Page 15 of Blood in the Water

Theyallwere fucking traitors.

Somehow, he must have made a deal with the other Dons to take over Luciano’s spot as one of the heads of the Five Families. It was the only conclusion that made sense for how things went down at the party. If they had made an alliance, we’d have to keep running forever.

With a heavy breath in my nose and out through my mouth, I tried to calm the raging storm in my head and decide what to do next. Who to call. Where to go.

We had the duffel bag of money, but that would not last forever. The rest of my money was still in the city, and Max had locked down both mine and Leona’s bank accounts by now. If we tried to access anything, it would lead him straight to us.

The rage burned underneath my skin. How long had Max been planning this? And why didn’t he tell me what was going on? Why did he turn on the Family? On us?

Had our entire childhood been a lie?

What was the last thing he had said to me?

Just keep Leona safe. I’ll be fine. I’ll come find you later.

The memory had my blood boiling all over again. He had been planning to kill us both.

The walls were closing in, and fear threatened to choke me. Not fear for me. I wasn’t afraid of dying. But fear that I was not good enough to keep Leona alive. I had never been worthy of her. And now?

She was the only thing that mattered.

A little sniffle snapped my attention up. Leona sat at the kitchen table while I kept watch on the street.

She stared, unmoving, at the food in front of her—a simple ham and Swiss sandwich, her favorite easy lunch, yet wholly untouched. As soon as she had collapsed into the chair, her arms had snaked around her middle, and she had curled inward. She hadn’t moved or spoken since.

In the last twenty-four hours, she’d seen so much death.

There was a reason the Don always tried to protect her from the realities of mafia life. She was far too precious. Far toogood. And now I worried she was ready to shatter into a thousand pieces.

What did she need to keep going? I’d start there. We’d get her the necessities, and we’d keep moving. One step at a time. One foot in front of the other. It sucked as a plan, but it was better than sitting here, waiting to be found.

I took stock of her. Food was there. I’d have to do something if she didn’t eat to keep her strength up. She was still wearing the black dress, and I couldn’t bear to look at it. I addedget new clothesto the list.

Blood matted one side of her hair to her face. I had briefly checked her over for injuries but didn’t find anything serious besides a few cuts and bruises, likely from the car ramming into us and the shattered glass. The cut on her lip was swollen and only looking worse. It needed to be cleaned.Get clean. Medical supplies. Showers.All added to the list.

Besides her few stolen moments in the meat truck, neither of us had slept. The anger and adrenaline inside me were the only things keeping me going, but my body was used to pushing to the extreme. Leona was not. She needed to rest as soon as possible.

“Princess,” I murmured. She didn’t look up, but her posture shifted slightly. I tucked my guns back into my shoulder holster. “Can you try to take a little bite? You need to keep your strength up.”

She blinked and looked at the sandwich. Then did nothing. Fuck.

I crouched in front of her and grabbed her hands to interlock our fingers. “This is so fucking shitty. I’m so sorry.”

She gulped, and her lips quivered. I had expected her to collapse into tears, to break down as soon as we got to the very first safe house. But she withdrew into herself instead. No tears. No fighting me. No arguing when I suddenly called the Irish, our enemies, and shealwaysargued. All of this was a thousand times worse than any tears.

She was lifeless. A complete zombie. And I knew from personal experience that she was dangerously close to giving up. I’d been there before, and I couldn’t let that happen to her.

“Hey, princess.” I squeezed her hand. She didn’t move, so I lifted my hand and placed it against her cheek. I wanted to lean forward and press my lips against hers, to take the pain away however I could, but I was even less worthy of her now than I was yesterday. “Talk to me. Please.”

She shook her head and clamped her lips even tighter.

I rubbed my thumb against her cheek. “Please don’t give up. Please.”

Finally, she turned to look at me. Those usually bright brown eyes with beautiful flecks of gold had lost their luster.

“What’s the point, Cas?” she whispered, voice hoarse.

I swallowed, trying to keep my own emotions at bay. My heart cracked right down the middle. It couldn’t hold both my sorrow for her and my anger forhim. “The point is that you’realive, princess. He hasn’t won yet. Don’t give up on me. I can get us through this.”