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Luca sits on the bed beside me and holds my hand.
“Did you get a good look at who attacked you? We need to start there. I have my men pulling security and traffic footage from every camera in a three-block radius from where you were attacked.” Alexei begins.
Luca nods. “Dario has already canvassed the streets with the police on our payroll… but it’s unnecessary. It was Enzo who arranged this attack. Given that we were in your car I don’t know if he thought that he was making a cheap shot against you, or if he knew that I was in there all along… but I knew those men. I recognized the insignia on their bikes and helmets. He didn’t even try to hide it. My father wanted you to know that it was him.”
“That’s what I was afraid of.” Alexei starts to pace. That’s how he says he gets his best thinking done. “If he’s decided to take this war to the streets, no longer having any regard for secrecy of our business or regard for civilian lives, he’s decided that he can afford to be reckless. Which, makes him even more dangerous because he’s not going to operate within the same rules as ours.”
Nora looks confused. “What?”
“My father won’t think twice about killing innocent people in order to get what he wants. There is no limit to how far he’s going to go to win this war anymore. I don’t know what changed for him overnight, or if he’s realized that I’m not answering him any longer… but the playing field is different now.” Luca says gravely.
A cold chill goes down my spine.
“Would he truly kill his own son?” Alexei asks incredulously.
Even in the times when my relationship with Alexei was strained, there was never a time that I thought my brother would not do everything within his power to help me when I needed it. There is nothing that I cannot tell him. Nothing that he would not do for me if asked. Knowing that the life that Luca comes from is so different makes my heart hurt all over again.
I squeeze Luca’s hand softly. I want him to know that from now on, he has us. He doesn’t have to face things alone anymore. Just because his father is the literal devil, doesn’t mean that he has to face that pain alone.
“Honestly? My father will see it as a bonus to be rid of me.” Luca turns to look at me slowly. “For the future of my clan and the safety of all of those involved, I have to kill him. I have to end this war.”
Silence hangs heavy in the room as the weight of his words settles on us.
Alexei is the one to break the quiet. He crosses the room and holds out a hand for Luca to shake. He doesn’t hesitate in accepting it. “Alright then. I’m with you. Let’s get to it.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
KATYA
One day later
“I said I’m fine! Stop fussing!” I sigh as I swat away Luca’s insistent hands. “I’m more than capable of walking on my own. If you don’t get off of me right now and let me do it, I will make sure that you leave here with more injuries than you came in with.”
I know that Luca’s just trying to help. I am maybe being a touch too stubborn right now, but I also don’t care. I won’t be of help to anybody if I can’t even walk myself around this hospital room. I’ve sat on my ass for too long. The need todo somethingis growing by the second.
“You can’t help her or anything at all if you pop your stitches and bleed out all over the damn place, Katya!” Luca warns me. His hands are held out wide on either side of my hips ready to catchme the moment that my legs give out. I grit my teeth and walk somewhat awkwardly toward my clothes. “At least let me help you-”
I shoot him a warning stare and he stops offering to help me, for now.
“I can’t stay here another minute longer, Luca. Marci is still out there. She probably has no idea what’s going on. The thought of her locked up somewhere, terrified and alone, where thatmonstercan touch her…” Bile and acid rise in my throat at the thought. “I can’t take it.”
“I know… I just need to make sure that by saving her, we aren’t risking you too.”
“So, you can put yourself into harm’s way - and I’m just supposed to be fine with that -, but I can’t do it?” I scowl at him, accusations written on my face. “That’s sexist bullshit and I’m not going to stand for it.”
“What itis,is my wanting to ensure that you’re properly cared for. I would like to move you to a more private facility so that I can make sure you have the best meds and care for your injury. You’ve never been shot before, Katya. The wounds are tricky.”
I pause. “How many times have you been shot?!”
Luca shrugs like it’s something he didn’t bother to keep track of.
“Nonsense.” I mutter, and struggle lifting my arms up and over my head so that I can pull my shirt on properly. It burns the more I stretch but I can’t stop it either. I can feel my stitches pulling when Luca pulls my shirt the rest of the way over my head. Just a plain black t-shirt and black jeans is all that Alexei has brought for me. A matching outfit for Luca and the rest of us so that we can move and blend in regardless of what’s about to happen. “I would still be in danger even if I agreed to sit home and be useless. It’s better this way.”
“You’re going to be a distraction.”
I whirl, ready to chew him out but I see the meaning behind those words on his face. He means that he’s not going to be able to focus properly because he’s going to want to protect me the whole time. Emotion wells in my throat and I have to choke down the knot that forms there.
“Nora is a nurse. She will be on standby if anything happens. I’m going to be as safe with you and Alexei as I could possibly be anywhere else. If it makes you feel better, I promise not to do anythingneedlesslystupid. Okay?”
