Page 63 of His Tesoro

“Get down, Sofiya!” he yelled, urging me to the ground. I let out a low cry as my knee hit the sidewalk, the pain jolting through my leg like a dagger. The bakery boxes went flying. What was happening? Confusion and frustration flooded me until I heard the gunshots.

Shit shit shit.

My heart rate skyrocketed. I was a total sitting duck—no weapons, barely able to move with the pain in my leg, and completely exposed on the sidewalk. I lurched forward and grabbed Noodle, wrapping my arms around him and pulling him to the ground. He licked my face and gave a low whine, but stayed with me.

People ran around us and screams filled the air. Angelo’s body blocked mine, his arms raised as he returned fire at whoever was shooting at us from across the street.

“We need to get to the car,” he gritted out as he crouched down. He grabbed my arm and dragged me a few feet until the bulletproof SUV offered us protection. Bullets pinged against the car, and Angelo ducked for cover before taking more shots. I kept my hand on Noodle’s harness, making sure he stayed down.

“Call the Boss,” Angelo urged, pulling his phone out of his pocket and tossing it to me. “Now, Sofiya.”

My hands shook as I called my husband. He answered on the second ring. “Pronto.”

“Matteo.” My voice broke, and I choked back a sob.

“Sofiya? What’s wrong? Where’s Angelo?”

“Someone’s shooting at us outside the bakery. Please come.”

36

MATTEO

“Please come.”

The words were like a dagger to my heart. Hearing the panic in Sofiya’s voice made sweat prickle on my brow.

“Get to the bakery,” I barked at Romeo, who was driving. We’d just gotten back to the city and were only minutes away from the apartment. Romeo sped up and made a turn, heading to the bakery a few blocks away. Angelo had cleared the trip with me this morning, and I said yes because I knew it would make Sofiya happy. And now she was in danger.

“What’s happening?” I asked through gritted teeth.

“The shooting stopped,” she whispered.

There was a rustling sound and then Angelo was on the phone. “Three men shot at us. I killed two, the third got away. Police are on their way.”

We turned onto the block where the bakery was. People were huddled behind cars and the street was uncharacteristically empty for midday Manhattan. Police sirens sounded in the distance, and I cursed. I jumped out of the car before Romeo could bring it to a full stop and ran towards the black SUV I recognized as one of mine.

I rounded the car and my heart almost stopped when I saw Sofiya sprawled on the sidewalk, her arms wrapped around the dog. Angelo was beside her, helping her sit up. A sharp burst of relief and gratitude hit me—he was uninjured and had protected my wife.

I knelt on the ground, supporting Sofiya’s back. “Fuck, tesoro mio. Are you hurt?” I couldn’t remember the last time I’d sounded so panicked, but as she looked up at me with tears streaking down her cheeks, I couldn’t keep my mask in place.

“Boss, we need to go,” Romeo said, coming up behind me. “I’ll smooth things over with the cops, but it will be easier if you’re not here.”

We had most of the force in our pocket, but a daytime shooting was still a disaster to cover up.

Sofiya was doing something with her knee, a grimace on her face.

“Are you hurt?” I repeated. “Can you move?”

“I’m okay,” she said. “Just had to pop my knee back in.”

I blinked, staring down at her jeans-covered knee. When she released it, I gently gathered her in my arms and Romeo opened the back door of the car for us. Angelo got in the driver’s seat to take us home while Romeo stayed behind to talk with the cops. We passed the first police vehicle as we turned onto the main road.

“Who was shooting at us?” Sofiya asked, her voice small. I kept my touch as gentle as I could as I held her close to my chest. I pressed my face to her hair, breathing in her scent.

I could have lost her.

“Albanians,” I spit out, hating how harsh my voice sounded. Arben had played me like a fool. He’d known I would go upstate, leaving my wife exposed. But how had he known where she would be?

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