He’s shaking so violently the gun slips from his hand and hits the floor.
“Dante’s men,” he stutters. “Not her. It was never meant to touch her—”
“But it did.” My voice sinks lower. Deadlier. “And now you’ll understand what it means to threaten a Moretti.”
His gaze darts around desperately, searching for an escape that doesn’t exist.
Not for him.
“Please,” he whispers. “I can fix this. I—I’ll disappear. You’ll never hear my name again.”
My jaw tightens.
“That’s the problem, Leonid.” I raise the gun, sighting him clean between the eyes. “If you walked away from this, I’d spend the rest of my life wondering when you’d crawl out of whatever hole you hid in… and try again.”
His chest heaves.
“I can’t risk that. Not for her. Not for my family. Not for the people I swore to protect.”
The fear in his eyes sharpens.
And then the truth hits him.
There is no mercy left here.
“It was personal,” I finish quietly. “Because she is mine.”
He opens his mouth—maybe for a plea, maybe for a scream—
I pull the trigger.
He drops instantly.
No fanfare.
No ceremony.
No theatrics.
Just a dead coward that came after my wife.
Dante bursts out another door, giving chase to someone escaping across the lot. Rocco follows him.
I head for the SUV where Elena waits.
But then—
A shadow moves behind Dante.
A gun raised.
My heart plummets.
And before I can shout—
A single shot rings out.
Not mine.
