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“Keep quiet, Matty,” his mother says without looking at him. Her eyes never leave my face as she continues to aim at my chest.
I swallow softly. “We need to get Maria to the hospital,” I say, hoping she’ll see sense. This is her daughter we’re talking about.
Isabella’s trying to talk her down when Enzo arrives. The look on his face is more furious than ever as he walks toward us. His eyes meet mine, and I see so many emotions pass across his face. Anger’s the most prominent one, but I also see fear. Fear for me.
“What the fuck is going on here?” he asks.
Jason is at his back, jaw clenched as he takes everything in.
Denise whirls around, changing the direction of her aim. For the first time, I see her expression flicker. Nerves, fear. At least that means she hasn’t completely lost it.
“Stay back!” Denise yells.
Enzo’s lips curl in distaste. “You’re not going to shoot me,” he says confidently. His eyes meet mine. “You okay, baby?”
I nod. “We need to get Maria to a hospital.”
Enzo lets out a breath. “Jason, go pick her up.”
Denise doesn’t move as Jason walks over to the little girl on the floor. I’m glad she’s still conscious, although she looks very weak, her brown eyes blinking slowly. “Isa, go to the hospital with Matt. Jase will drive you.”
Isabella hesitates, her eyes drifting to Denise.
Enzo’s jaw ticks. “I wasn’t asking, Isa.”
“Don’t kill her, please,” she begs, rushing off with Matthew before he has a chance to run toward his mother.
I sigh in relief once they disappear through the front door. At least Maria will be okay. Some of the men guarding the house have drifted inside, looking for what’s causing trouble. Enzo tells them to leave, until it’s only the three of us left. Me, Enzo, and Denise. Who is still pointing a gun at him. Seriously, her arms have to be hurting by now.
“Aren’t you getting tired of holding that up?” Enzo asks dryly. Despite myself, I can’t help a small smile. Great minds think alike. “Drop the gun, Denise.”
She doesn’t. Enzo’s jaw tightens.
“You disappear for weeks and return only to hold someone at gunpoint in front of your kids,” he says angrily. “Mother of the year.”
Denise finally speaks up. “Do you want to know where I was?”
“Isabella mentioned that you went on a trip to clear your head. I confirmed you were still in the U.S. and I stopped caring after that.”
“You should care,” Denise says, her voice nearly hysterical. “You should really care. I was looking for him.”
Who?
Enzo’s eyes narrow slightly. Like he knows exactly who she’s talking about.
“He’s dead, though,” Denise mutters. “It’s really such a shame. I was looking to give him a job. Can you guess what?”
I have no idea what they’re talking about and it’s pissing me off.
“You know,” Enzo says, and his voice sounds so cold a chill runs through me.
“Of course I know.” Denise laughs. “It might have happened long before I married Leo, but his brother’s wife told me. You remember her, right? She passed away from cancer. But in her last months, she told me everything. How your uncles conspired to have their brother killed. They hired someone to do it. Someone who would do a clean job, murder all of you. But you didn’t die,” Denise says sadly.
My hand flies up to my mouth and I suddenly feel sick. Enzo doesn’t look at me. I swallow the cry that threatens to escape my throat. Sorrow fills me. I can’t even begin to imagine how he must be feeling. But when I really study his expression, there’s not even a flicker of surprise.
“You knew,” Denise says, confirming my thoughts.
“Of course I fucking knew,” Enzo grits out. “No one else would have benefitted from my father’s death apart from his brothers. I got confirmation when I was seventeen. After I heard them gloating about it. They were always fucking fools.”
