“Yeah. I’m good. I think I’ll go home and lay low for a bit,” I state.
“That would be a good idea. I’ll see you later,” he pats my back as I open the back door. I’m not even two feet away when I feel a pinch in my neck and my world goes black.
“Get his feet,” is the last thing I hear before passing out.
Twenty-Four
Adelina
News travels fast. Someone already informed my father about Stefano’s death but left the fact that I was involved. I’m numb, I don’t know what I should feel. I saw a man die in front of me, not the first time. But this man was supposed to be my husband and I feel nothing. And Ivan telling me to run. He’s in danger, his family is.
“We got him,” I hear my brother call out from the foyer. I hear what sounds like a body being dragged and I get up from the kitchen table to see what's going on and gasp. He’s dragging Ivan across the floor. I thought he meant Stefano’s body. But that’s not Stefano.
“Is he alive?” My father asks.
“He is,” my brother nods.
“Not for long. Let him wake up and then I’ll talk to him, but he dies,” my father hisses, and I hold back my cries. No, he can’t die.
Each time I’m with him I fall for him. My mother once said that love can be instant or it can take a lifetime. I just feel in my soul that I belong with Ivan.
“Come on dear, let us leave that to the men,” Katherine says, topping off my tea.
I’m numb again. I have to do something, Ivan can’t die.
“Thank you,” I say softly, “I’m going to lay down.”
I take my mug and stop in front of my father’s office, I want to hear what they say.
“Wake up asshole,” Adolfo says, “who shot Stefano?”
“I don’t know,” Ivan wheezes like he’s been hit, but it’s probably from whatever they drugged him with, that’s the only way they would have taken him down.
“You’re lying,” Adolfo yells at him.
“I don’t know anything. He showed up at my club and threatened me. She even threatened Adelina. I asked him to leave, he pulled a weapon and someone shot him first.”
“Drug him and take him to the restaurant. Invite his family to witness his execution,” my father says and I almost yell at him. I’ll be at the restaurant, I hope I can stop all of this.
Twenty-Five
Ivan
I wake up with a headache and chained to a chair. Yeah, chained. Whoever took me doesn’t want me to try and break ropes, which I could.
“He’s awake,” I hear a thick accent. Italian.
“Hello, Ivan,” a man steps in front of me, he’s still hazy as I’m still trying to get my bearings.
“What do you want?”
“You killed one of my men,” he drawls.
“You the capo?”
“Underboss. His son. Just like you are the son of the Pakhan. We want your people to leave. You will be a message,” he snarls at me.
“You don’t want to do that. If you knew my father, you would be leaving town yourselves after killing me. That wouldn’t solve anything either, he will hunt you down like rabid dogs. You shot first and then tried to jump me and my cousin. We did nothing. Your man pulled a weapon on me. My byki was protecting me,” I hiss at him. Probably not the time to get all high and mighty, but for now they need me.
