Page 57 of Savage Devotion

Her eyes widen with comprehension, but fear doesn't overtake her features. Instead, she nods with the calm assessment of someone who understands danger intimately.

"You think they're here for us?" she asks as we move briskly along the ancient pathway.

"I think coincidences are for people who don't have enemies," I reply, scanning our surroundings continuously. "I'm not willing to take risks."

We've nearly reached the exit when I spot two men moving with deliberate casualness, their attention too focused, their stance too ready.

What confirms my suspicions, turning wariness to rage, is the flash of color beneath one man's jacket as he adjusts his position.Ravelli red. My brother's calling card.

I push Francesca behind a stone wall, shielding her with my body as I draw my weapon. "Romano. West entrance. Two more at your three o'clock."

My security man nods, taking position to cover our rear approach.

"Are they Luca's men?" Francesca whispers, her body tense against mine.

"Seems my brother's distraction was a clever diversion," I reply, checking my gun is locked and loaded. "Stay down. Don't move unless I tell you."

And then it hits.

The first shot comes from our left. Amateur timing, poor positioning. The bullet strikes stone inches from my head, sending ancient dust billowing into the air.

I return fire immediately, hitting the shooter in his shoulder, deliberately non-fatal. I want information more than bodies right now.

How the fuck did they find me? How do they know I'm at the villa, let alone here today at these ruins?

"Over there!" Romano shouts, directing my attention to two more figures approaching from the ruins' southern edge.

What happens next unfolds with the clarity that combat always brings me. I'm in the zone, time slowing all the way down, my every sense heightening, each movement I make sure and precise with death the only price to pay if I fuck up.

Three more attackers emerge from different directions. This is all too coordinated for chance. Too aggressive for mere surveillance.

This is an elimination attempt.

I push Francesca lower behind the wall, positioning my body to completely shield hers as bullets chip away at our ancient cover.

"Dante!"

"Stay low! I'd rather die than let them touch you," I tell her, the words emerging without conscious thought, raw truth in the face of mortal danger.

Her eyes widen, something shifting in their depths. But there's no time to analyze this revelation right now.

I return fire methodically, each shot finding its target with the precision born from years of violence. One attacker falls beside a column, another crumples near what Francesca thinks was once a public fountain.

Romano handles the third, but two more advance from different angles, threatening to outflank our position.

"Alright, listen. When I move, you run for that archway," I instruct Francesca, indicating a covered passage that leads toward the parking area. "Don't stop. Don't look back."

She grips my arm, face determined despite the danger. "I'm not leaving you."

"This isn't a negotiation," I growl, checking my ammunition. "You run.Now."

I surge upward, firing rapidly to provide cover as she dashes toward the archway. But one attacker has circled behind, emerging directly in her path with weapon raised.

Time fuckingstops.

All I see is the gun aimed at Francesca's heart.

All I feel is pure, undiluted rage.

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