Page 40 of And Twice as Twisted (Agostino Crime Family #4)

“I know and they will. But there’s a right way to do things.” The gentleness of his touch didn’t match the threatening undertone of his words. “Get her, get in the car, get out. That’s it.”

The car pulled into the meeting spot and a chill went down my spine.

A Cadillac SUV was already parked at an angle, waiting for us.

I sat forward in my seat, knowing I couldn’t see through their tinted windows but needing eyes on my sister anyway.

I could feel my nine digging into my hip, like a silent reminder that I needed to be the one to end this.

My palms itched. I wiped them on my thighs to avoid doing something stupid before the time called for it.

My thoughts were racing a million miles an hour and I could barely breathe, let alone think.

“Sienna.” Apollo’s harsh tone had me turning in his direction. He was watching my face almost as if he could see inside my head.

Who was I kidding? He definitely could.

“Don’t,” he annunciated the single word but there was so much more behind it.

Though I couldn’t help but goad him. “Don’t what, Apollo?” I huffed, crossing my arms over my chest and glaring at him.

“You thrive on the chaos. As much as I do if not more. I accept it. I accept you as you are, as you accept me. But now is not the time. We have a son to consider. This isn’t just about us anymore.”

My arms dropped to my sides. I hated to admit it but he was right. Even if I refused to acknowledge it aloud, choosing to stare out the window again instead.

“You’re mine. At first, I thought it started when you spread those pretty little legs for me. But maybe it’s always been that way. Now let’s get this over with and go home to our son.”

My chin wobbled, my heart stalled, and my damn core clenched all at the same time. I nodded, unable to articulate what it meant to hear him finally say these things to me.

“About fucking time,” Lucky muttered, earning himself a punch to the shoulder from Apollo.

“Jesus, she’s silent. Tell her that shit more, will ya.” Al grinned from the front seat, and I slapped the back of his head.

“Go get her.” Apollo kissed me again before leaning over to open the door.

I stepped out of the car, the potential crime scene laid out in front of me. The Russians were hidden in the tree line surrounding us. The open space was vast, and the cheerful sounds of birds chirping would’ve made it beautiful if not for the promise of blood thickening the air.

I had no idea how I was going to get out of this without pulling my gun. I tugged my dress down a little and closed the door. No more than two hundred yards away was a black SUV. The windows were tinted but if I squinted hard enough I could see two men in suits in the front seats.

Who were they? Did I know them?

It didn’t matter. Once I got Octavia back, they were dead.

As I continued to stare, plot, and wonder, the door finally opened and my sister’s chestnut brown hair blew in the breeze. She stepped out alone and it took everything I had in me to keep myself from running to her.

The nine concealed at my thigh was burning a hole through my skin and my fingers itched to draw it and aim.

The woman in front of me looked like my sister, yet not.

Something was different, but I couldn’t put my finger on the change.

She took a tentative step forward, leaving the car door wide open, only to stop and look back over her shoulder.

I inched closer, unsure what it was she was saying to whoever was in the driver’s seat. My hand slid to my waist as I felt the heat of all the weapons trained on me.

“Octavia, come here,” I shouted over the wind swirling around us.

“A moment, Sienna,” the voice of a stranger responded.

Gone was the soft-spoken, sweet little sister of mine.

In her place was someone demanding and loud, someone I didn’t recognize.

Her tone was clipped and I still couldn’t hear what she was saying, but her demeanor had shifted, her eyebrows drawn and her jaw clenched with obvious irritation.

“You wanted your revenge and you got it. You promised me this,” she shouted into the car.

“Octavia!” I called out when she retreated towards the vehicle once more. She said something, slamming the door the next moment. “Octavia!” I tried again.

She kept moving, slowly and calmly walking towards me. Her head held high, with a confidence I didn’t understand.

Who was this girl?

The entire family had been falling apart at the mere thought of her absence. We expected a damaged girl to return, not this… self-assured woman. Her dress was tight and revealing, unlike anything she wore in the past.

My little sister had become a veritable sex kitten, and as much as I loved to see it, I was concerned.

A shiny shoe finally stepped out from the driver’s side of the car. The large man had to unfold to exit before raising to his full height. I pulled my gun from my side as the doors behind me opened. No. Fucking. Way.

“You motherfucker!” I immediately took aim, my hands shaking with the rage I could no longer contain.

“Sienna, drop the gun! Lucky, no!” Octavia raised her arms in a placating gesture. “I don’t want another war. This is behind us. Please, let’s go and be done with it.”

She was pleading with us, but it wasn’t fear I saw staring back at me. In fact, her eyes were blank. But I couldn’t give in. Couldn’t let him get away this easy. That whole family was fucking dead.

The bastard stepped forward, drawing his own gun as his men surrounded him. “I changed my mind,” he shouted, and Octavia stopped moving to glance over her shoulder at him. “I’m taking you back.”

“Like fuck you are!”

I felt Apollo step in front of me long before I ever heard him exit the car. The sudden explosion of rapid gunfire deafened my ears and rattled my chest. In the mere blink of an eye, Octavia was collapsing into me and Apollo was tossing us into the car.

This wasn’t supposed to happen. We were supposed to bring her home safely. It was supposed to be my chance to kill the bastard who took her from us. Instead, he had other plans… He would take her from us, once and for all.

Gunfire continued to sound in the distance. My brother and Al jumped into the front, Apollo shouting commands as we all took off. Octavia stared at nothing, her eyes glued to the ceiling as she heaved in sharp, labored breaths.

I wanted to scream and beg her to tell me what they did to her. But part of me knew I needed to ask myself that same question. This was our fault. All of us. We’d done this to her.

I sobbed into her chest because I knew that even if she survived, my baby sister was dead. Octavia would never be the same again…