“Valentine is checking the feed, but the alarms are going off at our building.”
“I’ll go,” he offers.
“Like fuck, you will. My wife is the priority, not a fucking building,” Matteo barks, and he does such a good impression of an Alpha, I have to bite my tongue to stop the whine.
Of course, he notices and squeezes my hand in reassurance.
“Matteo,” I say quickly, soothing him in a way, but also wanting his attention. He looks at me, and almost immediately, his eyes harden because he knows what I’m going to say. “If I wasn’t here, you would be running headfirst into whatever is going on. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if Valentine gets hurt because you’re watching me. I’m armed and have the dogs. Leave me with one or two of your people, then go.”
Matteo takes a menacing step, towering over me. “No. That is not how we’re doing things. We don’t just drop protecting you because something is happening. Something is always fucking happening! Fuck, Layne, we will go to goddamn war to protect you.”
It’s completely the wrong place to burst into tears at his abrupt, but really sweet, declaration, except that’s exactly what happens. No one has ever made me their priority, and it rocks me to my foundation. Experiencing how quickly Matteo’s whole focus shifted is quite different to hearing people say that I’mwhat is important. I walk straight into his chest, my cheeks damp, my heart so full.
He gets another phone call but passes it to me, so he can stay armed and ready. “Put it on speaker, it’s Valentine. Let’s go, Leon,” Matteo barks out again, and he turns, walking back from where we came.
“Valentine, it’s me,” I manage as soon as the call connects. But the tears are still falling, making my throat constrict, adding squeak to my voice. Of course he doesn’t miss it, and I can feel Valentine responding so clearly, it’s like he’s standing in front of me. I close my eyes, and I swear I can even smell his reassuring espresso scent.
“Are you hurt?”
Clearing my throat, I answer back quickly, but my voice is still way too high, betraying how I’m feeling. “No, none of us are.”
“Scared?”
“No.”
Valentine all but sounds like a bear roaring. “What, then?! I’m nearly having a fucking heart attack here, Layne.” I hear him take a sharp inhale before he comes back again. His emotions are high still, but he is calmer and slower when he speaks. “Are you okay?”
Matteo answers him before I can. “Layne thought I should leave her and take the boys to come help you. I may have yelled at her.”
Even over the phone, I can feel the drop in his mood again. This time, he isn’t red-hot fiery temper; he’s frigid as ice. “Where are you?”
Matteo takes over talking as we turn into an alley. “Near the corner of Smith and Fourth.”
“Stay there!” he snaps before hanging up the phone.
“Leon, check the perimeter and make sure we’re clear, but watch out for Valentine. He sounds pissed off.” Matteo pins me with a look, continuing to talk, but it’s directed to me this time, not Leon. “I know the feeling.”
There is chaos and panic in the air. Around us, people are running in all directions and cars are racing by, but in the alley, I feel like I'm standing in the eye of a hurricane, in that one safe spot, waiting for the shit to hit the fan again.
I don’t know what to say or if there is anything I can do to explain myself better, so I don’t even bother. I mean, obviously, now isn’t the right time. Pushing out of Matteo’s arms earns me another scowl, but he lets me leave the haven I found against him.
“Why aren’t there any sirens?” I ask, only just realizing there’s a serious lack of emergency services coming to the rescue.
“Part of the world we Iive in,” Matteo says. “They’ll come if we ask, but first response falls to us. Our team will be securing the area, and we have state-of-the-art sprinklers set on each level. But there’s no fire, there’s no smoke in the air,” Matteo adds.
Leon appears at the mouth of the alley and Matteo watches me closely, even while Leon updates him.
“No critical injuries, a handful of casualties inside the building, mainly from the flying glass. Damage contained to the front office and the foyer glass. We’ve got a maintenance crew coming in already to secure the building. Dante is after the feed from our security to confirm, but it looks like we’re dealing with a small gang targeting the main families.”
“At least they know we’re a main player, then.” Matteo shrugs. “Leave a couple of men in position, but if you’re confident the threat has left the vicinity, you can go.”
Matteo leaves it up to Leon’s discretion as to what he does, but there’s an undercurrent of consequence if Leon chooses wrongly.
“Once Valentine is here, I’ll reevaluate.” Leon nods and walks a short distance before stopping, standing like a guard would.
Behind us, a metal door slams against a brick wall, but I’m the only one who jumps. I only just get my heart to stop racing before it picks up again when Valentine storms out of the shadows, his eyes locked on me.
I whine. The noise sounds a lot like helplessness as it bounces off the walls.
