.”
“I’m sorry,” she sniffles, hurrying to my bag. “I tried to get to him before he took the shot, but I wasn’t fast enough.”
“A second later and we wouldn’t be having this conversation,” I say. “Not my first time getting shot.”
Considering what’s coming?
It probably won’t be my last.
CHAPTER 33
Massimo
I get the bullet out of my shoulder and Lea helps me wrap it in a bandage that immediately bleeds through. It’ll have to do. I need stitches, but I don’t have time for it. I grab a black button-down shirt from my bag, hoping it will make the blood less noticeable.
We make landfall at a fishing dock that is mostly deserted. I text Theo to let him know where the yacht is. I’ve got several fake IDs, so I use one of them to rent a car. That’s safer than getting it under my real name, or using Lea’s name, since I don’t know for sure that Theo will get rid of her bags in time. I’m not sure who I can trust right now other than him.
“Are you mad at me?” Lea asks nervously once we’re on the highway.
“I’m frustrated and angry, yes,” I snarl. “But not at you. Well, I’m not happy you told Sarah, and I’m definitely pissed about the hacker, but I’d be dead right now if it wasn’t for you. I can’t believe Erica was involved in Layla’s murder.”
“Maybe she was forced?” Lea whispers.
“It’s possible, but I took care of the Bratva. If they were holding something over her, then she had no reason to fear them after that,” I mutter, still trying to make sense of it in my head. “Plus… she tried to take care of me after it happened. Most of my family kept their distance, but she came almost every day. I had to tell Emilio to keep her at home, because she was driving me crazy when all I wanted to do was drink. She was like a damn mother hen.”
It was annoying at the time. Now it makes me feel sick to my stomach.
Neither of us says anything for a while. The miles pass beneath us. I’m lost in disarray. Lea seems shell-shocked, and I’m not surprised. The sweet, innocent girl who came to Isola Selvaggia looking for an adventure certainly found one. I bet she never imagined her vacation would end with her stabbing a Mafia hitman.
“What are you going to do when we get to Las Vegas?” Lea asks timidly, finally breaking the silence.
“I don’t fucking know,” I mutter. “First thing I’m going to do is make sure you’re somewhere safe. After that, I need to talk to Emilio—or shoot him in the fucking face. I haven’t decided yet.”
“What about his wife?” she whispers.
“I don’t kill women,” I sigh. “But today, I might make an exception.”
It’s easier said than done. Erica is my niece and nephew’s mother. If Emilio had something to do with it, he’s a dead man. Fuck going to my father. Fuck doing it the right way. But Erica…I need to know more, and I can’t get those answers until we get to Las Vegas.
More silence. I’m okay with that right now. I have too much going on in my head for conversation. Too many questions I don’t have answers for. But my top priority is getting Lea somewhere safe. I can’t take her to my place, so I’ll have to use one of my safehouses. Luckily, I’ve got a few nobody knows about except Rowan.
When we finally get to Las Vegas, I see some wonder in Lea’s gorgeous green eyes, despite everything that has happened today. I wish I could give her the grand tour, but we don’t have time for that. Hopefully, I can do that after all of this is over. Whenever that is.
“My phone is blowing up,” I snarl, ignoring another call. “Word is spreading.”
