Page 108 of The Mafia's Bride

“Go,” Nico commands, grabbing my arm. “I’ll get Lex.”

“No!” I whip my arm away. Carefully, I slide his arm over my shoulder, directing Nico to the other side. “We just have to get to the doors. You can’t lift him on your own. We’ll go together.”

As one, we stand moving with Lex between us. Nico is too tired from his gunshot and disease, and I’m half Lex’s size. We struggle, Lex’s frame bulky and it takes us too long to cross the short distance, but I will not let Lex stay in another fire. He doesn’t get to die this way before I’ve told him how much I love him.

The fire licks at our backs as we cross the threshold on unsteady feet, pure adrenaline pushing me out as cold night air whips across my face. I inhale, coughing up smoke, knees buckling under the weight of my husband.

The minute I drop Lex into the grass, Nico falls to his knees, and I’m hauled back into the flames.

43

SLOANE

Smoke clogs my eyes and nose. The entire house is giving in to the flames, black smog replacing the once-pure air. I can't breathe, can't think, vision almost gone.

Is this what Lex experienced as a child? My heart cracks open for the man I love all over again, to experience this so young, with no help. This is terrifying.

A hand wraps around my neck, closing off what little oxygen I can get.

“You.” Dom seethes. His clothing is singed, blood splattered over his body and face. His wild eyes glare down at me, nails digging into my vulnerable neck.

I cough, wheezing as the fire grows hotter.

“You took everything from me. Everything.” He shakes me with each word. “I could have elevated both of our families to unimaginable power.”

“My sister doesn’t need you to make her family powerful. She did that all on her own,” I cough. I mean every word of it. My sister is a fucking powerhouse and this dipshit wouldn’t have made a difference for her. “And Lex is more powerful, more of amanthan you’ll ever be.”

He backhands me, releasing my neck as I’m tossed to the side. My body aches, my lungs burning from the heated air. Everything fucking hurts and yet, I’m still standing.

He yanks me back, ripping my bodice and exposing my breasts to the hot air. Hungry hands grab my torn skirt and lift it, finding the meaty flesh of my upper thighs.

Dom smiles and my heart leaps into my throat, body freezing in fear once again.

He begins to pull my legs wider, even as my hands claw into his chest. “I’ll fucking ruin you so Lex will never want you again. Even if they get me, he’ll know that I had what was his before I die.”

Panic and fear override me for a few beats of a second as he unzips his pants. I’m paralyzed. Frozen, again, as fear assaults my senses.

I can’t let this happen.I won’t.

Pushing through the fear, I listen to the crackling of the fire, counting my breaths, calming my heart.

I hear the zipper in my brain, feel his lust like a biting dog, readying to take me alive.

I gather my last bit of wits and wait. Because if I don’t do something, if I don’t move, he’ll hurt me.

As soon as he pulls back to let his pants fall, he forgets to hold one leg. That’s my only chance.

Putting every last bit of strength into it, I knee the bastard right into his junk and watch him drop into a helpless heap. For good measure, I rear back, clocking him in the face with a weak right hook.

For a man, he falls pretty easily, knocked down from a swift punch.

I don’t stop to check on him, darting back through the flames to safety. I don’t care about burns on my feet or not being able to see past a few inches in front of my face, I just need to get outside.

Crashing through the broken French doors, Maeve steps in front of me, our bodies colliding in a flurry.

Her slender arms crush me into her chest, catching me as I run and she hauls me away, back to Lex’s prone form. Whereas the courtyardwas empty mere moments ago, it’s now full of Maeve’s men. Killian and Hayes are at the front, guns trained while other soldiers all surround the rest of us. Two are putting pressure on Nico’s wound but the rest have guns aimed and ready.

Dom roars, flying through the flames. Apparently, I didn’t totally knock him out.