Page 109 of His Son's Ex

I take a deep breath, relief mingling with horror. My entire body trembles, but I’m still alive. I blink to steady myself as Abramovic steps aside, scanning the room for other threats.

Linda, crouched behind an overturned desk, lets out a wail. “Gianni!” She crawls toward him, tears streaking her cheeks, though I can’t tell if she’s crying for him or the downfall of her plan.

Dante emerges from the shadows, a thunderstorm given human form. His eyes are black, burning with wrath. A gun glints in his hand. When he spots me, the intensity in his gaze flares even brighter.

“Eva,” he growls. He glances at my stomach, then back to my eyes. He looks as if he’s about to tear the world apart in order to protect us.

Before he can take a step toward me, Linda lets out a hysterical scream, Gianni’s pistol in her hand. She points it at Dante, tears streaming down her contorted face.

“You think you’ve won?” she hisses. “I’ll kill her, and you can rot alone!”

She swings the gun toward me.

Dante moves like lightning, a single gunshot cracking through the air. Linda cries out, spinning sideways, clutching her thigh. Blood stains her elegant clothes, and she topples over, howling in pain. The gun falls from her hand, clattering away.

The shot wasn’t meant to be lethal—it was meant to disable.

Dante strides over, ice-cold fury in every step. Abramovic and a few of his men fan out around us, rounding up Linda’s battered goons.

She tries to scramble away, dragging her wounded leg and sobbing. Dante places a polished leather boot on her ankle, pinning her to the ground. She screams in agony.

I push myself upright, head spinning, heart pounding. My eyes look around, half-expecting more guns to be pointed at me. But it’s over.

“Linda,” Dante says, voice low and deadly, “you tried to murder my child.”

Her face twists into a mask of hatred. “You stole everything from me. My youth, my future, my son!”

Dante’s jaw clenches. “You used Luca like a pawn, don’t pretend otherwise.” He lifts his gaze to Abramovic, hovering near Gianni’s corpse, expressionless. “Alex. If you please?”

Abramovic holsters his gun, stepping forward with a small, predatory smile. “My men will take her. She’ll disappear. No one will ever see her again, except maybe the locals in Siberia.”

Linda’s eyes widen with sheer terror. “No… Dante, you can’t do this! We have a son! We?—”

Dante presses harder on her injured leg, a shriek replacing her next words. “We have nothing together. You are nothing to me.”

His voice is colder than I’ve ever heard. She begs and pleads with Dante for mercy. She looks so pathetic, her usual perfect makeup streaked across her face, hair mussed, clothes torn and bloody.My stomach churns, but I can’t muster sympathy for a woman who planned to kill me and my child.

He doesn’t look at her as he gestures to Abramovic, who motions to his men. They unceremoniously haul her upright by her arms, holding her in place. The leg Dante shot is useless. I shudder, hugging myself.

This is what Dante does.

Dante stands there for a moment, gun still in hand, breathing heavily. When he finally looks to me, everything else fades away. His eyes soften, his expression is tender. He hesitates, like he’s not sure if he should approach.

I swallow hard as fear, anger, and confusion swirl in my chest. But there’s also an overwhelming sense of safety now that he’s here and the immediate threat is gone. A sob breaks from my throat.

“Dante.” I reach out for him.

He closes the distance, sliding his arm around my waist to steady me. I convinced myself I never wanted to see him again, yet I’m desperately glad he’s here.

“Eva,” he says, brushing a stray hair from my face. His gaze flicks over the bruises, the dried blood on my lip. Slowly, he holsters his weapon. “I’m sorry I didn’t get here sooner.”

CHAPTER 37

EVA

Ican’t stop shaking.

One minute I’m staring down the barrel of a gun, and the next, I’m choking on the aftermath—the lingering gunfire smoke curling through the air, glass crunching beneath boots, the smell of gunpowder and blood.