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She'd had no idea Stefano's father had been involved inLa Mano Nera, too, but it made sense why he and Matthew were working together.They should go to jail together, too.She had to make that happen."Stefano was about to get the next painting," she said."It's there.On the wall over his head."
As Matthew stepped over Stefano, he kept the gun trained on them.But as he reached the wall, he turned to look at the painting.
In that split second, another shot rang out.
Her mother screamed and pulled her down to the floor.
She looked down the hall and saw Matthew on the ground, his eyes shocked and wide open, blood coming from the back of his head.She put her arms around her sobbing mother as Nick came running down the hall.
"It's okay, Mom.It's Nick.We're safe now."
"Are we?Is it really over?"her mom gasped."What if someone else comes?"
"I don't think there's anyone left, but we have Nick, so we'll be okay."She bit down on her lip to stop herself from bursting into tears along with her mother.
"Are you all right?"Nick asked when he reached them.He wanted to throw his arms around Isabella, but she was hugging her mother.
"We're okay," she told him."I knew you were there."
"I thought you did.Especially when you got Stefano to move down the hall."
"I wanted to give you a shot at Stefano, but Matthew took it first."
"I was stunned when I saw him come down the hallway," he admitted."I didn't think he would shoot Stefano that fast.I was going to take Matthew out after that, but he was too close to you.I couldn't risk it.But dammit, Isabella.You could have lost your life."
She met his gaze with water-filled eyes."I'm still alive.So is my mom.And so are you.That's all that matters."
"I should have done better."
"No.Don't blame yourself.You're the reason we're all still breathing.I'm just worried that there's more to come.We should get out of here."
"I agree," he said as they got to their feet.
The sound of sirens froze them in place.While he wanted to appreciate the arrival of the police, after what had gone down with Stefano, he knew this would get messy.He used his sleeve to wipe his prints off the gun he'd used and kicked it down the hall.It might still be traced to him, but it would buy him time.This was going to be a complicated situation, and having a gun in his hands would make it worse.
"You need to put your hands up," he told them.
"Why?"Isabella asked.
"Because a police officer has been shot, and they'll think we shot him," he said tersely.
Her gaze swung to Stefano, whose eyes were closed, but he was still breathing."He's the criminal, not us."
"It may take some time to prove what happened.When the police see two dead men and an injured officer with the three of us unscathed, they're going to take us into custody.When that happens, don't say anything.Whenever they ask you a question, tell them to call Captain Lavezzo and ask for a lawyer."
"Will Lavezzo help us?Or is he part of this?"she challenged."He was with Matthew and Dario the night Catherine was killed."
"Matthew said he killed his sister."
"But Catherine was arguing with Captain Lavezzo.He might still be involved."
"My gut says Catherine wanted out, and she was hoping Lavezzo would help her.Anyway, just keep asking for a lawyer."
"Can't we stay together?"
"They won't let that happen," he said, hearing officers running into the building."Hands up."
Sylvie and Isabella raised their hands in the air as the police descended on them with orders to get on the ground.There was new terror on Sylvie and Isabella's faces, and he wanted to comfort them through the chaos, but as he'd predicted, they were instantly separated, taken downstairs, and put into separate police cars.The only good thing was that they weren't shot in the process.
