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“Right.” I guess he doesn’t know about Cecilia’s crush on him. Good.
I hurry out of the house and head back to my apartment, hoping beyond hope Nina will be there. But when I find my apartment empty, I know where she’ll be. It’s not somewhere I want to go, but I have to.
I pound on the door to Petrov’s condo. No one answers. I keep knocking until I hear a scream. Then I kick down the door.
What I see when I step inside chills me to the bone. It’s Petrov, and he’s beating the shit out of Anna with his belt. Nina is on the floor, passed out. Or dead. Nina’s mother is nowhere to be seen.
With a snarl, I shove Petrov away from Anna. He stumbles into the couch and falls over. I crouch beside Anna and check her wounds. They don’t look too bad. Hopefully, Petrov wasn’t at it long before I showed up.
“You’re ok now,” I tell her, helping her sit up.
“Nina?” she cries, looking at her sister.
I hurry over to my wife. After checking her pulse and realizing she’s still alive, I gently pat her face. “Nina? Nina, please wake. Wake up.” I shake her more firmly. “I can’t live without you. I’m so sorry. I’m sorry I was so mad. I’m sorry I pushed you away. I shouldn’t. You weren’t to blame. I should have listened harder to what you were saying. Nina? Please.” In my desperation, I kiss her while whispering for her to wake up.
Nina stirs.
I pull back. “Nina?” She slowly opens her eyes, blinking up at me.
“Antonio?” She touches her head, wincing. It’s then I notice the gash on her head. Petrov must have given it to her. I help her sit up.
“I’m so sorry, Nina. But I’m here. I’m here now. I love you. I never stopped loving you.”
Her eyes water before they settle on her sister. “Anna?” She crawls over to her. “Anna, are you ok?”
Anna is crying and holding her arms around herself. “No,” she sobs. Nina grabs her sister and glares at her father as he stands up.
I stand up, too, and face Petrov head on. “I let you live. That was a mistake.”
“We were trying to leave,” Nina explains. “But he stopped us.”
“You’re not going to stop, are you?” I ask Petrov.
He grunts. “They’re my family. They belong to me.”
“No. They’re not your family any longer. They’re mine.” I turn to Nina and Anna. “You two might want to shut your eyes for this.”
Nina’s eyes widen. “Are you …?”
“Yes. He won’t stop otherwise.”
After a moment, Nina nods and hugs Anna closer to her, making sure her sister doesn’t see what’s about to happen.
I turn back to Petrov, lift out my gun, and point it at his head. He doesn’t even put up a fight. He must know it’s pointless, especially now that I’ve killed Franco and am the new leader of the Moretti Mafia.
I pull the trigger.
The gunshot is loud in the quiet space. Petrov jerks, then falls backward, landing on the ground with a hard thump.
Then all is quiet again.
I put my gun away before going back to Nina. I crouch beside her and her sister. “You two are all right. You never have to fear him again. Now, let’s get out of here. You’re both coming home with me.”
“What about Mom?” Anna asks, pulling back from her sister’s arms.
Nina shakes her head sadly. “She can’t protect us. She never protected us like she should. But Antonio can. We can make a new family … with him.” She turns to me. “Did you really mean everything you said?”
“I did. I love you so fucking much, Nina.”
