Page 31 of Sicilian Savior

I glanced at the car holding Lucia inside and quickly ran through my options. Another shot fired off and collided with the car. A stream of gasoline began trickling out.

Fuck.

They’d hit our gas tank. I knew that there was no chance of an explosion, unlike what the movies would like us to think, but it did mean I’d just lost my fast getaway. And on the off chance another shot caused a spark, the gasoline could ignite and start on fire.

“Lucia!” I shouted. “Get out of the car, but stay down!”

Another shot ripped through the shiny metal of the sportscar.

Double fuck.

Time to get this show on the road. I glanced in the reflection of the window and saw the guy who’d just fired. I spun around and popped up over the hood of the car I’d been using as cover and put a bullet right between his eyes.

One down.

The men shouted, and more bullets flew. Two more hit our car and shattered the driver’s side window. Lucia’s scream reverberated around me.

“Lucia!” I shouted back, terror now an understatement as I envisioned her bleeding and hit.

I needed to get to her. Now.

Dropping to the ground, I crawled across the gravel and around the back of our car. Gasoline soaked my pants as I slid through it, but I didn’t slow down until I made it to Lucia’s door. I reached up and pulled the handle, terrified of what I may find inside.

“Lucia! Are you hit?” I said as I whipped open the door.

“Knox,” she cried from her hiding place curled up on the floormat.

My heart clenched seeing the fear in her eyes but soared seeing her alive and unharmed from what I could tell.

“Come on. Crawl out and get behind me.”

She didn’t hesitate and slid out the door, moving quickly behind me.

“Our gas tank is hit, so we can’t drive away, and backup and the cops will be here any minute. I’m going to take these guys out, and then we’re going to have to run like hell. Just follow me and do as I say.” I looked into her fear-filled eyes and reached up and touched her face. “I swear I’ll get you out of this alive.”

She nodded, and a long gulp slid down her throat.

I’d been pinned down many times before trying to keep someone safe, but it’d never been someone I felt as strongly about like I did for Lucia. Seeing her in danger only amplified the escalating emotions that had started the first time I’d laid eyes on her. They exploded inside me and burned like a fiery inferno consuming every fiber of my being. They clawed at my chest, now screaming that this woman was mine. Mine to protect... to cherish.

Mine. Lucia was mine.

“Over there!” one man shouted in Italian.

And someone is trying to take her from me...

My eyes narrowed. Knowing these men would do her harm unleashed the monster inside of me. He roared inside my chest, awakening once again as I opened the cage and let him out. He loved when I let him free—free to tear apart any threats in my way— but it’d been years since he’d been out of his cage. Not since I’d retired had he gotten to come out and play. And this time, he roared to life with a new purpose... protect my woman. Never had so much power surged inside of me as it did when I glanced down at Lucia.

Protect her at all costs, I commanded him.

I could tear these men to shreds with my bare hands if they dared to come near her. But they wouldn’t... I wouldn’t let them anywhere near my woman.

“Stay down.” I popped up from behind the car, using the hood as cover.

Bang! Bang!

Two bullets found their marks, and I dropped back down just as return fire sprayed my way. I rolled onto my back, flattening myself low as I scanned the pavement underneath the car. I saw a booted foot in my eye line, so I popped off another shot. The man yowled in pain, and I saw his other foot appear. When I shot it, he dropped to the ground, writhing as he grabbed at his crippled legs. Our eyes locked beneath the car, and he froze, that look in his eyes the familiar one I’d seen countless times—the moment he acknowledged his death.

Bang!