Page 40 of Under His Watch

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” I demanded as I stalked closer. He’d beat me to bleeding out, but I clamped my hand on my wound as I kicked his gun away.

His neck flexed as he clenched his teeth, scrambling over the leaves and grass. He didn’t get far because I stood on his nuts.

“A Giovanni?” I snarled, guessing that this pair had to be men from Stefan Giovanni’s organization. They weren’t too familiar, but they were dressed too sharp to be members of the Devil’s Brothers MC.

“Fuck you, Constella.”

I risked the agony of not compressing my wound to step back, shoot his nuts, then stand on the site again. His screams would scare Tessa, but I had to go this far. I had to be this macabre to get the answers I needed.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” I gritted my teeth at the pain locking over my shoulder, and I pressed my foot down harder. “Talk. Now!”

“Stefan is pissed that Dante wouldn’t support him with the gun routes.” He growled, trying to tough out the hits. “And he wants to attack him however he can.”

“By taking me out?”

He nodded, shakily and quickly. “Yes. Since Dante refused to align the Constellas with the Giovannis, Stefan wants to take them out. All of you.”

I shook my head. That stupid fucker. I’d never really cared for Stefan. If he was the selfish idiot that he was today back when he was younger, I couldn’t understand why my father was ever his friend. Stefan was nothing like my father. “I thought Stefan was aligning with the fucking bikers.” I knew he was because we’d recently had to save Nina from being taken by the collaborating groups.

The man nodded, gasping for air through the agony he had to be feeling. Kneecaps shattered, balls and dick blasted to pulp, yeah, he wouldn’t be feeling too great.

“He is aligning with the MC,” he replied, “because he likes to always keep his options open.”

In other words, two-time the whole goddamn world if he could get away with it.

“How’d you find me here?” I pressed harder on my wound.

“Followed… Franco,” he replied, squeezing his eyes shut tight. “We know he’s been setting up spies to watch us, and we’ve had our men tailing him.”

And he and my father had decided to check in on me, leading the enemy closer.

“Dante’s got his place too heavily guarded.” The man was singing like a canary, telling all now. “He travels like that too, guards and security.”

Of course, he does. He’s protecting Nina now, and their baby.I thought I was over the top in wanting to keep Tess safe, but I wondered if I should follow my father’s lead. Keep the women under layers of security—not rely on hiding and staying remote.

“Once we saw Franco heading in the same direction as Dante, we knew this would be a good chance to take someone out.”

“What about the other time? At my other place?” I demanded.

“The rundown house?” He shook his head. “Stefan said Reaper volunteered to strike there.”

“And now you’ll all strike out.” I lifted my gun and shot him between his eyes. It was a mercy kill, but also an act of impatience. I was bleeding a lot. I didn’t have time to interrogate him like this. Getting to Tessa and reassuring her that she was safe was also an important goal.

That does it. We’re moving again. I’ll move her as many times as I need to in order to keep her safe and unharmed.

I staggered toward the door, breathing hard and wincing with every step. The impact of my footsteps juddered through me, and I blinked away the blackness creeping in from the edge of my vision.

“Tess.” I cleared my throat and tried to call out for her louder before I slumped onto the door. “Tess, it’s me.”

I lost the fight with gravity. Weak and breathing hard with the dizzying blood loss, I fell and aimed to break my drop with the door.

She opened it right then, though, and I plummeted forward. I crashed onto the hardwood floor, halfway inside with my body on the threshold.

“Romeo!”

I whooshed out a deep breath, glad to hear her sweet voice.

We need to move. This place is compromised. I have to hide you better.All those valid thoughts remained just that, unspoken and trapped in my mind. I couldn’t speak. I could barely move as the darkness crept closer and quicker.

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