The vase shattered on impact. Pieces of the family heirloom burst over the floor in white and blue fragments.
The man toppled.
I seized the opportunity.
I kicked his head, over and over. He lifted his hands, blindly swatting me off, but I jumped around his touch. I struck as hard as I could. It would have been a thousand times better if I had my combat boots on, but I didn’t listen to the way my toes screamed.
I just kept kicking the ever-loving shit out of him—
Until his head snapped to the side.
The angle was all wrong. His body was still. The acrid stench of piss filled the air a moment later.
Before my brain could register what I’d done, hands fell on my shoulders. They were strong but gentle. The firm touch pushed me to the side. It happened so quickly. I raised my fists against the new attack, but it never came.
“Rae, it’s okay,” Dominico wheezed.
Those hands slid down my arms, trying to steady me against the chill seeping into my bones and making me shake.
Nico. I blinked. It was Dominico.
He wasn’t a threat.
I took a shuddering breath and looked at the man on the ground. Thedeadman.
“No, Rae. Don’t look!”
Too late. I gagged.
Dominico turned me around, folding me into his body. His touch continued to lightly graze up and down my arms. “That’s it, breathe for me.”
“I killed him,” I gasped. I was going to be sick.
“I don’t think he’s dead yet, but I’ll take care of it.” Dominico tipped my chin up and forced my gaze to his. “Go stand over there and look at the wall. It will be over in a moment.”
My limbs were too cold; my movements were numb. But his words—his presence—were warm. I obeyed them.
“Che fai, Nico! Aspetta!” a voice barked from the door. “The noise.”
I turned at the sound and saw Nico pointing a gun at the prostrate body.
“Cazzo,” Dominico hissed, but he holstered the weapon and dropped to his knees.
In a flash of movement, the voice from the door appeared in front of me. “Let’s check out the garden, yeah?”
“I—”
“Nope, we’re not going to watch this.” It was the violent stranger. The fucker was smiling. He didn’t touch me, but he moved his body to shepherd me out the French door. I tried to look around the mass of flesh and bone. He shook his head and danced—danced—to the side. “No, no, no, little girl. Don’t you dare peek!”
The cool air licked my neck. It was a dash of sanity, and I gulped breath after breath, hating that I wasn’t strong enough to face destruction without losing the contents of my stomach.
“My name’s Luigi.” The man stuck out his hand. “We haven’t been properly introduced.”
I looked between his hand and face. “I’d say it’s nice to meet you, but I’m too preoccupied to care.”
He laughed. A light, ringing sound. “You’re blunt. I like that.”
“Let’s go,” Dominico barked from inside.
