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I purse my lips as I look at the lifeless body on the floor. Teto was never our favorite part of the family; he was here solely to please a friendship my father once had. An agreement we no longer need to honor.
One thing is for certain though, there is more to Wren than meets the eye.
“Do you need something to calm you down? Some sugar to take away the shock? A shower to wash away all of the blood?” My eyes squint a little in Enzo’s direction as he fires questions at Wren, taking a far better approach than I am as I stand here like a fool.
“What shock?” Wren frowns at Enzo, and I scoff at her ability to remain so casual.
“I don’t know, the shock of fucking killing someone,Bella, or whatever you want to call this,” Enzo replies, a little bewildered too as she dramatically rolls her eyes at us and shakes out of his hold.
“Honestly, I think the three of you need to catch up here. Your brains are seemingly still stuck on thinking I’m sweet and innocent Ava, and that’s far from the truth. It never has been and it never will be. I’m Wren Dietrichson, and I told you what I did back in New York, the entire reason I’m here, but it doesn’t seem to be registering in your brains.”
Absorbing the truth in her words is quite tough. Not only that, but she has proven she knows how these fucking Russians operate too. The only people underestimating her ability is us, even while we’re standing here with a dead man at her feet.
“You’re right.” Surprised, she cuts her eyes at me.
“I’ve killed before, Matteo, and I’ll likely kill again.” Her eyes remain fixed on mine until I nod, and only then does she seem to relax her shoulders and sigh. “I could do with something to take the edge off. Like, eat a steak sandwich or some shit. I’m starving.”
“A steak sandwich?” Vito repeats, saying exactly what I’m thinking. Who the fuck is this woman standing before me? And why does she become more addicting with every passing moment?
The sound of a door slamming shut in the distance breaks the atmosphere between the four of us as footsteps make their way down the hallway. I’m hopeful it’s the cleanup crew, but I hear Nonna’s voice a moment later, and Wren gasps.
“If that’s Nonna, I don’t want her to see what I’ve done here.” The panic in her eyes matches the tone of her voice as she begins bouncing from foot to foot, glancing down at Teto.
“Why?”
Her hands clench at her sides as she glares at me like I should already know the answer. “Because…”
“Because what?” I push when she doesn’t expand, only for her to fluster under the gaze of my brothers and I.
“Because she seems to like me.” Her words surprise me, the rawness present in her tone as she twiddles with her fingers.
A soft chuckle breaks past my lips as I shake my head dismissively at her. “Stellina, if anything, this is only going to make her like you more.” My chest warms with the truth as Wren tilts her head at me in confusion.
“What?”
Both Enzo and Vito chuckle at her response, just as the footsteps stop and a gasp can be heard from behind me. I don’t turn to look though, too focused on Wren’s reaction to tear my gaze away.
“I never liked that boy,” Nonna states, a smile threatening the corner of my mouth at her admission. I’m quite sure she expressed her distaste for him daily, so I know she means every word.
What I don’t expect, however, is the voice that follows after her.
“What the fuck is actually going on here? Please do not tell me that my awful brothers left the woman to take out the trash.” I whip my head around to see the most elegant and beautiful De Luca there is.
A bundle of trouble and a heaping of sass, there’s a reason this girl was never allowed near the family business. She would have been used as our weakness, like she didn’t have the mental capacity to destroy us with the snap of her fingers.
“Crazy one, meet crazy two. Wren, this is Valentina. Valentina, this is the beauty I’ve been telling you about.”
23
WREN
Why on God’s green earth is there another fucking person here right now? I’m used to killing and exiting as swiftly as possible and this is turning into a fucking mother’s meeting. Although, by the looks on everyone’s faces, no one is mad.
I shake my hands out, trying to loosen up my body and the resting bitch expression I’m sure has taken over my face, but that’s easier said than done. I really need a fucking minute, but I know I’m not going to get one.
My skin has tightened due to the blood, and I cringe as I lift my eyes back to Nonna. It seems she was tracking my line of sight because confusion etches across her face as she takes a step toward me.
“Wren, please tell me that’s Teto’s blood and not yours because I swear on all that is holy, I will bring the motherfucker back to life, only to kill him all over again.” Her chest heaves with each word, catching me by surprise with how much she means everything she’s saying.
