Page 22 of Beautiful Sinner (Bound to the Mafia #6)

“Of course not! Fuck, Julia. You mean everything to me. Of course I didn’t want you to die. Everything just got out of hand, trust me. If we could have attacked Connor someplace you weren’t going to be, that would have been perfect. But this is just how things turned out.”

“And you couldn’t even successfully kill Connor. I saw him get away!”

“I know. We could have killed Connor if…”

“If?” I ask.

“If Dante had gunned down everyone, including you. But it was because I asked him to spare your life that Connor isn’t dead. We couldn’t just start shooting. It would have killed you.”

I breathe heavy as I take in Matteo’s words. “Your war would be over if you had just gunned us all down.”

“I know but I’m willing to risk a million wars if it means you’re in my life.”

I stare at Matteo in shock. He really means this. He’s really trying to protect me. I feel bad for doubting him now. He’s still on my side but it’s clear he’s now torn between me and his job.

“What are we going to do now?” I whisper, all of my energy gone.

“Now, we go into hiding. Just until I can figure out a game plan.”

“So, taking me wasn’t part of the game plan?”

“No. It definitely wasn’t.”

I’m not sure what to say to that so all I say is nothing.

Matteo brings me to a ranch style house an hour out of the city.

“What is this place?” I ask.

“It’s a safehouse. Only Dante knows about it. We should be safe here.”

“What if Dante tries to hurt me? You said it yourself: if it weren’t for you, he would have gladly killed me.”

“Dante is just tired of all this fighting like the rest of us. Once I explain to him what happened, he’ll understand. Let me get you inside.”

“You could take me back home to be with my family.”

“But if Connor survived, he’ll just come for you. I can’t sit back and watch him hurt you. I just can’t. Ask anything else of me but that.”

I look into Matteo’s face and take in all the passion and anger and hunger written there. He means what he says. He just wants to protect me and I can’t fault him for that. I want to be protected by him.

“Ok. Let’s get inside. Your arm is still bleeding anyway.”

The house is cute inside. Decorated in soft browns and tans with a little bit of red and pink, it makes the whole thing look like it came right out of the pages of a magazine.

“Your doing?” I ask, nodding to all the furniture.

Matteo chuckles, which quickly turns to a wince when he grabs his wounded arm. “Dante’s wife, Nadia. She decorated it.”

“Your arm. Let me look at it.”

We settle into the bathroom with a first aid kit. I blatantly look at Matteo’s chest once he takes his shirt off. It’s a sight I’ll never tire of.

But right now isn’t the time for ogling him. It’s for helping him with his wound.

His shoulder is a mess. Bloody and disgusting. I wrinkle my nose. “Matteo, you’re really hurt. You should go to a doctor.”

“No time. Check to see if the bullet is still inside or not.”

I look at his shoulder blade and see an exit wound. “I don’t think it’s inside of you any longer.”

“Good. Help me stitch it up.”

“Matteo, a doctor.”

“No. Not when I just technically kidnapped you. Viktor will be on a manhunt for me. I can’t risk it right now.”

“Then you shouldn’t have technically kidnapped me.”

He takes my hands in his and gazes up at me with a tenderness so sweet, it leaves me breathless. “And leave you to Connor? Not a fucking chance.”

I shiver. I know I’m halfway to being in love with him. I couldn’t resist him even if I wanted to and I don’t want to.

“Ok.” I clean his wound with an alcohol wipe before sterilizing the needle and thread. “You really had a first aid get ready to go.”

“I always keep one nearby. You never know when you’re going to need to stitch up a wound. And I will see a doctor. Later. This is just to stop the bleeding for now.”

My hands shake as I place the needle to his skin. “Do I have to do this?”

“I need you to.”

He’s really trusting me to stab a needle into his skin.

Matteo winces and grits his teeth as I push the needle through his skin and out the other side but to his credit, he holds still. It’s only once I’m done that he lets out a long breath.

“Thank you.” He grabs my hand and places it over his wound. “I don’t regret taking you, Julia. You need to know that.”

“I thought you wanted this war to end.”

“I do.”

“Taking me and upsetting my brother isn’t the way to do it. I need to talk to Viktor. I need to tell him that I’m ok or he’ll think you’re hurting me.”

“In time. But right now-,”

He doesn’t get to finish his sentence because the front door bangs open. We hurry into the living room and stop when we see Dante standing there.

“What the fuck, Matteo?” His eyes flicker between the both of us. “What the fuck?”

Matteo places himself partially in front of me. He doesn’t fully trust Dante, I realize. “I did what I had to do.”

“You said you didn’t want Julia to die, not that you were going to kidnap her.”

“I didn’t kidnap her. Right?”

I nod. “I mean… I’m not afraid of Matteo. He won’t hurt me. In another world, I would have gone with him willingly.”

Dante rolls his eyes. “Well, Viktor is going to see it as a kidnapping. Our mission was to kill Connor and possibly Viktor, not take his sister.”

“Is Connor dead?” I ask.

“Why? Worried about your precious husband to be? I don’t trust you, Julia. You’re using Matteo. That’s what I’m worried about.”

“I don’t care about Connor,” I snap. “I never wanted to be with him and I’ve never used Matteo. He means everything to me.”

“Julia has been locked up most of her life. How could she use me, Dante, when she’s as innocent as she is?”

“She’s not innocent,” Dante grumbles. “She’s Viktor’s sister. That alone makes her not innocent.”

