Matteo answers after a few seconds. “Mr. Detti? What are you doing here?”
I storm past him inside the room. “Is Emma here? Did you take my wife?”
“I can see there’s an issue going on.” He raises his hands. “Why don’t we calm down.”
“Calm down? You’re trying to take my wife from me. I will not give her up.”
“I can see that. But Gabriel promised her to me to make peace.”
“Take another girl. I don’t fucking care. But it’s not going to be Emma.”
He crosses his arms, staring me down in a way that makes me fucking angry. “It’s not up to you. I was promised Emma to make peace and I expect to have her now. She was my boss’s daughter. It’s only fitting.”
“Fuck you,” I snarl. A look around the hotel room tells me that Emma is not here. Which means there’s one other place to check.
It takes a few hours but I eventually make it to the farm. The sight of the rundown house surrounded by trees and cows is a sad sight. Did Valentina come back for her daughter?
I keep my gun in hand as I slowly approach the house. Last time, Valentina threatened to shoot me with a shotgun. I have to be careful this time.
I make my way around the house to the back door. It’s dark and silent from the outside.
My hand wraps around the doorknob and I slowly ease the door open… right before the sound of a loud gunshot pierces the air and an intense pain ricochets up my arm. Stumbling back, I clutch my shoulder where I was just shout.
“I will shoot you in the head if you come in here,” Valentina warns.
“Mother, don’t!” I can hear Emma scream but I can’t see her.
I press myself against the wall, gritting my teeth against the pain of the bullet. Fortunately, it was just a shoulder shot. I’ll live. But not if Valentina tries shooting me again.
“I am here for Emma,” I say. “Valentina, give up. You can’t keep your daughter here forever. There will always be mafia men who want her. But I can protect her. I can keep her safe.”
“You’re the reason she’s in this mess in the first place!” Valentina screeches. “I will kill you if you come for my daughter.”
“Emma, are you all right?” I ask.
“I’m fine,” she responds after a quiet moment. My heart unclenches a little. At least I know she’s alive. “But you can’t come in here, Leo. I don’t want you to die.”
“You have every reason to want me dead.”
“But I don’t. So please, don’t come in here. Just leave.”
“So you can spend the rest of your life as a prisoner with your mother? I don’t fucking think so. I promised you, baby, that you were no longer my prisoner and I meant that. I will save you. I will give you the freedom that you want.”
“Please, Leo,” Emma begs. “Just go. I can’t watch you die. Just go.”
“Shut up,” Valentina hisses, though I’m not sure if it’s directed at me or Emma. “Just leave right this instant. Go and never come back.”
“Emma,” I say. “I can’t leave you. I made you my wife to make you mine. I will not just give you up to be a prisoner to your mother again.”
“Leo, don’t,” she sobs. The sound breaks my cold fucking heart. “Just go. I can’t watch you die.”
“I’m not going to die,” I promise and in one quick move, I face the doorway, firing my gun. It misses Valentina just a hair and that gives her enough time to pull her trigger. The bullet hits my arm again. I stumble back, bleeding more now. Fuck. This isn’t good.
“Leo!” Emma shouts. I watch as she runs towards me.
“Stop,” Valentina warns. “Emma, get back here.”
“You’re going to kill him!” Emma screeches as tears run down her eyes. “Don’t kill him. I came with you so you wouldn’t kill him.”
