He’s on me, pressing down, and I’m helpless against him. Every advantage I once had has been stripped away. But I’ll be damned if I give up. This isn’t over until one of us is dead.
Jerking my head up, my forehead slams into his nose. Finally, he howls in pain.
Though I think I hurt my head as much as I hurt him. My eyes water. Flashes of light cloud my vision.Damn it.
Niccolò sits up, getting as far away from me as he can while still pinning my body to the floor with his massive thighs. “You fucking bitch!” He raises one meaty fist, drawing it back and I know this hit will be the last one I remember.
Then an unexpected, deafeningbangthunders through the room. Niccolò’s features twist with confusion. A dribble of blood appears on his forehead. His face grows slack.
Suddenly, he’s off me. I gasp and sputter, curling into a ball. Through the ringing in my ears, I hear the sickening, wet sound of violence and gore. And a voice shouting,“Don’t. Touch. My. Wife!”
Opening my eyes, my gaze falls on a familiar broad back.
“Maximo,” the whisper leaves my lips.
He spins toward me, dropping the blood coated gun to the floor. Crimson streaks mark his brutalized face. I suck in a gasp.
He’s alive.
“Cara mia.” He sweeps me into his arms. I press my cheek against his chest and listen to his pounding heart.
He’s really alive. I think I might be too because death can’t possibly hurt this much. A sob suddenly tears from my throat. All at once, I’m spent. So tired I can barely keep my eyes open. And I can’t stop shaking.
“Bella, it’s okay. You’re safe. I’ve got you,” Maximo murmurs in my ear.
I cling to him as if my life depends on it. Another sob rattles through me. “I thought you were dead.”
“Not today,amore mio. Not today.” He gently kisses the corner of my mouth.
“Lazaro?” I ask, tensing.
“Dead.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m sure. I put a bullet in his head myself.”
Relief like I’ve never felt before floods my system. It’s over. It’s all finally over.
I’m lifted into the air. Then it’s like I’m floating through the place seeing some faces I recognize and others I don’t through a sheen of tears. Blake, Cian, and Dimitri are all here.Family. They came for me this time.
Wait. The thought of family has my pulse galloping. “Julianna,” I gasp her name, suddenly alert. I twist in Maximo’s arms. “Where is she? Is she all right?”
Dear God, please tell me she’s okay
“Shh,” Maximo murmurs.
“I have her,” a masculine voice rumbles.
My gaze flits to a man I don’t recognize. He wears a scowl beneath his dark brown hair that shines with a reddish glint in the light. His emerald green eyes swallow all emotion in their depths, not an ounce of it peeking out. He radiates danger and I’m about to object to him having Julianna in his arms.
But then I see how gently he holds her damaged body against his chest. Mingled with that danger I first sensed is a stalwart protectiveness.
The fight goes out of me on a ragged exhale. I nod against Maximo’s chest, reveling in his scent. “Take me home.”
Ravenna gasps as she and my cousins shuffle into my bedroom. I really wanted to wait until I healed enough to be able to cover the worst of it with makeup before seeing them, but they weren’t having it. As soon as the doctor had me patched up and gave me pain killers, they basically strong armed Maximo into letting them in. He was no match against the four of them.
“Ouch. That looks like it hurts.” Ginevra looks at me with sympathy. The expression mirrored on each of their faces.
