“All you want is this,” he looked over at Giorgio, “thing, and you’ll tell me what your brothers are planning?”
“I’ll even help you turn the tables.”
He looked me up and down as he pondered this fact, humming out, “You have your mother’s same sexy darkness in you,” as he did.
“Natalia!” A voice thundered down the hallway, and regardless of what I knew, my heart still started to beat.
“Romeo,” I said. “Release him quickly.”
Angelo strode over to where Giorgio was hanging and lifted his head. “You’re lucky I don’t slit your throat for touching my daughter.”
Giorgio smiled. “Trust me, if you knew what I’d donetoher, you definitely would.”
White rage flared in my father’s eyes making him tremble from head to toe. His hands now balled into tight fists.
It’d worked.
“How about I just kill you now, then?” he hissed, lifting his coat and pulling out his gun.
“No!” I screeched.
Romeo came flying around the corner and tackled my father to the ground. Romeo fought just battling with my father in hand-to-hand combat. Gianni had called it right when he told Giorgio he was the only one that could end Angelo. None of us had it in us. Years of torture had conditioned us never to raise our hands to him. It was enough of a struggle for Romeo now, he could never pull the trigger.
Finally, Romeo knocked Angelo’s hand and his gun went flying out of it. As soon as he lost it, instead of trying to get it back, his hand clawed back at his waistband.
Savio knew he’d have multiple guns on him. If he caught any of us empty handed with a spare weapon, one of us was going to die for sure.
“Romeo,” I barked. “He was right!”
It was a carefully selected set of words that told Romeo to roll over onto his back, Angelo clamored to his feet, dragging another gun out of his belt and firing it straight at Romeo’s stomach. Then he flipped around and pointed it at me.
“Who was right?”
“You were,” I said, holding my hands up. “When you said your command is final. You’ve proven it.”
“You’re lying,” he said. “I can see it in your eyes.”
“I’m not,” I said. “Marcello and Savio are still gone. They could still come back for you. I have information you can’t afford to lose.”
“You don’t have anything,” he said, cocking the gun. “Tell me what you know, or I’ll shoot him.”
He shifted his gun over, but he was pointing at thin air.
“What?” he barked. He turned his head, but it wasn’t quick enough. Giorgio had collected his discarded weapon and was pointing it straight at his head. His gaze shifted back in my direction. “You’re in on it?”
Romeo got to his feet and my dad looked at him with shock. “But…” With an evil smile, Romeo smacked his stomach, revealing the bulletproof vest he had underneath his shirt. Heknewmy father would shoot at him. Better safe than sorry. “Ah, a coup against your old man? Do you have any idea how dumb this is? None of you have the spine to run this business. You’ll be dead within the month.”
“That’s a risk we’re willing to…”
With lighting speed, Angelo shifted his gun downwards and shot Giorgio in the foot. On reflex, Giorgio fell to his knees, and my father grabbed me and dragged me out of the room. “Giorgio!”
“Natalia!” Romeo and Giorgio screamed.
“Stupid choice going with them instead of me,” my dad growled in my ear. “You’re all weak, just like Gianni.”
I fought against his hold. His fingers were digging into my stomach as he dragged me along, and I feared for my baby. Everything I did was fruitless, he was too strong. He pulled me up the stairs, leading with his gun, and started towards the front door. He burst through it and out into the cold wet of the night. It was a wintry evening and snow had begun to fall.
“Father, this is a mistake,” I said. “You won’t make it out alive. Let me go.”
