Page 88 of Scarred Heir

“It’s okay, baby. Just stay behind me.”

I steadied my hand, aiming toward the threat, knowing I would shoot first and ask questions later to protect her. Defending her was my duty in exchange for her loyalty and trust.

“Fuck!” A hazy figure appeared out of the darkness with their hands up. “Milo, don’t shoot.”

“Lorenzo?” I pointed my gun at the ground when I realized there was no threat. “That’s a good fucking way to get yourself shot.”

“I told you not to sneak up on him.” Marchello laughed as he came onto the beach from the path that led to the house. “He’s got a trigger finger.”

The amusement on both their faces irritated me in ways it might not have if Sable wasn’t with me. Having her by my side changed my survival tactics.

“What the fuck is wrong with you two?” I grasped Sable’s trembling hand and moved her to stand next to me. “You can’t sneak up on me when things are the way they are.”Assholes.

“I didn’t mean to interrupt.” Lorenzo grinned.

“Sable, this is Lorenzo,” I said. “He’s a family friend.”

Lorenzo had proven to be a useful asset and a strong ally to my family. He was instrumental in helping us when Lissia got into trouble. He also acted as a middleman for a cartel he had introduced us to. That association had proven to be quite lucrative for my family.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Sable. I would kiss your hand, but it appears your boyfriend wants to hurt me, so I’m not going to provoke him.”

“Hello, Lorenzo.” She inched closer to me. “You scared us.”

“He didn’t scare me,” I said. “He’s lucky he isn’t dead.”

“You’re not that careless.” Lorenzo moved closer to the firepit. “Sorry, Sable, I didn’t mean to frighten you.”

Ax joined us on the beach, waiting by the dunes. He scanned his surroundings, probably making sure he couldget Sable out if there was a threat. He had more sense than Lorenzo.

“Are we having a fucking party?” I asked as I shoved my gun into my waistband.

“Sable,” Marchello said. “Ax is going to take you back up to the house.”

Marchello was in ‘the leader of the family’ mode. A role that was familiar to him, and one I wouldn’t challenge. I’d much rather have him making the decisions. I wanted to go back to investigating problems and figuring out a way to fix them.

“Lissia just popped open a bottle of prosecco,” my brother continued. “She’s waiting for you to go into the hot tub. I think she wants to video chat with Ricardo.”

“Sure.” Sable looked at me. “Is it okay?”

“Is Dom up there too?” I asked.

“Dom is with Lissia whenever I’m not,” he said.

Marchello’s tortured gaze burned into my eyes, transferring all of his anguish and regret over what happened in Miami. He would never forgive himself for leaving Lissia the night she killed Danny Collins. He blamed himself for what happened, but Lissia taking care of business was exactly what she needed to do.

Her strength proved to all of us that she could handle herself when the situation called for it. She may have been struggling with the residual memories, but there was no mistaking that she was an Accetti through and through.

“Okay.” I took Sable’s chin between my fingers. “Stay with Ax until you get to the house.”

“I will.” She tucked her wind-swept hair behind her ear. “You’ll be okay?”

“You don’t have to worry about me.”

“You didn’t answer my question.”

The uncertainty in her expression couldn’t be avoided. One minute we were a light and carefree couple, and a heartbeat later, I drew my gun, fully prepared to fire. That wasn’t normal for her. We would never be an average couple. My life didn’t allow for the mundane.

“I’ll be okay,” I said.