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Her face goes stoic, and she turns away. “I see.”
“I don’t think you do.” I take her hand.
“No.” She yanks her hand away. “I know I’m supposed to be your broodmare, having your babies while you whore around with mistresses. Trust me, my parents told me all my life that I’m only good for making heirs. You don’t have to say anything else.”
I can’t seem to say what I mean, which is new for me. I’ve never had a problem being understood. Then again, that understanding usually comes from someone who’s at the business end of my gun barrel.
“Angelica, this isn’t–” I turn my head as a car races up beside the limo.
“Isn’t what?” she huffs.
The hairs on the back of my neck stand on end, and I grab her and throw her to the floorboard and cover her with my body.
“Stop!” she screams, but the sound is quickly cut off by gunfire as glass shatters all around us, and the limo veers off the road.
4
ANGELICA
All the air leaves my lungs when Antonio’s body covers mine on the floor of the limo. Pain shoots through me from my already bruised ribs. I try to push him off me, but it’s useless. For a brief second, I think I’ve gone too far and really pissed him off. Until I hear the gunfire and the sound of shattering glass. The limo jerks around, but I can’t see anything.
It dawns on me that he’s not trying to hurt me but instead shielding me from whatever is happening. I stop trying to push him off. I grab hold of him instead and brace myself as the limo slides into something. It jerks us hard again before finally coming to a stop. Antonio lifts his head, his eyes meeting mine.
“You’re okay.” It doesn’t come out as a question but more like an order, as though he’s letting me know that I’m all right so that I don’t panic. I know he’s waiting for a response to gauge how I’m doing.
“I’m okay,” I agree. I don’t think I’m hit. The only place that hurts is my side.
“Listen to me, angel. I won’t let anything happen to you, but know you’re a Palermo now. No one can take that from you. What’s mine is now yours.”
“What?” I wince when I hear more gunfire go off. “Why are you telling me this now?”
“In case I don’t make it.” My heart sinks. He presses a hard kiss to my mouth that is over as quickly as it began.
He lifts off me, turning just as one of the doors opens. I watch in stunned silence as Antonio pulls out a gun and fires two shots off before he reaches into the back of his pants to pull out another gun. I sit up, my stupid dress tangling all around me.
Antonio fires another few shots before he turns to me with the second gun. He grabs my hand, slapping the gun into it. “Your hand has to be pressed there.” He shoves the gun harder into my hand so the back of it hits between my thumb and index finger. I feel the handle of it push in. “Then you can pull the trigger.”
I’ve seen a million guns in my life. Never have I held one in my hand, though. Not only that, Antonio turns around so his back is pressed up against me. I could kill him so easily if I wanted to. But could I really do that to the man who just shielded me? I think my father would have usedmeas the shield.
Antonio fires a few more shots out the door before he reloads. The other door swings open. I let out a small scream as a knife lands in the middle of the chest of the man who opened it. I didn’t even see Antonio produce it, let alone throw it. The attacker grabs his chest and gasps before falling forward. Antonio grabs him by the hair and yanks him halfway inside the limo. He pulls the knife out of the man’s chest. The man immediately starts to plead with Antonio not to kill him.
“You ruined my wife’s wedding day,” Antonio says before he slices his throat. Blood splatters across my dress. I sit there in shock. But Antonio doesn’t waste any time; he pushes the body out the door and then pulls it shut. “Anyone comes in this car you shoot unless I call your name.” What the hell? How is this happening? “Angelica!” Antonio snaps.
“Yes.” I nod, answering him.
“Good girl,” he says before he’s out the door of the limo. I want to call after him. To beg for him to come back. For some stupid reason, I want to make him promise that he won’t get hurt. I tense when the door opens, and there is a man pointing a gun in my direction. I don’t get the chance to fire. Before I can pull the trigger, the person is falling face first inside, blood spilling out of his mouth. The back of the man's shirt is riddled with bullet holes and soaked with blood.
“Angel,” Antonio calls. “I’m coming to get you.” He reaches in, grabbing the dead man and yanking him out of the way before he leans in, offering me his hand. I take it. He pulls me out of the back of the limo.
“Antonio,” I breathe when I see three SUVs riddled with bullet holes. Bodies litter the ground all around us. Holy crap.
“Come on,” someone shouts. I stand there paralyzed for a second. Maybe I’m hallucinating or in shock or something, but I swear I recognize a few of the dead men on the ground. That can’t be right. “Boss!”
“Got to move,” Antonio says before he’s lifting me off my feet. He jogs toward a waiting car, shoving me into the back. “Get her out of here.” He starts to shut the door.
“I’m not leaving you,” the man who called him boss says. If he’s Antonio’s right hand, I believe his name is Gilly.
“Get her out of here,” he orders again.
