Alessandro shouts Rory’s name, then turns to me, fury flashing across those midnight eyes. Before he gets a word out, I shout, “Go get your girl. I’ve got your back.”
He nods, a thousand unspoken words hanging in the air between us.
I flank his side, followed by Serena and Isabella, the Valentino portion of our cousin crew, dressed to kill in every sense of the word. The Ferrara brothers are glued to either side of them, protective to their core. The Gemini men pour in like a damn cavalry, cutting through Conall’s soldiers like it’s just another Saturday.
“Go, go, go!” I yell as Alessandro races across the lawn, and I pepper the air with bullets, providing cover. When Rory is finally safe in his arms, I release the breath I’ve been holding. After a scorching kiss, which I so did not need to see, he grabs her hand and races toward us.
Some asshole leaps out from behind a pristine column, reaching for Rory, and I don’t waste a second squeezing the trigger. The bullet hits true, straight to the head and the guy drops to the ground.
Gunfire erupts again as Conall shouts at his men to regroup. The estate is a blur of shouts and blood and crumbling stone as the Gemini and Ferrara crews lay waste to what’s left of the Butcher’s empire.
“Back to the SUV,” I shout at Serena and Isabella, and the Ferraras at their side.
We tear down the back path toward the escape vehicle. The Quinlans attempt to reorganize, but we caught them off guard,outnumbered and outgunned. They were expecting a wedding, and they got a massacre instead. Still, they keep coming. Until Conall’s dead, anyway.
Ale and Rory reach the SUV just as I round the tall hedges. “Let’s move!”
Serena, Antonio, Isabella and Raf are already leaping into the car.
A flash of motion at the manor’s edge catches my eye. Shit, Conall. He’s bloodied and snarling with a gun in his hand.
He raises it and aims at Alessandro.
No. Before I can get a word out, Rory lunges in front of my cousin, shoving him out of the way just as the shot rings out. She hits the ground hard, and a gasp rips from my throat as blood blossoms across her white lace gown.
Fuck.
“Rory!” Alessandro’s on the ground beside her, cradling her in his arms, eyes wild with terror.
Ale spins toward Conall, but with my hands free, I’m faster. I fire once, and the Butcher crumples to the dirt like the piece of shit that he is. Then Alessandro shoots off a dozen more rounds until thebastardogoes still.
Silence. Just for a second.
“Let’s go!”
A sharp inhale draws me back to the present. The scene blurs, the scent of smoke and blood returning to the dark recesses of my mind. I’m back in my office at the Vault with a gun now pointed at my head.
“The man you killed,” she barks, “his name was Eoin.”
The name hits like a hammer I didn’t see coming. Eoin Quinlan. He was the Butcher’s righthand man… his cousin from what I remember.
One of the assholes I?—
Ah.
I exhale, slow and measured, but inside there’s a fucking war zone going off. I lean against the desk casually, calculating my next move. I still don’t know who this woman is, but now I know why she’s here. And it’s definitely not to dance.
CHAPTER 1
VENGEANCE
Caitríona
Matteo doesn’t recognize me. Not my voice. Not the name I just spat like venom.
Not even the part where I told him he murdered my fiancé.
How could he not remember me after everything? A pang of hurt slices through my chest, deep and unforgiving.
