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He turns to go. “I’ll see you around,” he says with that wicked grin.
I stand breathless as I watch him leave. What the hell just happened? One minute I’m having the best kiss—my first ever kiss—and the next minute he’s walking away as though nothing happened.
Damn Dario Gallo. Him and his stupid games are making me rethink everything I have ever wanted or thought. Why, oh why, did I have to start to fall for the damn man?
I was so happy to sail through life with my girls and not have to worry about a thing, and then he crashed into my life like a damn tornado and tilted my axis.
I just pray that I can get through whatever it is he has planned with my life and heart intact.
EIGHT
PORTIA
“So, are you a soldier or have you worked your way up?” I ask Mattia as he drives me back to the apartment complex.
“Ms. Portia, please don’t ask questions you have no idea about,” Mattia answers, his voice low, but there’s a little bite to it.
It’s funny. Growing up, Mattia was one of the boys who would always be around. He was who I spent the most time with, but he has no idea who I am. It’s almost as though everything my papa did for the Famiglia died the day he did. No one cared enough to look after my mama and I when he died.
I sit back in my seat and leave him alone. Over the past month, I’ve got used to being passed over as a nobody, just someone the men have to watch because the boss has ordered it. None of the men give a fuck what happens to Nell and me. Hell, they’d be happier if we weren’t near them.
Mattia pulls up into the parking lot of the complex, and my blood runs cold instantly. There’s a lot of commotion, too fucking much. I’m out of the car before Mattia’s even switches off the engine. “Portia,” he growls, chasing after me.
My sisters are in that building, and I’ll be damned if I don’t get to them. Mattia pushes me behind him as we enter the apartment. As much as he finds me annoying, he’s being protective, and I know it’s in his nature. He’s always been that way. Even as kids, he always had that protective streak.
“What the hell?” I gasp as I see Lorenzo—Tee’s guard—lying by the elevator, blood pouring from a bullet wound to his leg as the doctor works on him. “Where the hell are Teagan and Nell?” I demand. My heart is battering against my chest. The fear that I feel has me paralyzed to the spot. I can’t lose my girls. I can’t. They’re the only thing I have in this world. My anchor in the darkness that threatens to pull me under.
The elevator opens and my gaze moves to the doors, where I see Elio and Dario Gallo walking out, both with grim looks on their faces. What has my knees buckling is that Elio’s carrying an unconscious Teagan in his arms, blood soaking her clothes.
“Tee?” I cry out, hoping she can hear me. “Is she okay?”
Elio turns to Dario and gives him a nod. My heart sinks as I watch the usually flirty Dario look at me with such sadness, I feel it in the pit of my stomach.
“No,” I hiss at him. I don’t want to hear it. I can’t.
He reaches for me, his hands gentle but firm as he pulls me into the corner of the lobby. “Portia, I need you to take a deep breath. Can you do that?”
I glare at him. “I’m not a fucking moron. I know something’s happened. Is Tee okay? What about Nell?”
He doesn’t answer my questions. “Portia, take a deep breath and we’ll talk.”
I shake his hands off me. “Dario, fucking tell me,” I urge. My body is bound tight as I wait for the news I know is coming. I can feel it. I know with every piece of my soul that something terrible has happened. “Are Tee and Nell okay?”
“She’s been shot. The bullet grazed her. She’ll be okay. She’s just unconscious,” he tells me, and I watch him, waiting for him to tell me about Nell. “I’m so sorry, Portia. Nell was also shot, but she didn’t make it.”
I swallow hard. God, Nell... Pain slashes through me. My best friend is gone. The woman who has been with me throughout the past four years is gone, and I wasn’t there. I didn’t keep my promise. I vowed that I’d always protect her, and I failed her.
“Are you listening to me?” Dario asks, and I blink as I look up at him. “You can’t stay here. Diego is going to bring you to another apartment complex we have. You’ll be safe there.”
I want to laugh. Safe. Wasn’t that what we were supposed to be here?
“Diego will be here shortly. Don’t move, Portia. I swear, you leave, and I’ll come looking for you.”
I roll my eyes. Fucking asshole. Where the fuck does he think I’m going to go?
“I’ll be back later,” he says, almost as if that’s supposed to make me happy.
I don’t want to see anyone. I can’t even breathe without pain lacing through my heart. My tears are threatening to fall, but I don’t let them. I’ve never cried in front of anyone, and I never will. I’ve buried my pain inside of me for years, and I’m always going to do that. There’s no letting it out. I can’t.
