I can’t resist.“I wasn’t going to, but now that you mention it…”
His hands cup my face, thumbs stroking my cheeks while he probably wonders whether he can believe me.Something in my steady gaze must have convinced him, because he smiles gently before touching his forehead to mine.“Thank you.I know the words might sound empty, but I mean them.Thank you.”
I don’t get the chance to accept his thanks before the ground shakes.
It comes out of nowhere, the bone-jarring rumble that makes the windows rattle and the coffee in Dante’s mug spill onto the counter.
“What the fuck?”He gasps, caging me against him with his protective arms while the rumbling fades before the screech of a siren fills the air.
“What’s happening?”My pointless question goes unanswered because there is no answer.He’s as clueless as I am as he runs to the front door and flings it open.Men are running across the grounds, shouting, and all of them are headed down the driveway to the front gate.
The black smoke drifting into the air from that direction makes my stomach clench.“Oh my God!”I shout, covering my ears with my hands.Not that it does anything to block out the sirens.
Dante turns to me, gripping my arms tight.“Go up to the house!Stay there!”
I watch with a sinking heart as he sprints barefoot across the grass.Even if I begged him not to go down there, he wouldn’t hear me, and I doubt he would listen anyway.
Isabella must be frantic up there at the house, which is what gets me moving up the stairs.Somehow, I fumble my way through, pulling on a pair of leggings and shoving my feet into flats before throwing a cardigan over my tank top, even with the sirens wailing loud enough that I can barely hear myself think.
So loud, I don’t hear anyone coming up the steps and rushing into the room.Not until it’s too late.All at once, an arm wraps around me from behind, holding me in place while a cloth covers my mouth and nose.
And what does instinct want me to do?Scream.
Which means taking a deep breath and losing consciousness.
17
DANTE
The gates are now nothing but twisted metal, along with the smoking wreck that until earlier this morning was an unmarked van.“Stay back,” Cesco warns when I move too close for his comfort.“We don’t know if the gas tank will blow.”
One of the two men who were in the guard house holds a bunched-up jacket to his bleeding forehead.“Guy pulled up, got out like he was gonna leave another package,” Max explains.“Joey ran out to the gate.We wanted to catch him before he drove off.”
“The driver must have panicked,” Luca muses.Like me, he looks like he was interrupted in the middle of something, dressed in a T-shirt and sweatpants.He also looks like he’s as ready to kill.
Max nods, then winces in pain.“He dropped the package on the ground, and that was it.Boom!”
And now, both the mystery driver and Joey are dead, lying under blankets until we can have their bodies removed.
“This is a fucking nightmare,” I mutter, my eyes and throat scratchy from the smoke still hanging in the air.
“Could’ve been worse,” Cesco points out.“What if the bomb didn’t go off early?”
I can’t think about that.When I do, I lose the ability to think about anything else.I need a clear head if I’m going to strategize.Honing in on the sensation of grass under my bare feet helps focus my thoughts.Someone bombed my front gate, and I’m standing here in nothing but a pair of pajama pants.I’d laugh if it weren’t all so twisted, like what’s left of the gates.
“We need to get him looked at,” I announce, nodding toward Max.He’s dazed, blinking slowly up at me.“They’re familiar with us at Mercy General.Take him there.”After all, we practically built them a new wing after they discreetly took care of Emilia once Alessandro was finished with her.
“I can deal with getting the bodies removed,” Cesco offers.There’s an edginess to him, a jumpy energy.Normally, I would handle it myself, but I have the sense he needs something to do.A way to feel useful.Otherwise, he’ll explode.
That’s why I add, “And get some estimates on what it will take to replace the gates, if you can.In the meantime, I want cars blocking the way and triple the number of men out here working in shifts around the clock.”I glance toward Luca, who nods his agreement.
“You know what I think?”my brother asks as we start walking the driveway again, sidestepping clusters of tight-jawed guards on our way up to the house.
“That Alessandro Vitali is currently living his last day?”I ask, wishing it were that simple.
“Definitely on my mind, but I was thinking about Emilia and Sophia,” he adds before I can roll my eyes.“Are they safe here?Would they be better off if we sent them away until this blows over?”
I must be hearing him wrong.“Are you serious?Do you honestly think you could handle it, even a single day, not being able to see and touch her and know she’s safe?”I can’t stand the thought of sending Sophia away, and we don’t have the sort of intense relationship they have.I’d go out of my mind before the end of the first day.
