Page 58 of Sicilian Savior

With a deep breath, I spun out from where I had been pressed against the wall. My appearance caught the eyes of the men firing bullets, and their guns all spun toward me. I aimed my weapon with well-trained precision, pulling the trigger and sending the grenade flying across the courtyard. The men shouted, leaping out of the way, but it exploded before they’d gotten clear.

I couldn’t help but smile when I heard Wes in my ear. “Congrats. You got to blow shit up.”

“I fucking love blowing shit up.” I grinned.

“You’re clear,” Wes said. “You got them all.”

Piper and Marcus came out from behind the stone fountain. My heart stalled out in my chest when I saw the small, frightened boy clinging to Piper’s neck.

Luca.

“Is he hurt?” I demanded, racing to their side.

“No, he’s okay,” Piper said, pressing her hand to the back of the boy’s head. “We gotta get him out of here.”

Luca looked up from where he had his head buried, and the soft brown eyes I’d dreamed about met mine. They were Lucia’s eyes.

I’d fallen instantly in love when I’d met Lucia, and once again, my heart cracked open the same way when I locked eyes with the boy. A primal need to protect him and pull him into my arms stole the breath from my lungs.

“Hey, Luca,” I whispered, struggling to get the words over the lump in my throat. “I’m Knox. I’m a good friend of your mama’s, and I made her a promise I’d get you back to her.”

A tear slid down his terrified face, his little lip quivering.

“Do you want to go see your mama?” I asked, reaching out and wiping the tear away.

He nodded, his chin puckering more as the tears started to fall.

I opened up my arms and smiled. “Well then. Why don’t you hop on, and let’s get you out of here? Your mama has mac-and-cheese with hot dogs waiting for us, and I heard it’s your favorite.”

His eyes flickered a little, a small nod tipping his head and moving his shaggy brown hair.

“It’s my favorite too.” I smiled. “So, what do you say? You want to ride with me or ride with Aunty Piper?”

After a moment of staring into my face, he released his grip on Piper and reached out for me. I nearly dropped to my knees when I felt his small hands slip around my neck, gripping me tightly as he buried his head in my arms.

I slid a hand behind his head and held him close, closing my eyes for a moment while I pressed him into my chest.

“Now that’s a good sight,” Wes said into my ear, and I saw the smiles on Piper and Marcus’s faces. “If that doesn’t get you right in the feels, then you’re as dead in the heart as those dudes Knox just blew up.”

Right in the feels. That was the understatement of the century. It seemed since the first time I’d laid eyes on Lucia, my feels had been pummeled into something unrecognizable. Hell, I didn’t even know I had feels until she walked into my life. But this... the feeling of holding her beloved boy in my arms was indescribable.

Right in the feels indeed.

I could have stood there forever, holding Luca in my arms, but more gunfire broke up our little reunion. Luca jumped in my arms, tightening his grip, and the warrior inside me surged, wrapping Luca up tighter and shielding him away from the direction of the bullets.

“Let’s move,” I commanded, taking off in the direction of our escape route. Piper and Marcus followed behind me, popping off bullets as they covered our exit.

When we reached the wall, Marcus went over first while I secured the pully to myself. The second I had it on, Marcus hoisted us up, and I held Luca tight until we got to the other side. Piper scaled the wall a few seconds later, and the four of us took off across the vineyard to the getaway vehicle parked in the field.

We got inside, and I held Luca tight while Piper drove us away. He never looked up or let go of my neck, and I felt his little heart pounding against mine.

“You’re okay, Luca,” I whispered as I stroked his shaggy brown hair. “We’re safe, and we’re on our way to your mama. I’ll never let anything bad happen to you. Ever. I swear it on my life.”

And I meant it. I’d known I’d die for Lucia, and now that I held her son, that desire to protect and cherish swelled over him as well. Now to get him back in her arms and see the smile I’d been desperate for. The smile of a woman reunited with her son.

We’re coming, Lucia. And I’ve got our boy.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN