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My dad’s eyes get huge. He throws up both hands in surrender while still holding the gun but not pointing it at anyone. “I was just coming to save her for you.” He is actually trying to tell Gio that he is trying to help me. It’s like I’m on a bad episode ofThe Twilight Zone. He can’t believe that Gio will buy that ridiculous story.
When Carla notices the gun Gio is holding on my father, she chooses that time to come toward me, but Marcello steps up behind her. Wrapping his arm across her throat, he holds a gun to her head. “Don’t even think about going near her,” Marcello tells Carla, and I’ve never seen him this serious.
He’s always the jokester, but right now, he is intent on holding Carla in place and protecting me. I know he’s doing it for Gio, but it still makes me love him even more. This man can put Carla’s tongue and eyeballs in a mason jar and give them to me anytime. I won’t complain.
The Martinelli’s brought tons of soldiers with them who collect all the weapons and secure Carla’s soldiers.
“Get them and take them to the warehouse and hold them until I get there,” Gio instructs his men.
Carla is screaming Gio’s name. “ I love you, Giovanni. I did all of this for you.” She’s struggling and fighting as the soldiers take her away. Gio doesn’t even look in her direction.
Bending down over me, he reaches down and touches the side of my face. Seeing the bloody lip and bruising I can feel on my temple, I’m sure I don’t look my best.
“Angel, are you okay?”
“I will be.” He pulls me into a sitting position, and I launch myself into Gio’s arms.
“You saved me. I knew you would come.”
“Baby, I will always come for you. Always.” He leans in and places a soft kiss on my lips. He holds me to him like he’s scared I’m going to vanish.
Shoving back from him with my hands on his chest, I remember the people in the container.
“Gio, we have to save the people they have in that shipping container over there. They are getting put on the next ship that docks. Please save them.” I won’t stop until he agrees to save Samirah and the others.
A look of pure disgust comes over him. “I didn’t know they were selling human beings, Everly. I would never have done business with them, and my father wouldn’t have either. I promise we will help them.”
“I know. I know you didn’t know. They were going to sell me.” Sadness and despair come over me at the thought of what could have happened to me. I lower my eyes to the ground.
He places both hands on the sides of my face and lifts my face until our eyes lock. “No one will ever take you away from me again. I’m going to kill them. I’m going to make blood rain down on the Esposito family. Their blood will flood the streets of this town, and no one will dare touch you again, knowing that I will do the same to them.”
The determination in his voice should be scary, but I know Gio is completely obsessed with keeping me safe, so it doesn’t scare me. It makes me feel like I’m finally safe. I love that he wants to protect me.
Gio
Ihave my girl in my arms. I keep telling myself she’s alive. She’s going to be okay. I had to do it to keep myself from losing my mind when I saw her bloody lip and bruised face. Whoever hit Everly again is going to get their hands sliced off of their body for it. Trying to calm myself to comfort her is more important than my feelings right now.
I lift Everly off of the ground and carry her bridal style to the SUV. Our SUVs are bulletproof and built not to explode. It calms me a bit to know she’s safe now, but I hate to put her down. It’s painful to take my hands off of her. I lean in, place a kiss on her forehead, and buckle her into the seatbelt. I close her door and walk around to the driver’s side of the car.
Marcello and my father meet me there. “We got this, G. Take care of our girl.”
“She’s not OUR GIRL, Marcello. She’s my girl. She’s my EVERYTHING.”
Marcello just snorts and moves on to cleaning up the scene.
“I’m taking a shitload of men into Esposito’s compound and taking him out. He’s not dealing in human flesh in my town,” my father informs me.
“Dad, wait for me. I will help you.” I give him a stern glare, trying to convey how badly I need to be involved in the destruction of this creep. His daughter was shipping my wife off to a life of misery, and god knows how many other innocent women he’s done the same to.
“I’ve got this, Son. Besides, I want to go out with a bang since I’m getting ready to retire. That son of a bitch will not provide the means for my daughter-in-law to be sold to this scum and not pay for it. He’s going to suffer, and it’s going to be at my hands. You take care of Everly.”
“I need to help take this fucker down. Wait for me, Dad! We do this together and get this fuck out of business.”
“Okay, we’ll wait,” Dad adds reluctantly. He knows this is important to me.
He walks around to her door, opens it, and leans in. He says something in her ear and kisses her on the forehead. My father treats Everly just like he does Serena, his own child. She finally has a father figure who loves her and will go to the ends of the earth to protect her. For a cold-blooded killer, my dad is soft with what’s most important to him—his family.
She gives him a nod and a tiny smile. My heart swells with love for my father. He treats my girl with such love and care. My whole family does.
