Page 94 of Stolen Mafia Vows
Terry uses the weapon to gesture me away from the bedroom door. “I’ll decide when my daughter is safe.”
I see it in his stepsons’ eyes: they’re praying that I’ll do the right thing and stand aside so that they don’t have to shoot their little sister’s husband. Only they’ve forgotten that I’m just like them. I’m prepared to die for the people I love.
“Do you know Olivia Dragonetti?”
Terry’s expression is like stone.
Caleb, however, doesn’t hide his reaction to the name. He lowers his weapon, his eyes dark with suspicion. “How do you know about Olivia?”
“Emily said that Olivia Dragonetti staged the abduction. We’ll have to wait for her partner to wake up before he can confirm.”
“Enough with the fucking games,” Terry interjects. “We had a deal in case you’ve forgotten. You help me save my daughter or die.”
“I’ve kept my end of the deal. But Olivia Dragonetti is the one we need to stop.”
Terry raises his gun’s sight, two hands holding it steady, the barrel ready to launch a bullet straight between my eyes. “You have until the count of three to get my daughter out here before I blow your fucking brains out. One…”
Emily’s brothers don’t move. This is between me and Terry.
I block the doorway, planting my feet wide. If this is how the Murrays work, reneging on their own deals, I want no part of an alliance with them.
“I promised to protect my wife, so you’ll either have to shoot me, or allow me to keep my word.”
“Two…”
“Are you certain that Emily said Olivia Dragonetti?” The question comes from Caleb.
“I know she did. It isn’t the first time I’ve heard the name. She met my father and brother in Ireland shortly before Ruairi was killed.”
Terry releases a steady breath. “You’re testing my fucking patience now, lad. Do I get to three or are you going to stand aside and let me see my daughter?”
“Wait, Terry.” Caleb places himself partially between me and his stepfather’s gun. “Olivia Dragonetti died last year. She was working closely with another bratva mob. They kidnapped my wife and her best friend, Sienna, to get to me, and … she was shot.” Only he doesn’t sound convinced right now. “Or at least we thought that she died.”
“Sounds to me like this is a pattern. Bratva. Abduction.You.” Emily didn’t question Caleb’s innocence when she heard thathis name was in the frame for murdering Ruairi, and I believe her. “Olivia Dragonetti is still out there somewhere, and now that she no longer has her leverage, she’ll be looking for another way to get what she wants.”
I face Terry, drop my gun, and raise my hands in the air.
“Go ahead and shoot me but promise me first that you won’t let anything happen to my wife.”
“Being a martyr won’t cut it with me,” Terry mutters with his jaw clenched. “Time’s up.”
I brace myself, but Caleb places his hand on his stepfather’s weapon and lowers it. “He isn’t being a martyr. He’s protecting his wife.”
The twins have been silent until now, but like windup toys waiting to be unleashed, they become all fidgety movement and live wires. “We’ll handle Olivia.”
They take the stairs three at a time, my men trailing them like a bunch of kids let outside after a long, wet winter.
“I had nothing to do with your brother’s death,” Caleb says as we hear the twins whooping downstairs, clearly enjoying the thrill of the chase. “I didn’t even know that he was in the city.”
I wonder how different this situation would’ve panned out if he had known, but now is not the time to dwell on it. “I believe you.”
Donal remains silent beside me. We present a united front even if we disagree with what’s being said. If my uncle has anything to say, I’ll hear about it once this is all over, and Emily is no longer being held captive.
“We should get Emily out of here.” Caleb gestures for me to lead the way back inside the bedroom.
I glance at Terry, who gives me a cursory nod.
We’re all here for the same reason. We want to save Emily, and none of us fully trusted the other to stick to the plan. But with the resurrection of whatever issue exists between Olivia Dragonetti and Caleb Murray, Terry and I have both slid fully onto the same page.
