Page 137 of The Mafia's Broken Vows

“Let’s get you out of here,” I murmur against her temple.

Addy stiffens. “Wait, Kira. Please, she’s . . . I don’t know where she is . . .”

I glance up to see Sal already taking the door to the left. “Sal will find her, tesoro.”

Addy nods, then hugs me tighter with one arm while her other arm just hangs limply. She buries her face in my neck, her tears soaking my Kevlar as she murmurs against me, peppering my skin with soft kisses and telling me how glad she is that I’m okay.

I walk us out of the house into the chilly night air, unable to believe that even while shaken and hurt, and with her teeth chattering from the cold, she is still more concerned about Kira and me. I wish like hell I’d worn a suit I could put on her.

Orlando appears at my side, his eyes scanning Addy with concern. “She alright?”

“She will be,” I say, my voice hard. “Sal’s in the basement getting Kira out. Cover him.”

He nods, although I can see he badly wants to stay with Addy.

“Capo.” He spins on his heels and disappears back into the house, weapon drawn, while I, for the second time tonight, pray.

I pray for Sal’s sake that Kira is okay.

Chapter Forty-Five

Adele

I cling to Dante with my good arm, burying my face in the crook of his neck. His familiar scent—a mix of sandalwood and musk—washes over me, grounding me in this moment. My entire body trembles, a cocktail of adrenaline, relief, and overwhelming joy coursing through my veins.

“Oh my God, it was horrible in there. I just wanted you. Kept praying you would come. I love you,” I murmur against his skin, my lips brushing his pulse point. “So much. Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m good, baby.” He rumbles.

I continue nibbling on his skin. “Well, I love you so much. Marry me, Dante, right now.”

I can’t stop the words from tumbling out, my filter completely obliterated by the night’s events. My nails dig into the fabric of his shirt, desperate to get closer, to meld myself to him entirely. I pepper his neck with kisses, tasting the salt of his skin, and feeling the steady thrum of his heartbeat against my lips.

Dante’s arms tighten around me, one hand cradling the back of my head while the other supports my weight. Despite the chaos around us, his touch is gentle, careful of my injured shoulder. I feel the rumble of his chuckle more than I hear it.

“Amore mio,” his chuckle vibrates against my chest, a soothing balm to my frayed nerves. “And you’ve not even been dosed up yet. I can only imagine what you’ll be like once the drugs kick in.”

I pull back slightly, meeting his gray eyes. The tenderness I see there, mixed with a fierce protectiveness, makes my heart stutter. “I’m not delirious, Dante,” I insist, although I recognize the manic edge to my own voice. “I mean every word.”

Dante’s eyes search mine. “Okay,” he says simply.

“Okay as in you don’t think I’m delirious, or okay, we’ll get married?”

Before Dante can respond, a familiar snarky voice cuts through my love-drunk haze.

“Addy. Will you please stop embarrassing me?”

I whip my head around quickly, wincing as the movement jars my injured shoulder. And then I see her in Sal’s arms, still wearing that hideous green and brown dress that makes her look like a swamp monster’s bride.

“Kira!” I shriek, relief flooding through me and overriding my snarky response. “Oh my God, Kira, you’re okay! Where were you? I was so worried.”

“I was busy reciting every spell known to man to magically castrate that absolute scum of the earth you were chanting some demonic wedding vows to,” Kira spits. “Like, what the actual fuck, Addy? Disturbingly sickening does not even begin to cover it.”

“I know.” Kira hates Sean this much and she didn’t even get to see the monster.

Sal whispers something in her ear, and I see Kira’s jaw fall open as her eyebrows almost hit her hairline. I think I know what Sal might have said. “You’ve got to be shitting me! Addy! You killed him?”

“Trust me, Kira, you’d have done no less.”

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