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“It is not fucking okay!” she screams, and again, I jump, pulling Leo even closer to me as he starts to whimper into my side. My eyes flick to the front door, wondering where the hell Dante’s team are. They are all usually close by, but not today, it appears.
Looking back at her, I take in her full appearance. Tight black shiny shorts that hide nothing, and a black halter top, which stops short of covering her torso, and I can see her skinny frame underneath. There is nothing of her; I can see her rib bones.
“What do you want?” I ask her tentatively, trying to keep her talking to give me more time to think of a way out of this situation. Leo and I could run, barricade ourselves in one of the rooms, but we won't be fast enough to outrun them all. The two men have already positioned themselves on either side of her, clearly anticipating that option, so I immediately look around for other clues that may help us escape.
“I want my fucking son!” she screams again, and I know that she is not stable at all. Her words are slurred, her eyes are hazy, and there is absolutely no way that Leo is going anywhere near her. Whether she is his birth mother or not. I am not sure of their history, but I can't imagine Dante ever being married to someone like this. I look at Leo again, and he is hiding his face into my t-shirt. I increase my hold on him, silently telling him that he isn’t going anywhere.
Feelings of how my own mother treated me begin to filter through my mind, like a rolodex of memories that flash from her slurred words, her stingy hatred, her venom when she didn’t get what she wanted. The anxiousness that had left my body the moment I arrived here in New York floods through my system, my palms sweating, and if it wasn’t for this little boy gripping onto me so tightly, I would be totally losing it right now.
“I’m sure if you just wait for Dante…” I start to say again, feeling so out of my depth here that I am not sure what to do.
“Who the hell do you think you are?” she sneers at me as she looks around the house. “Are you the nanny, or the housekeeper? Did he finally get rid of that old bag Maria? I know you can’t be fucking him because he never brings a woman into his house.” She eyes me suspiciously. Looking at her, I still cannot quite believe this is happening. “Do you think he cares? Do you really think a man like Dante Luciano cares about someone like you?” Her voice is cunning now, almost threatening. “He doesn’t care about you! NOW GET YOUR FUCKING HANDS OFF MY SON!” she screams again as she begins to pace in front of us.
I look around me to try and find something to defend myself because she is acting unhinged. There is nothing, the house spotless. The benches and floor are so clean and tidy you could eat off them. There isn’t a lamp, a broom stick, nothing I can grab that may buy us more time. I am too far away from any of the kitchen utensils and the bench is clear except for some of Leo’s Lego pieces.
I hear Leo whimper again and feel something cold. Looking down, I see that his jeans are a darker shade down the leg, and wet against my leg, his little body shaking next to mine. It makes me angry, and as scared as I am, I realize that I am the only person here who can protect him.
“No,” I say firmly, and she stops pacing to stare at me, her glassy eyes piercing mine, as her lips scowl.
“No?” she asks me, as if she is toying with me, but I remain firm.
“No. He does not want to go with you,” I state, standing as tall as I can, trying to feign the confidence I don’t have.
She begins to cackle, laughing at me as her head tilts to one side, looking totally psychotic. I hear a small click then and hold my breath as I notice for the first time since she walked in the door that she has a gun in her hand. The shiny silver metal looks new and unused as she raises it in front of her body, pointing it directly at me.
“Give me my fucking son, or I will shoot you in the fucking head, you fucking bitch.” She sways on her feet, and I have no doubt that my time is about to be up. All I can hope for is that the sound of the gun shot will be loud enough to get someone's attention so they come in time to save Leo.
“Well, you better pull the trigger because I am not letting him anywhere near you.” My mind is made up. I have no weapon, I have no physical ability to run at her and escape, and no guards are coming to our aid. If my body is the thing that saves Leo, then so be it.
Leo begins to cry, his tears and loud whimpers increasing in volume, and my heart breaks for this little boy.
I look right at her as I pull Leo behind me, my body protecting him like a shield, because I know what is coming. I see her begin to smile as her finger tightens on the gun and she pulls the trigger, just as some men storm through the front door, firing in her direction.
But I see and hear nothing more, the burn through my chest instant, my body pushed back, thumping against the kitchen bench before it slides onto the floor in a pool of vibrant red.
30
Dante
I meet Carter and the crew in the hallway—where the fuck they have been I have no idea. But I have little time to worry about it now until I know Leo and Annie are safe. I push through my front door and my heart immediately stops beating. There, in my living room, is my ex-wife, along with two men. Angelina's gun is raised, and as I walk farther into the house, I see that she is aiming it right at Annie, who is shielding Leo with her body. The two men both pull their guns as they see us come through the door, but my team and I don't hesitate, and I pull my gun, walking straight toward Angelina.
“Put it down, Angelina!” I yell out to her. The two men have turned, training their guns on me and my team, who now surround the space behind me.
She looks my way and smiles an evil smile, and in that split second, she pulls the trigger. Disbelief washes over me as Carter is beside me in a flash and doesn’t hesitate. He pulls his gun and shoots her just as she is about to turn the gun on us.
“Annie!!” I scream as I watch her small body take the bullet into the top of her chest and slam backwards into the kitchen bench, falling to the floor on top of Leo. This can’t fucking be happening. I run straight to them, not caring about the bullets that are still flying in all directions as Carter and Sebastian take care of the other two men.
My heart thumps as I drop to my knees, pulling Leo out from under Annie’s body where he is a shaking mess, but alive and physically unharmed. His small hand is still clutching onto Annie’s as I look down at her limp body. I rip my shirt off and push it tightly into the gunshot wound in her chest, praying that it missed her heart. There is blood all around her, and I feel it seeping into my jeans.
“C’mon, Annie. Fuck!” I yell as anger, stress, and fear sweeps through my body, and my fingers press on her neck. I feel her pulse which is still strong and see the rise and fall of her chest so I know she is still alive.
“Stay with me, Little Red. Fucking stay with me,” I demand of her as I put pressure on her wound, the blood loss is so severe I feel the dampness seeping through the ripped fabric of my shirt and onto my hands.
“Annie?” Leo says in his small quivering voice, breaking my heart in two as he starts to sob next to me. I have waited years to hear his voice and to hear it now pained cuts me to my core.
“Fuck,” Sebastian says as he comes and kneels next to me. Grabbing Leo, he tucks him into his side, a move not dissimilar to the hold I saw Little Red have on him moments ago when I stormed through the door.
“Doctors are on their way up. I will call an ambulance!” Carter yells from behind me, and I can barely hear him from the thumping in my chest that is vibrating around my body.
