Page 34 of Sicilian Savior

“Already gone.”

“Thanks, Pretty Boy. I’ll also need you to search alley cams and anything in the vicinity. Erase Lucia and me completely from anything you find. There can be no evidence we were here.”

“Will do. I’ll make you ghosts. Cleanup, or are we good?”

“Good. Too public for cleanup. Cops are already on it. Multiple bodies. Mario Romano and a bunch of unknowns.”

How was Knox speaking so calmly after everything that had just happened? My heart still pounded in my chest as flashes of the fight flickered through my mind like a movie in fast-forward.

Wes furrowed his brow. “Romano? What the hell was he doing there?”

“No idea. Mentioned a business meeting with the dude he was with. But he saw Lucia, and I think he may have recognized her. Couldn’t be sure, but even if he was just suspicious, we don’t need him raising any alarms. Had to take him out.”

“Of course,” Wes agreed. “Can’t take any chances. I’ll hack Mario’s phone and see what this meeting was about. But if no one saw you, then you’re clean.”

“Unfortunately, when I took out Mario and his associate, it also meant I had to take out a dozen others. Left a lot of carnage in my wake, but luckily this went down in a parking lot and an alley, sans eyewitnesses, so everyone who saw us is dead. We’ll be safe as long as you get rid of all the security footage,” Knox answered with certainty. “Thanks, Pretty Boy.”

“You got it, Beefcake. Consider this place wiped. I’ll erase any traces of you.”

“What about the car? It’s shot to hell. Does it trace back to me at all?”

“Nope. It’s rented under an assumed identity per our usual protocol. You can dump it and go. Do you need an extraction?”

“No. We’re gonna lay low, then find our way out of here and get back to the villa.”

“Got it. If you need anything, you know who to call.” Wes leaned into the screen and grinned. “And it ain’t the Ghostbusters.”

Knox chuckled then said goodbye.

“Good luck,” Wes said before the screen went black.

Wes disappeared from the line while I still sat, trying to choke in a breath. In mere minutes, Knox had killed multiple men, gotten away, and they’d erased all video footage of the incident.

The incident.

The... killings.

I’d just witnessed Knox kill a man. Multiple men. I’d seen him kill Mario. That little tidbit just started to register in my head. I’d known Mario well and had considered him a friend before I’d found out what he and my ex-husband really did. Mario was one of the men who’d dragged me back to Victor when I’d run away. I’d hated him with every ounce of my soul after watching him manhandle my son without even the slightest care over the fear he’d caused him. Even though he was a bad man who’d deserved his fate, it still nauseated me remembering the bright red blood spurting out of his neck.

“Oh, God,” I choked out, fighting the rising bile as the memory of his death slammed into my mind.

“What?” Knox looked over.

“I... I think I’m gonna be sick.”

Once he saw the expression on my face, he registered what was happening. He placed his hand on my back and moved me around the back of an abandoned vendor’s cart.

I leaned down, placing my hands on my knees as I waited for the vomit to come. After taking some deep breaths, I felt it retreating.

Knox stroked my back. “Are you okay, Lucia?”

I nodded, still keeping my head down. “Yeah. Sorry. I just... I remembered what it looked like when Mario... when Mario died.”

“I’m sure that was very upsetting for you. I’m sorry you had to see that, but we couldn’t take any chances. He looked like he may have recognized you.”

His soft touch soothed me as he stroked my back.

“Yeah. It... it was just surprising,” I managed.