Page 528 of Sinfully Savage Mafia

And I don’t like it one bit.

Lily’s pained expression makes my chest tighten. “That they’d kill me, just like my father did to their son.”

CHAPTER15

LILY

“It was a few months ago, right after Christmas. I’d been home for winter break. One night, I was leaving the gym and it was dark. The parking lot was empty.” A sigh deflates my shoulders. “At least, I’d thought it was. I walked to my car, and before I had a chance to react, a black van showed up out of nowhere and two guys jumped out.” I fist my hair. “It wasn’t a random assault, though. They knew my name. I tried to get away. I did everything I could. Screamed, kicked, scratched.”

“You used your signature move?” Zeno asks with a half-smile, still stroking my back.

I nod. “And then I ran back to the gym. Almost made it to the door, too. But one of them yanked me backward. He had a knife…” My voice trails off, the horror of that night launching a full-on assault on my soul.

“Did you ever find out who they were? Pissed-off employees of your dad’s?”

“Not quite.” A chill slithers through me. “They never got that far. I didn’t get much about the guys. They had on masks and the van was unmarked. But they had accents and both of them had tattoos on the right sides of their necks. Five-pointed stars. But it was all my brother Nico needed to figure out who was behind the ambush.”

“How’d you get away?” His expression morphs into one of concern and he laces his fingers with mine. It makes me feel nice. Safe. Protected, just like he said.

I never wanted anyone’s protection before.

This time, I don’t push it away,

“They couldn’t stop me from screaming, and I guess I was loud enough for someone to hear because before I knew it, there were sirens and light flashing all over the place.” A rueful smile lifts my lips. “I used to say I got lucky. My friend Kat tells me it was the ninja moves she taught me that saved my life.”

“You’re definitely a fighter,” he says, tracing his fingertip over the outline of my lips. “I’m actually a little surprised you didn’t steal their knife and start slicing. Seems like it would be your thing.”

“I’ve got strong knees and a pretty good aim, but cutlery was never my forte. Although, now that I’m going to vet school, I’ll learn how to wield a scalpel.”

My eyes flutter closed for the briefest second as his fingertips caress my cheek.

It almost makes me forget.

Almost.

“So what happened, Lil? Who was behind the attack?”

“From what I heard, there was a guy, a Sicilian guy — Messina was the name.” A name forever burned into my memory.

“Messina?” Zeno says, his voice rising. “As in Domenico Messina?”

I furrow my brow. “Yeah, why?”

Zeno’s jaw twitches. “Never mind. Tell me more.“

“My brother Nico didn’t tell me everything, but I managed to get some of the details out of him. Basically, the guy wanted to use my father’s territories to move contraband and drugs to other areas of the country. His American girlfriend is pretty high-profile and approached my dad on his behalf. But he wasn’t interested. They knew that my dad has a large distribution network and wanted to strong arm him. That’s why they came after me. It was supposed to be a threat. A message, I guess, since these guys are all about sending fucking messages,” I grumble, toying with the edge of the comforter. “My dad ordered the hit on the guys who tried to take me, and my brother’s guys found them and took care of them. It was supposed to be over. Handled.” I say, my voice shaking. “And then when I spoke to my brother the other day, he said…he just seemed…like the threat was back,” I shrug. “I guess it’s never really over, is it?”

“Never,” he grumbles, collapsing back on the bed. The cuts of muscle in his biceps flex as he raises his hands up to his face. “Fuck me, I can’t believe this shit is really happening,” he says, I think, more to himself than to me.

“What do you mean?” I say, lying down next to him and resting my head on his chest.

“The same Domenico Messina who was moving in on your father was doing the same shit to my family. Greedy bastards. They kept moving in to our territories in Sicily, trying to get their hands in whatever pot of money they could. My father didn’t want to go up against them. He didn’t want any heat on him because he knew we wouldn’t be able to battle then. It’s part of the reason why he’s so hell bent on getting accepted by the syndicate. He knows we need more muscle to ward off assholes like Messina.”

“So what happened?” I ask.

“I made a stupid move, dragged my youngest brother into the shit with me, and got a nice big target slapped on my ass. I could have gotten us killed.” He rakes a hand through his hair. “If it was just me, fine. But my brother Gallo…he’s too smart for this life. He could really be something, you know? But he always looked up to me and I took advantage of it. I brought him into something I knew we both might not escape. I’ll never forgive myself for that.”

“But your intentions were good. You were trying to stop someone from doing harm to your family.” I lean my head on one hand, dragging my fingertips over his inked skin.

---