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“I love you,piccolina.
“Love you, Da — darling.”
Who knows if anyone else guessed what she was going to say? I don’t give a shit. I press a searing kiss to her lips before I stay low as Cristiano while I run out of the room.
Chellie’s parents live on an acre and some change, but it’s still the suburbs. People will hear us, so we don’t have long before the cops arrive. We need to deal with this fucker and get Chellie and her parents away from here in the next two or three minutes. That’s what we need to do. That’s not even in the realm of possibility.
I spot Santo with his shock of red hair. He blames it on his dad being from the north of Italy. It’s his mom’s side that’s Sicilian. He has a rifle he got from the back of the SUV we traveled in. Until this shit’s resolved, Chellie isn’t riding in anything else. No town cars. Our SUVs are veritable tanks. We reinforce any and everything, and they’re bullet proof. There are steel plates beneath the chassis to protect against car bombs and improvised street explosives. The tires can still roll even if they’re punctured.
As I run toward my guy, I yank the sling off my arm. I grit my teeth against the pain that’s set in after way overexerting myself earlier with Chellie. Not that I regret a thing we did in my old bedroom, but fuck, I’m paying for it now. Thank God the bullet only nicked my shoulder. If it had gone in, I wouldn’t be able to move it at all.
I press the alert button on my belt. It’ll send out a ping to all the men in my family. They’ll track me. We should be away from here before anyone can make their way out to Jersey. But I just need them to know shit’s happening just like during the car crash. They’ll start calling, but it’ll be awhile before I can answer. As long as my tracker keeps moving, they’ll be more confident I’m alive.
I spot a guy in a tree. His rifle has a telescope on it, and from the way he’s leaning over the branch, this isn’t the first job he’s had like this. He doesn’t see me coming from behind, so I shoot his leg and arm. He rolls from a branch that isn’t high enough to kill him. But it knocks the wind out of him.
“Keep searching.”
I command Santo and Cristiano without having to look at them. I use my foot to nudge the sniper onto his back. He groans, and his eyes flutter open. I recognize the guy as somebody we’ve contracted before. Goes to show you money talks. Someone paid this guy to take out Chellie or me, or even at this point, her parents. He doesn’t care that he once did a job for us. He’s loyal to the person who pays him.
“Did Simms send you?”
“Huh?”
“Unless you want to bleed to death slowly, answer me. Tell me what I want to know, and I’ll end this fast. Don’t, and I’ll make sure my guys take you somewhere to die in agony.”
We’re not taking him anywhere. He’s as good as dead now, but I want to know things.
“Why should I tell you anything? I’m going to die no matter what.”
“And you get to decide how painful it will be.”
I shoot his foot, and he howls. This is taking too long.
“Was it Simms?”
“Yes.”
“How much?”
“Ten grand.”
That’s not a huge bounty, but it’s nothing to overlook. I don’t know if I should be insulted that Simms doesn’t think the love of my life’s life is worth more.
“Who hired Simms?”
The guy doesn’t answer, so I shoot between his legs, barely missing his junk on purpose.
“I don’t know. I think this was him going solo. He hates your woman.”
That makes it sound personal. I thought she was just a means to an end to hurt Laura and get back at Maks.
“Why?”
“I don’t know. Something about her fucking up some deal with the Wo Shing Wo and his kid.”
“So, this has nothing to do with the bratva?”
“Maybe. I don’t ask fucking questions.”
