I hear footsteps come my way. That’s when I sense the guard close to the elevator and I rush out, shooting him in the stomach. He slumps to the ground and then I shoot him in the head. The other guard fires at me but I duck back into the elevator. He keeps firing until he runs out of bullets and that’s when I attack. I shoot him in the head.
Then… silence.
All five guards are dead on the ground. This is a problem for another day.
I kick the door of the penthouse open and surge inside… only to find Kira, with a gun in her hands, unhurt while Matteo is tied up with a gash on his head.
“Enzo?” she gasps.
“I’m here. I got you.”
With a gasp, she rushes into my arms and I hold her close. Never would I have thought Kira would come to me but I’ve never seen her happier. I tighten my arms around her before letting her go so I can go over to Matteo.
“What happened here?” I ask.
“I got the upper hand on him,” Kira says with pride. I flash her a smile. I have a badass wife and I love that.
I rip the duct tape off Matteo’s mouth. “Hello, Matteo.”
“You can’t kill me without bringing a war down on your head,” he snarls.
“Honestly, I don’t fucking care about that right now. You kidnapped my wife and that can’t stand. You tried to rape her and that definitely cannot stand. So you need to die, Matteo. I’ll deal with the fallout another day.”
“We were once friends!” he exclaims.
“Then you should have thought about that before you fucked with me.” I aim the gun at his head and pull the trigger. His blood splatters on the wall. Matteo is well and truly dead.
“He’s dead,” Kira breathes out.
“He’s dead. Let’s get you home.” I hold my hand out to her and she takes it without any hesitation.
After calling my men to come clean up the bodies I left behind, I bring Kira home. But before I get the chance to comfort her, I get a call from Marco.
“You killed Matteo?” he asks, sounding aghast.
“I did. He went after my wife. You understand, Marco. You have people you care about too. Don’t make this a bigger thing than it needs to be.”
“You are asking for a war,” he threatens.
“I was just getting rid of the trash. Either come for me or leave me alone.” I hang up the phone.
“Are you in trouble?” Kira asks, wringing her hands together.
“Nothing I haven’t been in before. I wasn’t supposed to kill Matteo. His friends won’t be happy about it. Honestly, your brother and father won’t be happy about it either. They want peace and I just plunged us into a war. That puts you at risk.”
“I can handle my dad and brother.” She wraps her arms around my waist. “You saved my life.”
I gaze down into her eyes. “I did.”
“I never knew you had it in you.”
“That I was capable of good?”
“You frustrate me,” she admits. “You drive me crazy. But you also make me feel safe in a way I never expected with you. I feel… happy right now.”
“I never expected to be happy with you either. But here I am, fighting to keep you safe. You bring that out in me. I never knew I would feel this way for a woman who’s so good at driving me insane.”
“I just want to feel safe, Enzo. That’s all I’ve ever wanted. To feel safe and have my freedom.”
