Page 40 of Single Mom’s Mafia Daddies (The Forbidden Reverse Harem Collection #22)

ALESSIO

D eath rode my body like a second skin. Nothing was going to survive this outpouring of manic fury, least of all the bastard who held a knife on Lila.

She rolled sideways as the knife plunged down.

I lunged at Luca with all my strength, retrieving my knife as I moved.

The space was too confined for guns. The ricochet from bullets was as likely to kill me or Lila as it was to kill Luca.

I’d have to watch him. The man was stupid enough to try it since he considered himself invincible.

“Go.” I barely risked a look at Lila. Luca demanded my attention when he bellowed and leaped up onto the desk, slicing the air with his knife.

I leaned back while making sure I stayed between Luca and the door so Lila had room to run.

Her footsteps pounded past me. The lightest graze of her hand across my back offered thanks as she passed.

Luca smirked at me. “She’s not getting away, Alessio. We have the place surrounded. You’re going down. And so is that demon spawn of yours.”

“You first.” I stabbed my knife toward his foot, expecting him to jump or dodge out of the way.

Maniacal laughter shivered down my spine. Luca threw his head back and kicked toward my chest, forcing me to spin and withdraw the knife before I lost it.

Luca used the few inches of space to jump down and hack at the empty air where I’d been standing. “You still don’t get it, do you?” He laughed again, the madness making a full appearance. “I can’t be killed.”

“Anyone can be killed.”

I grabbed his arm when he swung the knife toward my face, ducked, and twisted his arm up behind his back.

The knife blade pressed between us, the tip angled toward my throat.

I squeezed hard enough to cut off his circulation, but he maintained his hold.

The man was a damned lunatic, but he was strong as fuck and would require every bit of my skill to defeat.

He twisted his free hand and wrenched around.

The sound of a gun pulling free jolted me into action.

I dropped all the way down to the ground and twisted left toward the bank of computer screens.

The battle continued to rage around the estate.

I spared a single second to check on my people before Luca’s spine bowed over my head and his head cracked against the desk.

He pulled the trigger. The resounding boom obliterated my hearing. The bullet pinged against the wall and bounced. A red line appeared on Luca’s arm where the ricochet grazed him.

“Fucking pathetic.” He reached back and tried to cuff me on the temple with the pistol.

I wrenched the knife from his hand and shoved him forward. There was no way to get the gun from him…yet. Lila would be with Leo by now. They were safe, and that was all that mattered.

Luca’s face twisted into a victorious smile. “You think you’re going to survive this.” He pointed the gun at my chest. “You’re wrong. We know about the panic room. We know everything.”

“Yeah?” I threw myself to the right, out of the line of fire as his finger tightened on the trigger.

The pistol lifted, the recoil snapping Luca’s arm up into the air.

I darted into the opening and drove Luca back into the desk.

I hacked at his gun hand with his knife, the wickedly sharp blade slicing deep enough to sever tendons and nerves.

He dropped the gun with a series of curses and used his good hand to punch me in the jaw.

I grinned through gritted teeth. “Let me guess.” I stabbed my knife into his stomach. “The Russo syndicate told you everything they know.” I twisted the knife. “News flash, asshole. They only know what we let them know. Which means all your information is tainted.”

He gaped, mouth working as he gasped for breath.

I withdrew the knife and slammed it home again, piercing his lung. “Your entire family is going to die today. Your brother is already dead.”

I grabbed his chin and dragged his face around to the screens. His knife blade rested alongside his neck where I held it in a fisted grip, along with his chin.

“Matteo ended him ten minutes ago. By the time I’m finished with your syndicate, there will be nothing left of the Verducci name. All that you had belongs to me now.” I carved his neck open with a single move of my wrist.

Blood rained down in a holy christening, the coppery scent of it mingling with death and terror.

“I am the Cavallo syndicate, and my legacy is not over yet.” I stood over Luca as he died and spat on his body when he convulsed. “You are nothing to me, you weak son-of-a-bitch.”

Luca released one last gurgling wheeze and went silent. Adrenaline pumped through me in dizzying waves. I concentrated on controlling my body’s reactions, snapped a picture of Luca lying dead on the floor, picked up his gun from where it lay beneath the desk, and strode from the room.

Renzo and Matteo rushed up the stairs toward me, guns at the ready and gazes sharp with the need to kill.

“The convoy’s finished,” Renzo stated coldly. He swept the upper floor with a look, his gun turning to follow his line of sight.

“Everyone?” I cleaned my knife blade and returned it to the holster, pocketing Luca’s gun at the same time.

Matteo nodded. His firm voice held no hint of sarcasm or frivolity. “The entire convoy is dead. We checked them ourselves.”

More of my soldiers strode into the estate. They stopped in the foyer and raised their hands in a series of sharp salutes, then pounded their fists against their chests once.

I moved to the railing and gripped it with both hands. We’d stood our ground and won.

Lila appeared in my peripheral vision, Leo by her side. The boy was looking around with wide-eyed concern, but his steps remained concise and purposeful.

“What are you doing? You were supposed to stay in the panic room until I came for you.” My relief at seeing her whole and unharmed was short lived as the adrenaline morphed into a surge of anger.

She tapped her ear. “I heard you say it was okay, and Leo needed to see you. He wanted to make sure you were all okay.” From the way she looked at us, she’d needed it too.

I capped the anger with a rush of tenderness and held out my hand toward her.

She linked our fingers together and joined me at the railing. Matteo and Renzo took up positions on either side of us. Together we created a united front before the remainder of my people. Matteo shut down the earpieces to eliminate the echoes of multiple voices.

I raised my voice to carry throughout the foyer. “The Verducci syndicate is no more. They have been defeated today by our combined effort.”

A steadying squeeze of Lila’s fingers against mine helped remind me of all we’d fought for.

“Thank you all for your support today. It will be remembered and rewarded appropriately. Your fallen comrades will be taken care of. While compensation to their families cannot bring them back, I will ensure they lack for nothing during this time of grief and loss.”

“Ca-vall-o. Ca-vall-o.” The chant started low at the back of the foyer and built until the estate shook with the power of my name.

I held up mine and Lila’s hands, and the chant faded back into nothingness.

“Our work is not done. Ensuring the Cavallo family’s dominance in the void that has been created will take ongoing vigilance.

The Verducci syndicate is eradicated. Others will seek to take their place. I intend to take it first.”

A roar of approval swept through the room. Bloodied men pumped their fists into the air and resumed their chant. We’d won this day, but more battles waited us.

I turned to face Lila. “This is our world. Are you ready to rule it with me?”