False bravado. I see right through his words, but he said it himself, he has nothing left to live for. Which makes him more dangerous. Add in Izzy lying just feet from us, and I hesitate, giving him the opportunity to make his move.
He steps forward and swings his hand out, barely missing my head. I back up toward the door to put more space between us. He lashes out again. This time his fist connects with my shoulder.
I jump forward as he retreats and land a punch to his face. His head turns with the punch, but he doesn’t register the pain. Instead he kicks out and hits my shin. I hiss as I step back. Fillipo’s eyes widen as they flick to Izzy. My heart drops as I turn my head to see what he is looking at.
Movement catches my eye as Fillipo rushes over to the side of the bed to pick up his knife. I don’t hesitate. I lean down and grab my gun from next to the nightstand where it slid earlier. The next thing I know, he’s leaning over Izzy while throwing the knife at me. It sticks into my left shoulder, but I don’t hesitate. I bring up my right arm and pull the trigger, putting two bullets in his head. He collapses over Izzy, and I watch as the blood pours out onto her lifeless body.
I rush over to her and push his body onto the floor. I check her pulse and find it’s steady. I cup her face as I look at her. “Izzy,cuore mio, can you hear me?” I catch slight movement in her eyes, and I sigh.
I turn back to Fillipo’s body and empty my clip into his skull. Once I’m satisfied the fucker is dead, I turn and carefully pick Izzy up. I don’t know what he gave her, but her inability to move scares me, along with the knot on her head. She could have brain damage. I take her into the bathroom and set her in the tub as I turn on the water and begin to wash her off.
“Fuck!”
I turn and point my secondary gun from my ankle holster at the door and find Lo standing there. I lower my gun.
“What happened?”
“Fillipo. We need Mia. Now!”
“We need to move her. This isn’t a secure location.”
I nod numbly as I wrap her in a towel and carry her to the living room. I lay her down and wrap her in the throw blanket they keep there before cradling her in my arms again.
“It’s okay,cuore mio. I have you now. Nothing will ever hurt you again.”
∞∞∞
“What happened?”
Sofia’s the first to open the door to the house, much to the dismay of the surrounding guard.
“I’ll explain later. Is Mia here yet?”
“She’s a couple minutes out. Bring her into the guest room.” She leads me to one of the guest rooms located on the main floor.
As I get Izzy situated, I can feel the stares from everyone behind me. I lean down and kiss Izzy on each cheek before whispering in her ear. “Please stay with me. Please be okay. I can’t live without you. I love you.” I don’t know if she can hear or understand me, but I have to try. I wouldn't be able to live with myself knowing she left this world thinking I didn’t love her.
I kiss her once more on the forehead as Mia pushes through the crowd at the door.
I turn to her as she gasps. “Izzy! What happened?” She rushes over and throws her bag down on the floor next to the bed, getting right to work checking her pulse.
“You guys should leave. She’s going to need to do a full body check,” I say toward the door.
Bash and Lo nod, but Sofia’s reluctant to leave.
“Sof, I will brief you all as soon as Mia’s done looking her over. Trust me. You don’t want to see her like this,” I say softly, my eyes straying back to Izzy’s lifeless form.
“I can’t leave her, Gio. She’s my sister. I’m staying.”
I recognize the anguish in her face. She feels guilty, but for what? I don’t ask her why, I just nod.
Bash gives her a kiss before turning to me. “I need a briefing as soon as possible. We will be waiting in the meeting room.”
“As soon as I know she’s okay. You might want to send someone for Dante. Whatever Fillipo gave Iz, he gave Dante as well.”
He nods before shutting the door behind him as he leaves.
“Her heart rate is good. Her pupils are reactive,” Mia says, drawing my attention back to the bed.
