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No matter how this was spun, if Louis was dead, my classification would go from being a rogue agent to a killer.

There was no time to lament over how much blood had been spilled. I headed into the bedroom, flicking on the light. After flinging the closet door open, I immediately moved toward the hidden compartment, issuing the three knocks.

It seemed to take forever for the lock to be disengaged. When the door was opened, a weapon greeted me in the face.

“It’s okay.”

Carmella’s face flooded with relief. She crawled out, throwing her arms around me. I backed us out of the closet briefly. “Three men are dead. I’ll explain later. I don’t want Jessica to see the carnage.”

“Understood. I thought… When I heard the gunshots, I was certain you were dead.”

“You can’t kill me that easily, baby. Besides, I made you a promise. Go grab them and we’ll leave the way we came in.”

She eyed me warily, but nodded, immediately heading into the closet. When she stopped and turned sharply, I sensed something was off.

“Alejandro!” she screamed.

I lunged forward, tackling her to the floor just as a shot was fired. I pushed her to the side, spun and immediately fired.

The fucker I’d thought dead in the kitchen had made a miraculous recovery. Only this time, that wouldn’t be possible.

He had two bullets in his brain.

* * *

“What in the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Don Lupini’s face was red.

“I’m trying to keep my family safe. That is what you want, correct?” Carmella was as hot as her father. He’d initially refused to turn over Gabriel after learning two unknown assailants had been shot outside Santorelli’s residence had notably alarmed him. I didn’t blame him for that. I’d yet to determine if the two simultaneous attacks were related.

That would happen later.

As the Don threw me a look, Carmella stepped in front of his line of sight. “Don’t look at him, Daddy. Gabriel is my son, my flesh and blood. I take care of him and have since he was born. You barely acknowledged Gabriel’s existence at first, treating him as if a bastard child. Just like you did with me the moment you learned I was pregnant.”

“You know better than to air our dirty laundry in front of non-family members.”

Even in my mind the Don was going too far. I did understand what having your entire family placed under duress did to someone. Plus, it was late, close to midnight at this point. Gabriel was likely asleep as was everyone else in the house.

Only the Don had been awakened by Drago. The soldier had been following my directions, Drago also placing extra security around the Lupini estate.

“Dirty laundry, Dad? You wanted my presence. You wanted me involved in your world. Here I am. I thought you’d given up on the fact I’d been tainted when you threatened to give my son to a man who to this day has yet to acknowledge him as his. I guess I was wrong. But you need to keep in mind. This is my boy and my life. Now that I’m married to a man you supposedly respect and am smack in the middle of your dangerous world, you’re going to allow me to run my life the way I see fit. Period. I will say this. At least Alejandro made certain that piece of shit Derek didn’t bother me again.”

I’d warned the Don once before not to talk to my wife with harsh words. I guess he hadn’t bought fully understood that using physical violence would not only not be tolerated, but it was also punishable by whatever method I saw fit.

I’d promised Carmella I’d stay in the background. She’d suspected her father would be difficult. However, I couldn’t do that any longer.

When he raised his hand as if determined to slap her, I was too quick for him. I grabbed his hand, immediately bending it backward.

Carmella did nothing but stand with her head held high.

“I told you once before I would never allow you to talk badly to or about my wife. You will also never have the opportunity to harm her in any way. This is your final warning, Don Lupini. There won’t be another. Soon enough, I’ll be considered your equal. After that, we’ll talk again.”

He gritted his teeth from the pain and just as Carmella was going to try to stop me, I backed off. Yet I kept my gaze piercing and my chest rising and falling. No one, including the insufferable self-imposed emperor, would ever lay a finger on her.

I’d seen Don Lupini sporting different moods since the start of the alliance, but at that moment, I felt the heat of something entirely different. He felt as if his power was going to be stripped away. I could see it clearly in his eyes. There was an uncertainty I doubted had ever been there before.

There was no reason for me to feel anything for the man. What I did feel was the stark iciness between him and his daughter. While she’d never talked about him badly, other than hating him for the arranged marriage, I sensed she’d done her best to prove her worth to the man. He hadn’t minded teaching her about safety and weapons, tactical actions and what to do if captured, but at the end of the day, she was still a woman.

“Be careful, son. Power and greed can easily go to a man’s head. When it does, you lose all sense of yourself.” His advice almost brought a laugh up from my throat.