AllFreeNovel
Share Us
A man clears his throat, drawing everyone’s attention to him before he begins the service. I half listen, half zone out, completely overwhelmed by the entire thing as the sobs get louder and sadness swirls in the air around us.
It’s clear we’re mourning a truly loved and respected fallen soldier today. A loss undeserving and far before his time, but it doesn’t change the reality. Just like avenging him won’t bring him back. Pain is a powerful feeling, and we’re all tainted by it, just in different shapes and forms.
It’s not until someone drops a rose on top of the coffin that I pay full attention again as both Vito and Matteo join them. Watching them take a moment at the foot of the grave, I wish Enzo was here, saying goodbye to his friend, and I can only hope Matteo and Vito do him justice.
“Hey.”
I turn at the whispered word to find Valentina beside me with a tight smile on her face. Wetting my lips, I make sure no one can hear us when I lean in closer to mumble in her ear.
“Is everything in place?”
“Yes.”
I sag a little with relief, but only for the briefest of moments before I’m back to being on high alert. We came back to Italy in a rush for this funeral, a move that was both a risk and a statement all at once.
“Perfect,” I reply, squeezing her hand as I sense someone approaching and stand tall once more.
“Valentina, thank you so much for being here.” I turn to the lady speaking to see her wiping at the tears still trailing down her face. “And you too. Matteo said your name was Wren?” she clarifies, and I nod in response. “I’m Torres’s mother.”
The crinkle in her sad smile has me choking up as I manage to find my tongue. “I’m so sorry for your loss.” It doesn’t mean enough, it doesn’t make her pain go away, but she pats my hand before going to speak to other people in attendance.
“It seems the funeral was unscathed,” Matteo states as he comes to a stop beside me, hands tucked into the pockets of his pants as he glances around the cemetery.
“Thank goodness.” I pull my sunglasses from my blazer pocket, covering my eyes so I can focus on what is going on around us without people actually seeing where my eyes are aimed. But I needn’t have bothered, because not even five seconds pass before the sound of an explosion can be heard in the far distance.
A few people around us squeal in surprise, but most of us don’t react at all.
“Oh my gosh, what was that?” a woman shouts with a gasp, pointing in the distance toward the billowing smoke in the sky.
“That was right on time,” I mutter so only Matteo, Vito, and Valentina can hear me.
“That sounds like we need to move. Now,” Matteo states, swirling his hand in the air to signal his men to get back in the SUVs parked behind us.
“What was that, sir?” Gio asks, approaching the four of us, and I don’t miss the way his eyes linger on Valentina for a split second longer than everyone else, but I opt to tuck that information away for later. That little tidbit isn’t going to get us what we want right now. Not when the explosion is a beacon for our next move.
As I start moving toward the SUV, I don’t miss Vito’s response that sends a thrill of excitement down my spine.
“That was the sound of the Russians setting off explosives at thewrongfuneral. Now let's move, revenge is waiting.”
32
WREN
Vito holds the door open for Valentina and I to climb in, but when I expect both him and Matteo to follow after us, I’m surprised by the door slamming shut and the pair of them climbing into the front of the SUV.
Matteo’s foot hits the accelerator without a moment's pause, and seconds later, he’s driving like a mad man toward the explosion. The smoke can still be seen in the sky, casting a gloom over the town, and with every inch closer we get, the more exhilarated I feel.
We are barely half a mile away from where the Russians believe Torres’s funeral took place, but to Matteo, that’s still too far as he continues at full speed toward the chaos. Weaving through traffic, gone is the man that laid his friend to rest, and in his place sits the man who earned the right to lead the De Luca mafia.
There’s finally going to be an outlet for all of his rage; he just has to hold on for a few more minutes.
Needing a distraction until we get there, I quickly pull my cell phone from my pocket and hit the speed dial on Enzo’s number. It barely rings once before his voice filters through the line.
“Hey,Bella.”
“Did you see everything?” I ask, cutting straight to the chase as he hums through the line.
“Valentina made sure I saw it all and I said a prayer for my brother. Thank you for ensuring that happened, Wren, it means a lot to me, my family, and our men,” he says.
