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It was too late for that. My men would’ve heard the shots, and they’d be here to back me up in seconds. I had less than a minute to interrogate Federico.
I grabbed his elbow and twisted, forcing him to turn away from me as I popped his shoulder out of its socket. He screamed, and his gun clattered to the floor. I kicked it away and shoved him forward, so that his skull cracked against the wall. A crimson smear darkened the wood as he slid to the ground.
While he was disoriented, I grabbed Andrea’s knife that he’d kept hidden in his boot—I’d noted the extra weapon when I’dslowly edged out of the dance studio. I was on Federico in a heartbeat, plunging the blade into his gut. He screamed, back arching in agony.
“Who else on this estate is working with you?” I demanded, my voice loud enough to be heard over his ragged cry, but my tone clipped and controlled.
The threat had been neutralized, and now I needed information.
“No one else!” Federico gasped out.
I twisted the knife. Another guttural scream.
“Tell the truth,” I prompted, ice cold.
“It was just Andrea and me,” he babbled. “That’s all I know. Dante paid us for this a week ago. He’s been waiting for your father to die. Please—”
I swiftly withdrew the knife and plunged it back in, tearing flesh and vital organs.
“I’m sorry… So sorry, Luca. I don’t know anything. Please, you have to—”
The traitor’s pathetic plea was silenced when I wrenched the blade free from his gut and brought it up to his neck in one fluid motion, slitting his throat. Blood sprayed, warming my cheek. It spilled from his ruined throat, pouring over my hand. His mouth opened and closed, his eyes wide and wild. I didn’t bother to watch the light leave them. After his betrayal, Federico didn’t deserve any company in death.
I tossed the knife away and got to my feet just as half a dozen of my men thundered toward me, rushing to answer the sound of the gunshots. I waved at them to stand down.
“I handled it.” I informed them. I toed Andrea’s ruined skull. “Clean this up. Find their friends and question them. Dante has declared war.”
I didn’t wait for them to finish promising to obey. The need to get back to Nora was an itch beneath my skin. I’d pushedher to safety, but two bullets had been fired. If one of them had somehow hit her…
I wouldn’t fail her. I couldn’t. Not again.
Never again.
I would protect what was mine. Nora belonged to me, and I would slaughter anyone who threatened her.
I turned away from my men and stepped back into the dance studio. Nora was pressed against the wall, knees drawn up protectively to her chest and her arms braced over her head. I’d ordered her to get down, and she had. She’d stayed out of the way while I’d handled the fucking traitors who’d dared to try to take her to my worst enemy.
She looked up at me, eyes wide enough that her long lashes brushed her dark brows. Her gaze quickly roved over my body, assessing.
“You’re hurt!” she exclaimed, surging to her feet to grasp my forearm.
I glanced down and found her examining the angry red burn where Federico’s bullet had grazed my upper arm.
I didn’t feel any pain; despite my controlled mask, adrenaline churned through my system, the need for more violence setting my teeth on edge. I’d already destroyed the men who’d tried to take her from me. There was no one left to kill.
But my blood ran hot in my veins, and the concern for me that pinched her pretty, delicate features only fanned the flames. My beautiful wife had just been held at gunpoint, and instead of collapsing in tears, she was worried aboutme.
The icy mask I’d worn cracked, exploding as an inferno of emotion surged through me. All the rage I’d felt at seeing her threatened rose up in a searing wave, mingling with the fear for her life that’d twisted my insides. The fire morphed into a primal, possessive heat, and the need to stake my claim over her clamped my mind.
They’d tried to take my wife from me. But I wouldn’t let her go. Nora was mine.
I buried my bloody fingers in her silken hair and pulled her toward me, sealing her lips with a fierce kiss. I didn’t caress or cajole her this time, not like I’d been treating her so carefully since the night I’d taken her virginity. This was a fierce, animal dominance of my wife, my mate. I fully unleashed myself on her, taking everything that I wanted. She made a small sound of alarm at my sudden aggression, but I devoured it, my tongue surging into her mouth.
I stepped into her, forcing her to back up toward the mirrors. She still managed to maintain her gracefulness as I manhandled her, so breathtakingly beautiful that it incited a keen hunger I’d never known before.
I grabbed her slender wrists and pinned them to the mirror above her head. My free hand groped at her breasts, palming them through her leotard. Her nipples were peaked against the tight fabric, her body aroused despite the rough way I was handling her. Or perhaps because of it. My Nora was so perfect for me.
And all mine.
