Page 39 of Die for You (Kiss or Kill #2)

I place it against my temple. “Not the ending you were expecting?” I say to Bria, who gasps.

“Lennon, no, don’t you dare play martyr!” Valentina screams, struggling against Bria.

“My life for hers?” I offer Bria, but she shakes her head furiously.

“No, that’s not part of the plan.”

“Well, I always liked to stray from the rules. I love you, Valentina. Tell Lettie her father loved her more than anything in this world.”

“Lenny, no.” Tears stream down Valentina’s face because she knows me. She knows I am doing this for her.

The moment the gun goes off, Bria will falter, giving Valentina the window she needs to subdue her.

“You’d take your own life for her ?” Bria asks, unable to comprehend any of this.

“Yes,” I counter, feeling nothing but peace for the first time in my entire life.

I cock the trigger and the loud bang is deafening inside these concrete walls.

But the bullet isn’t fired from my gun.

It comes from behind me, and standing, gun in hand, is my daughter.

Bria drops to her knees as she’s been shot in her stomach. She clutches her bleeding torso, eyes begging I help her.

Oh, I’ll help her.

Walking over to Lettie, I drop to a crouch and gently remove the gun from her hand. “Want to play hide-and-seek?”

She looks at Valentina, who shifts to stand in front of Nico.

“You go hide. I’ll count to one hundred, and then I’ll come find you. All right?”

Lettie appears afraid, worried she’s done something wrong. “It’s okay, my life,” I say to her in Italian, touching her cheek.

She leans into my caress. The first time she’s done this. “Okay, Papa .”

My heart clenches. A moment surrounded by carnage and blood is the most beautiful memory I’ll cherish forever.

She runs back into the house and does what she’s told.

The men who entered left the door open, and my clever little banana figured out where we were. When she saw her mother in trouble, she acted on instinct—she is truly our daughter.

We created a brave little girl who will grow into a woman that’ll change the world.

But now, I turn and finish this once and for all.

Hugo crawls away, but he can wait.

I hobble over to Valentina and draw her into my arms. I don’t think I’ll ever let her go. No words are spoken as we join hands and peer at the weapons at our disposal. Valentina opts for a mallet.

Without emotion, we walk to where Bria is crumpled over, bleeding out. She peers up, begging for mercy.

“Lenny, I love—”

“Oh, shut the fuck up.”

Bria never gets to finish her sentence because Valentina smashes her in the temple with the mallet. Bria collapses onto her back, where Valentina straddles her and bashes in her face and skull. Bria’s face is soon pulp.

The sight stirs a longing in me.

One down…

I reach down for the large hunting knife and make good on my promise. As Hugo is crawling away, I bend and slice off his fingers. When he opens his mouth to scream, I yank out his tongue and slice it off.

Kicking him onto his back, I stuff his fingers into his mouth and stomp on his face. He screams a gargled cry as I stuff his tongue down his throat.

He begs for compassion, reminding me of the time in the bathroom as he slinks away.

Reaching for the hammer, I yank down his pants, and without hesitation, I shove the handle in his ass. He screams in agony, his pinkie shooting out his mouth and hitting the wall with a squelch.

Valentina walks over casually, peering down at Hugo. “Just like old times, baby.” She repeats his earlier comment before bringing her foot down on the hammer and driving it deep into Hugo’s rectum.

This time, he won’t recover from his injuries.

A whimper alerts us to one survivor.

Valentina links her bloody hand through mine. We turn, and the man shifts away, hands raised in surrender.

This world will always be filled with greed. And as I look at Valentina, my blood-splattered princess, I realize this world is ours. No matter if we want it or not, it’s in our blood.

“Tell your men what you saw tonight. Spread the word that Lenny and Valentina are back, but this time, we fight together. You can either join us…or join them.” I gesture to an unrecognizable Bria and an ass-in-the-air Hugo.

The man nods, interlacing his hands. “I pledge my loyalty, and I’ll make sure all my men do as well.”

I gesture that he should leave while we feel charitable.

He runs from the room, afraid we’ll go back on our word.

Valentina and I are quiet—injured and blood splattered, but never happier or more alive.

Valentina’s eyes soften when they land on Nico, but I’ll be damned, the asshole’s chest is rising and falling.

Valentina sees it too.

“We can give it all up and leave. We can be normal.”

I pull her toward me, kissing her lips chastely. “ Tesoro mio , this is our normal. We were born for this. As was our daughter, for our blood runs through her veins.”

Valentina sighs before rubbing my blood across her lips. She reaches for my hand and wipes her blood from her face, and wipes it across my lips.

“For this is my blood,” she whispers a Bible verse.

“A-fucking-men. I suppose we’d better take him to the hospital. And fire Romeo. Some bodyguard he is.”

Valentina giggles.

“I’m ready!” Lettie excitedly cries.

“She gets her bossiness from her mother,” I quip, dancing away from Valentina’s playful wrath.

Hand in hand, blood slathered, we play hide-and-seek with our daughter because nothing is more important than family.

And for the first time in our lives, we are a family.

So here, on the throne, sits the Mafia king and his forever queen.

Long live the queen…