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“You lay one hand on him, and I will slice your fucking throat and hang you upside down to bleed out in front of the whole mafia family,” Dante says in an evil voice I have never heard before, and a cold shiver runs down my spine.
I decide to take a step closer, to see what I can see from the back of the kitchen. As I take a few steps farther, I stop short at the side. I see a man, with Nico on his knees in front of him. He is pushing a gun into the back of Nico’s head, and I cover my mouth with my hand to prevent my gasp from hitting their ears. He is a skinny man, the dark suit he is wearing ill-fitted, almost comically enveloping his frame. His dark hair hangs a little in front of his face, and although I am hidden behind him, I can still see his head when he turns. His lips protrude from his brown buck-teeth, and oddly, he looks a little like a rat, as his nose is long and pointy. My eyes then drop to Nico. Kneeling solidly on the floor, not shaking like I was. I see him breathing slowly, his eyes flicking everywhere around the room, no doubt trying to see a way out. I can’t let him die. I can’t let him die protecting me.
I raise my eyes and take in Sebastian standing by himself, his gun raised at the man. Sebastian is casual, but I can tell by the throbbing in his jaw that he is anything but. His eyes flick to me and widen slightly, before he masks his surprise at seeing me there. But he doesn’t move, doesn’t say anything. He remains focused on the man who is still holding a gun to the back of Nico’s head.
The tension is stifling. My bones feel like they are seized, my body no longer willing to move as understanding washes over me at exactly what I have walked into.
I can’t see Dante, but I know he is here, and I would rather die than have him be shot because of me. I remain still as my eyes continue to roam the room before they land on the shiny silver of one of Nico’s guns that he was cleaning earlier. I saw him arm it and place it here on the bench this morning, hiding it behind the decorative vase, so I know it is good to go. I have never shot a gun before. I have only ever held one in my hand when Nico was showing me his collection and how to operate them, so it will become another first for me. I slowly and quietly lean across and grab it while the men continue to yell at each other and negotiate between them.
It is heavier than I thought it would be. It looks so small in Nico’s hand, but as I hold it in mine, I barely have the wrist strength. I bring my other hand up automatically to support my grip.
“You have taken everything from me!” the man yells, pushing Nico’s head with the gun. “Now I plan to take something of yours. That little redhead will be mine, she will fill my bed, look after my needs, just like Angelina did. I may not be part of the head family, but I can steal your women with ease, Dante,” he spits out, talking about me like I am a possession, like I don’t even matter. He disgusts me, and I hope like hell he never has a chance to touch me.
“You fucking touch a hair on her perfect head, and I will rip you apart, limb from limb. I will slice you up with small, but deep cuts, spilling your blood so slowly, so painfully, that you will wish you never mentioned her name,” Dante replies, and if I didn’t know him, I would be so scared of him right now. My breathing slows when I hear him talk about me so protectively. I want to rush into his arms, knowing that is the only place where I feel truly safe.
I look down at the gun in my hand, then flick my eyes back at the man. His anger is evident, but he is so focused on Dante, his hatred for him palpable, that his gun hand has slackened a little and no longer points directly at Nico.
The man’s gun now is aimed slightly away from Nico's head, and is moving around a little as he yells back at Dante, the two of them throwing heated words at each other, about me, about Angelina, their rivalry running deep. But as I look back at Sebastian, I realize that no one else can see that they can shoot him. Nico is moving away ever so slightly, trying not to cause the man to notice, but trying to edge away, and I see a gun on the floor in front of him, but it is too far away for him to reach without being noticed.
I love Dante. I would do anything for him. So, gripping the gun in both hands, I raise it up. My mind now no longer connected to my body as it operates on autopilot, and in a blink of an eye, I no longer think. I just do.
39
Dante
Dominic continues to stare at me, the rage he has for me evident on his face. We have thrown words back and forth, and I know that soon he will get lazy and point the gun at me instead of Nico, and in that split second is when I will shoot. I aim my gun right for his head in wait, as I see Sebastian stiffen a little from the corner of my eye.
We are both out for blood. For stealing our money, for what he did to Angelina, and for now thinking he can just storm our safe house and take the woman who I love from me. I haven’t fucking loved anyone before, and I love Little Red with everything I am. I am not going to stand by now and let him take her.
Because she is mine.
I notice his gun hand has lowered, no longer aimed directly at Nico's head, but slightly lower near his shoulder. Gripping my gun, feeling the cold metal under my grip, I pierce my eyes, looking right at him. This is it; I am finally going to end this piece of shit. But just as I focus on his head to aim, a gunshot rings out, and we all duck, falling to the floor in unison. I watch Dominic as his body drops, bright red exploding from his head, but his arm swings wide and his gun fires, shooting his own man, who goes down hard, the bullet hitting him right in the chest. Nico scrambles to the side, retrieving his gun and Carter makes quick work of Dominic’s accomplice, ensuring he doesn’t get up again.
As I slowly stand, I notice Dominic’s body. It was a clear shot, straight through his temple. I glance at Sebastian and then Carter and Nico, and they all look shocked. We must have had another gunman here at the side, but I can’t see who it is.
“Fuck,” Sebastian says as he lowers his gun. With a clear visual of the shooter, he rubs his eyes in shock and disbelief as I lower my weapon and take a step forward before I stop dead in my tracks and my heart stutters.
It’s Little Red. Her tiny frame stands stock still, holding a shaking gun, staring at Dominic’s body on the floor, blood seeping from around his head. She is wide-eyed, barely breathing as her eyes flick to me. She lets go of the gun, and it falls from her grip, the thud startling me from my shock. Her beautiful body is splattered in bright red, the strong metallic smell now filtering through the air. She covers her mouth with her hands as she takes in what just happened.
I run to her then and grab her around the waist.
“Annie.” I take her in my arms, the color has draining from her face as her body starts to tremble. Her expression still unmoving.
“ANNIE!” I bark at her, trying to startle her out of her shock, but it doesn’t help. I see Nico and Carter running around, cleaning up evidence, as Sebastian is screaming into his phone. Little Red slumps into my embrace, and I look back at her in time to see her eyes roll back into her head. She is out cold.
“Little Red,” I say to her, slapping her on the cheek lightly, trying to rouse her. She doesn’t move, so I lift her up bridal style and walk swiftly down the hallway, leaving the boys to clean up the mess. Kicking the bedroom door shut, I race her to the bed and slowly lower her onto the soft mattress.
“Little Red,” I say again, louder, as I shake her shoulders, trying to wake her up.
“Fuck. Annie!” I yell at her, panic now filling me.
“Dante?” she groans softly, shaking her head as she comes to.
“Fuck, Little Red. Bella, are you alright?” My hands run over her body to check for any injuries. I see blood, but I don’t think it is hers.
“What did I do? Dante, what did I just do!” she screams, and tears break through, spilling out over her cheeks as the realization washes over her that she just killed a man in cold blood.
“Fucking nothing, Annie. You protected your family is what you did.” I pull her into my arms, securing her small, shaking body to my chest, and hold her as she weeps, with no plans to ever let her go.
