Page 119 of Thorns of Blood

Giovanni got in his mother’s face, pressing his own gun to her skull, and pushed on it so hard that her head fell to the side. “You will tell us where the child is.”

Oh. My. God.

My lips trembled. Tears streamed down my face, every joint in my body frozen as one thought struck me repeatedly.I abandoned my baby. He’s been alone for years and I never even looked for him. I played hide and seek like a coward while he waited for me to save him.

“Fucking end her and we’ll find the kid,” Romeo said, glowering at his mother. “Everything that woman sputters is a lie. She’ll give us the run-around until she can end us all.”

The grim expression on the Agosti brothers’ faces told me they meant every word.

But I was still gaping at the woman, starved for information. It was my last chance to learn something, anything about my son.

Cristiano glared down at her and brought out his own gun.

“No,” I screamed. The brothers exchanged a look hesitantly, but they remained in place. “No, I need to know where he is.”

Julia smiled victoriously. That same smile that told me she had me exactly where she wanted me. One step ahead of me.

“Get those guns away from my face,” she said with calm determination.

Suddenly, chaos erupted. A guard staggered into view, bloodied and disoriented, his gun trembling as he aimed it at us. Without hesitation, Giovanni pushed me behind him, shielding me with a fierce grunt.

“Noooo!” I screamed as the guard pulled the trigger without hesitation. My heart made the decision for me. I shoved him away from me.Pop. Pop. Pop.

Commotion. Screams. Blood.

The world was spinning. My ears rang and I touched my stomach, wincing with pain. I looked down in confusion to see blood coming out of me.

Someone called out my name, but I couldn’t focus.

Then everything went silent, and I was so grateful that the world stopped spinning as I fell into a cold darkness.

FORTY-FIVE

LIANA

Baby cries. Husbands—old, young.

Blood. I’m floundering, gasping, and choking on it.

Death.

“Please, wake up, Lia.” The familiar voice cracked through my dreams. No, not the voice. The demand.A need.“Wildflower, come back to me… please.”

Drawing in a shallow breath, I forced my eyes open, my gaze darting around as the last events I remembered poured in, piercing through my skull. I found Giovanni at my side, his bloodshot gaze locked on me.

His brothers stood beside him, their usually cocky expressions changed into compassionate ones.

“Lia… Fuck, I thought I’d lost you.” A green, tortured gaze held mine for a long moment. Alarms blazed in my head, and I tried to move. “No, don’t get up.”

It was then that I noticed the IV tube stuck into my arm.

“Where—” There was a painful drum in my head, and I had to squeeze my eyes shut to ease the pain. I slowly dragged my eyes open again.

“We’re in a hospital,” he murmured softly, but there was a storm brewing in his eyes. He glanced at his brothers, and I thought he said, “Call her sister.”

They gave him a terse nod.

“Good to see you back,” Romeo said.