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“Christ, Larissa.” I started to withdraw my hand, but she grabbed my wrist.

“Don't stop,” she pleaded. “Please.”

I hesitated, torn between desire and something that felt dangerously like responsibility. “You’re—”

That's when we heard it—the sharp crack of gunfire from outside, followed by shouting.

I jerked back, instinctively reaching for the gun holstered beneath my jacket. Larissa's eyes went wide with fear as she started fixing her clothes.

More shouting echoed up from the grounds, and I recognized the voice of my brother Federico among them. Shit. If Federico was involved, this wasn't a minor altercation.

“Come,” I urged Larissa, giving her my hand. “We have to get out now. Stay by my side.”

She nodded, fear etched on her face as she took my hand. Together, we wove through a panicked crowd and made our way outside.

My security chief intercepted me at the stairs.

“Sir, there's a situation outside.”

“Tell me.”

“Your brothers arrived at the same time as the Moretti family. Words were exchanged. Accusations about betrayal.” He hesitated. “Shots were fired.”

I cursed under my breath. “Who all?”

“All four, Sir.”

Of course. My four brothers, confronting another Mafia family with all of the parties armed and some of them likely drunk. Exactly what we needed tonight.

Chapter 12 - Larissa

It all happened so fast. One minute, his fingers were inside me, and now, he had my arm in his grip and was rushing me toward the waiting SUV at the curb.

All around us, we heard gunfire so loud that my heart hammered against my ribs. So much for a typical Tuesday evening, I thought to myself to ease off the anxiety. Then again, typical had flown right out of the window since Gio Lebedev rewrote the script to my life.

“Get in!” Gio screamed over the chaos as he pulled open the passenger door and practicallythrewme inside.

I landed with an ungraceful thud before Gio slammed the door and raced around to the driver's side, taking the place of the driver who had unceremoniously been asked to get down. Gio rolled down the window and instructed the driver to rally the security convoy.

“They better be at our heels!” he roared as we squealed away with the already running car.

Moments later, he slammed on the brakes, and that was when I saw his brothers taking cover between cars. Two of them, I noticed, were stumbling badly. “Shit,” I whispered to myself with fear. “Dante and Luca.”

Gio rolled down his window and bellowed at them with desperation. “GET IN NOW!”

The men jerked their heads in the direction of the vehicle and started running toward us, Achille and Federico supporting Dante and Luca as they did.

Federico and Achille half-carried their brothers into the vehicle.

“Drive, Gio!” Federico shouted and slammed the door shut behind them. “Before they follow!”

Gio floored the accelerator and I gripped the door handle, thrown back against my seat by the force.

“How bad?” Gio asked, both words laced with worry. When I turned to check on him, Gio was pale. In that moment, I knew just how much his brothers meant to him and for his sake, I prayed they were okay.

“Dante took one in the shoulder,” Federico answered breathlessly. “Luca was attacked by a blade to his face and ribs.”

My head swam from the speed we were driving at. I turned to check on Dante and Luca. Both of them looked like they’d faced literal hell, and I counted down the seconds till we would reach home.