“She’s innocent,” Matteo reiterates. “Trust me. If it weren’t for Julia, we never would have known about the wedding.”

Dante looks at me. “And you wanted that to happen? For us to go into that wedding and kill Connor?”

“Well… no. I only told Matteo in confidence, not to tell you about it. But I did want him to kill Connor. I won’t deny that.”

“So what you two have is real? Is that what you’re telling me?”

“Yes,” Matteo says, his voice clear and unwavering. “What Julia and I have is real.”

“Julia?”

I know in my heart that what Matteo and I have is true love. “Yes. It’s all real.”

Dante lets out a long breath. “Shit. Well… I never expected any of this to happen. You’re both playing a dangerous game. You’re both being na?ve and stupid.”

“Thanks,” Matteo responds dryly. “I took Julia to protect her. So help me protect her.”

“It’s not her who Viktor is going to hurt if he finds you. It’s you, Matteo. You should have let her escape with her brother.”

“I know. But she’s with me now and I’m not letting her go.”

“So… what? I’m supposed to go deal with Viktor and clean up your mess? He’s going to want his sister back.”

I step forward, even though Matteo tries to keep me behind him. “Let me talk to Viktor. Let me explain.”

“Who’s going to take you to him? He’ll shoot either one of us on sight and I can’t risk that.” Dante sighs and turns to Matteo. “She stays here for now. Then I’ll figure out what to do.”

“All you have to do is drop me off at my house. He won’t see either of you. I can talk to Viktor and explain.”

Matteo gently touches my arm. “But what if Connor is there? What if you return home and Viktor forces you to marry him again? I can’t risk that happening. It’s better you stay here for now.”

I know Matteo has a good point. If I go to see Viktor, he’ll lock me right back up for my own safety and then I’ll never get to see Matteo again. This might be my one and only chance to be with him.

But…

I turn to Dante. “You can’t kill my brother.”

“You are in no position to be making demands.”

“Leave Viktor alone.”

“What if he attacks me and my men? He’s going to after we just attacked him and stole you right away from him.”

“Dante, I know I have no right to ask this of you but please make peace with my brother. Please try. Matteo and I have fallen for each other despite being on opposite sides. Can’t you understand that? There’s a chance for peace here. Please try and talk to my brother.”

“Listen to her,” Matteo adds. “I’ve wanted peace for the past year now.”

“And we could have had it if you hadn’t stolen Julia,” Dante grumbles, running his hand over his hair.

“I’ll see what I can do but no promises.

I’ll try to convince Erik to make peace but it all comes down to Viktor.

If he doesn’t change his mind then peace will never happen.

You two need to stay here and out of the way.

Just for now.” He leaves the house before either of us can say anything more.

I place my hands on Matteo’s chest, feeling his heart beat under my hands. “What do we do now?”

“Now we hope that things don’t get worse.”

But we both know that what happened at my wedding just made everything a whole lot worse.

Viktor

Once Inessa is safely back home, I go into my office and shove the desk over. I just need to get some of my fucking anger out of me.

After a moment, Inessa comes into my office. “Viktor. Viktor!”

I stop and turn to her. “What?”

“Julia will be ok.”

“What do you mean she’ll be ok? Matteo just fucking kidnapped her! She’s in the hands of that bastard and Dante. They will hurt her. I am going to find them and torture them until they beg me to end their lives.”

She sets her hand on my arm. “Just take a deep breath.”

“Inessa-,”

“Just do it.”

After a beat, I take in a long breath and let it out slowly. Instantly, I feel better. “Happy?”

“Yes. Now listen to me. I believe that Julia will be ok.”

“How can you say that? They’ll hurt her. Dante kidnapped a woman once before, Nadia. He hurt her.”

“She’s his wife now. So clearly he didn’t hurt her that bad if she fell in love with him. And you’ve met Matteo before. He’s never given me the sense that he likes to torture women. Do you honestly believe he’ll torture Julia?”

I sink into my seat and drop my head into my hands. “I don’t know what to think anymore. I’ve raised Julia since she was five years old. I’m more her father than her brother.”

“I know. And I know you’re scared. So am I. You could have died today. We all could have.”

“This is what Dante wanted. He wanted to come in and hurt me. Kill me and Connor. Stop us from taking over.” I frown as an idea hits me. “How did Dante even know we were there? The only people who knew were us and…”

“And all of the guests you invited. There were around fifty guests in attendance.”

“You think I have a mole?”

Inessa winces. “I’m worried who that mole might be.”

“Who? Connor? You think he was trying to betray me? Marry Julia and then fuck me over?”

“No… not Connor.”

“Then who?”

She sighs. “Don’t freak out.”

“You can’t tell me not to freak out and expect me to not freak out.”

“I think it’s Julia. I think Julia told Matteo about her wedding.”

“What? Why?”

“Because she never wanted to marry Connor. Because she… because it’s Matteo she wants to be with.”

My wife’s words don’t make any fucking sense to me. “Julia would never betray me. She’s always been loyal and I to her.”

“Viktor, she likes Matteo. She’s been seeing him in secret. She never wanted to be with Connor. I think Dante and Matteo were there at the wedding today because Julia told them about it. So, I don’t think Matteo is going to hurt her because there’s a good chance he loves her.”

The only thing I feel is my heart being ripped out of my chest. My own sister has betrayed me. Nothing could hurt more.