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God, where the hell is Lorenzo? Surely this asshole shouldn’t have been able to make it this far into this complex? Oh God, did he already kill Lorenzo? Is that why he’s not coming?
“No,” Nell screams as she rushes toward me, her hair wild, her eyes wide and filled with tears.
The fucker raises his arm once again, this time it’s aim directed at Nell. I push to my feet, needing to get to her. She’s my sister, and I won’t let her die.
The gun fires once again. Nell’s eyes widen as blood pools from her chest. I watch, horrified, as she falls to her knees, her hands clutching at her chest.
No.
God no. Please. This can’t be happening.
I drop to my feet in front of her, just as the elevator doors open. “Please, Nell, talk to me,” I whisper, praying that she’s going to be okay. My heart feels as though it’s about to explode with the pain of losing her.
“I’m cold,” she whispers.
That’s bad. God, that’s so bad. I hear commotion and know by the low growl that it’s Elio. He’s here. I’d feel relief if I wasn’t holding one of my best friends in my arms.
“I’m so sorry,” I whisper, tears falling from my eyes. “I’m so sorry.”
She shakes her head, her hand reaching for mine. It’s stained with her blood. Her lips tremble as she slumps against me. “Not your fault,” she whispers. “You gave me the best few weeks of my life.”
I swallow back the sob. This can’t be happening.
“Because of you, I got to live my dream. Thank you.” She closes her eyes, and her body goes limp in my arms.
“La mia bellissima moglie,” Elio says softly as he kneels beside me. “Come.” He holds out his hand, ready for me to take.
I can’t move. My entire body is numb, though I feel the blood from my wound as it trickles down my arm.
He lifts me up while Dario gently pulls Nell to the ground.
I sob as I see her lifeless body lying there. It shouldn’t have been her. It should have been me.
“Dario,” Elio growls, keeping his arms locked tight around my body as he holds me to him. “Take that cunt somewhere. Call me when it’s time to interrogate him. I want to know how he got in here.”
I raise my head and look at my husband. I flinch at the darkness swirling in his brown eyes. “I fucking told you to stay home.”
I swallow hard, guilt burning so hard in my stomach. He’s right. He did tell me to stay home. If I had, Nell wouldn’t be dead right now. I want to fall to the floor and sob. I did this. I caused this. My best friend is dead because of me.
“Is Lorenzo okay?”
His jaw clenches. “He’s been shot,” he tells me. “It’s a flesh wound. He’ll be okay.”
“Is that what I have?” I mumble, feeling the abyss calling for me.
His brows knit together as he looks down at me. “What?”
“He shot me. My arm’s bleeding,” I slur as I slump against him, unable to hold my head up any longer.
His arms tighten around me. “The fuck?” he growls, shifting me in his arms. The movement sends pain through me, and I cry out. Blurriness seeps into my eyes, and the last thing I hear as I succumb to the darkness is Elio calling my name.
SIXTEEN
ELIO
When I got the call from Lorenzo that there was a man watching the apartment, I was already on my way toward the place to collect Teagan. It was then that I heard the gunshot. I’ve never felt such a paralyzing fear. My mind instantly went to my wife. The thought of her being hurt or worse gripped me in a chokehold.
Dario and I enter the apartment building and find Lorenzo bleeding, a bullet hole in his leg. He’s by the elevator, blood coating the floor where he’s dragged himself toward it. “The fucker’s gone to Mrs. Gallo’s apartment,” he says through clenched teeth.
