Page 458 of Sinfully Savage Mafia

He storms back over to me, his forehead practically pressed against mine. He drags his fingers down the front of my dress. “I can separate myself from emotions, Anya. How I felt about you a few hours ago won’t stop me from putting a bullet in your brain if I find out you’re playing us right now.”

I nod, a large lump lodged in my throat. “I didn’t once think when this all started that they’d ever hurt Aisling,” I say in a low voice once we’re alone. “I swear to you.”

“Your word doesn’t mean shit right now,” Dante grunts.

“I know, but I can help. Please believe me. We can stop him!”

“You said Conor has your uncle held hostage. Are you prepared for what might happen if you cross him?”

I swallow hard. “I care about my uncle, but I want to do the right thing. I have to. I can’t sit by and let you and your family get hurt. This is on me, and I’ll make it right. Please just give me that chance.”

He stares at me for a long minute. “One chance. We take him out and walk away from each other forever. Because you’re a fucking liar and I have no room in my life for someone like you.”

An icy sensation snakes around my heart and squeezes, but I won’t let him see me cringe.

Or cower.

“Okay,” I rasp.

He kicks open the bedroom door and stalks over to his brother and the two new guys I don’t recognize. They huddle together and I rub my hands up and down my arms.

A heavy fist knocks on the door and Dante pulls it open. “Goddamn, Patty!”

My breath hitches. I recognize him as the other guy from Tatiana. That night, he was sharp, sleek, and sophisticated in his suit.

Right now, he’s a hot fucking mess. His dark blonde hair is hanging in his face, his shirt is rumpled, and his face is a mess of panic. But it’s the body he’s carrying that makes my blood run cold.

Aunt Maura.

Her face is white, her hands hanging limply at her sides.

“Patrick, where the fuck did you find her?” Matteo yells. “She had the baby!”

“I found her lying next to the stroller right outside the pool deck.” Patrick lays her on the couch and listens to her chest. “She’s breathing, thank God. Conor isn’t a complete maniac. At least he didn’t kill her.”

“Where the fuck are Heaven and Aisling?” Matteo screams at Patrick, grabbing him by the shirt and shoving him to the floor.

“I looked everywhere for them!” Patrick shouts back, fisting his hair. “I couldn’t find them. Not a fucking trace!”

Matteo pulls out his phone and dials a number…Heaven’s, I guess. But after a minute of her not answering, he hangs up. His eyes flash with alarm and he flips around toward me. “He’s here, isn’t he?” Matteo creeps in my direction, speeding up as he approaches. “You fucking did this! You let him in!” He grabs my dress, his grip tight. My hands fly up to his, clutching them before they can wind themselves around my throat. “He has my wife and daughter right now!”

“Matteo, let me help you find him. We will find the girls, I promise!”

“Because you’ve been so honest up till now? Why the fuck should I trust you?”

“You need me,” I say in an even voice. “You may hate me and want to kill me, but you need the backup.”

His Adam’s apple bobs up and down in his throat, and the vein in his forehead throbs, his face bright red.

“Look, if he’s here, we can find him. Lock the place down. They won’t be able to get out. We can stop him, but we need to move now, okay?”

Matteo pulls out his phone and stabs some numbers onto the screen. “Yeah, it’s me. Code red. Heaven and Aisling.” He clicks to end the call. “I never fucking trusted you,” he mutters, raking a hand through his hair. “You’re lucky I don’t kill you right now.”

I’m already painfully aware that I have zero allies in this apartment.

“I need a gun,” I say. “We’re going to sweep the place. All of us. Dante, what do you have?”

He walks back into his bedroom and comes out a minute later with an array of weapons. I grab a Glock 19 and check to make sure it’s loaded.

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