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I'll call the shots in my family. I can make Percy the newCapo Bastoneand spend my time working on my legitimate businesses as Mr. Fiore, only offering direction to the Attolinis when needed. We can find a new place and build a nursery, and I'll be there every step of the way through the pregnancy until our baby is in our arms, safe and sound. I'll keep Sybil's family safe, keep her close, and show her that I'm the same man she met four years ago. Flawed and broken like her, but I'm not The Undertaker. Not really.
I'm hers. Just hers.
Chapter 25
Sybil
I'm sure Nico's fancy doctor friend would tell me that pacing isn't good for a sprained ankle, but I can't help it.
I keep a crutch under one arm and walk back and forth in the living room of my floor, restless with nerves. I'm pretty sure Ace and Percy are five seconds away from confiscating my crutches to get a little peace from my visual display of anxiety, but I don't even care.
Nico has been gone for all of thirty minutes, and I'm not dealing with it well. Anything can happen in thirty minutes. I've seen him kill in far less time. If what Percy has said is any indication, he's about to be jumping into a rat's nest filled with Gattos who would probably be pretty happy with themselves for taking out The Undertaker himself.
"Hey, short stuff?"
I glance at Percy. Something about my expression must be severe enough to make him bite his tongue because he shrugs and mumbles, "Never mind."
"You should sit down," Ace offers. "You're freaking out."
"I'm fine."
"You're a giant wreck. A pretty, giant wreck, but it's still hard to watch."
I roll my eyes at him, nearly snapping that he shouldn't say that to a pregnant lady. Then I remember that Nico is the only other person who knows about the baby. Well, besides his doctor. And honestly, I'm not entirely certain his father didn't pick up on it, too.
Before I can find some other retort, Ace's phone rings, and he answers with, "Yeah, what's up, Giovanni?"
There's no sound on the other end, just harsh shuffling sounds with lots of breathing. I make a face, and Percy frowns. Ace rolls his eyes and hangs up, pocketing his cell again. "Dialing me with his ass. Again."
Damn. I was really hoping for an update. Something along the lines of "Nico Attolini is on his way back, perfectly unharmed, and he's ready to forgive Sybil for being an argumentative bitch."
I'm pacing again and debating asking Percy to just call Nico to check on him when the elevator chimes. Hope surges in my chest, and I swivel to face the doors. The second Nico walks in, I'm going to throw my arms around him and kiss him senseless. We can fight and figure things out later.
But when the doors slide open, everything shrivels up in my chest, replaced by cold horror.
It's Mad Blood.
He's here. Mateo Mad Blood is here with his henchman Al Bones. They're looking at me with their beady eyes, and Mad Blood is going to kill me.
Just like he killed Angela.
Things happen too quickly for me to process. Ace leaps to his feet, pulling out his gun as Percy lurches towards Mad Blood. But Al Bones, despite being roughly the size of a baby elephant, is faster than he looks. A gunshot rings out, deafening, and Percy the Kid drops to the floor.
I scream, and Ace looks horrified but tries to take aim anyway. Unfortunately for him, Mad Blood is fast, too. He grabs Ace's hand in time to aim the gun away before it goes off, twisting the young mafioso's arm until I hear a sickening pop. Ace shouts and tries to throw his other fist, but before I can stumble towards their brawl with my stupid ankle brace slowing me down, Mad Blood's fists smash into Ace's face three times in quick succession. Immediately, Al Bones capitalizes, lifting Ace easily and tossing him aside.
Ace's head smacks against the coffee table, and he goes motionless. Already, blood is pooling on the carpet—from both Percy and Ace.
It all happened so fast that I can barely register that this just happened. I'm choking on air. I'm fully aware that my eyes are blown wide and that I'm backing away from Mad Blood in a pathetic hobble, but I can't seem to speak through the fear, let alone try to swing at him with my crutch.
His smile is oily and slow, his hair longer than when I saw him last. "Looks like she's all dressed up just for us."
Al Bones chuckles and reaches for me. I finally jolt backward, throwing my crutch at him—as if that would do anything. But, as a matter of fact, it does. It makes the hulking mass of muscle pissed off. He grumbles and kick's Ace's motionless body aside to get closer to me as I back away.
God. Percy and Ace. I can't look at them right now, or I'll burst into tears.
"Leave me the fuck alone," I try, pushing a vase at Mad Blood as he begins cornering me, too. They're both taking their time and clearly enjoying it, which only makes me more nauseous. I'm about to throw up, but I guess that's something in the way of self-defense if I can aim it right.
Mad Blood avoids the first vase easily, but he doesn't count on me grabbing an expensive-looking painting off the wall and chucking that at his face, too. The corner catches him on the cheek, and he swears before launching forward, shoving me with the force of a linebacker.
