Page 158 of Matteo
No.No no no no.
Matteo. Hannah. My family.
No, God, no.
I wouldn’t be able to bear the pain of their deaths.
Tears burned my eyes as I reached for the gun in the pocket of my jacket. Letting my rage consume me, I took in my surroundings, my heart hammering.
Then I saw them. Hiding in the trees like cowards.
They wanted death and destruction? I’d deliver it to them on a silver fucking platter.
I rolled onto my stomach, slowly creeping toward them, until I had a clear shot.
And I pulled the trigger.
CHAPTER SIXTY
MATTEO
Fury infusing me, I crouched down and inched toward the backs of the trespassers who dared to shoot at my wife.
I didn’t bother with a silencer since the only people around to hear the shots would be the ones who were about to die.
When I got an alert about a disturbance on the island and footage showed a boat cloaked in the night docking on the shores, I rushed out the door, desperate to reach Arianna. I knew my wife could handle a gun, but she didn’t stand a chance against ten men.
So I crept closer, then pointed the gun at the snowmobile parked about a mile away from Arianna’s favorite spot. There were four men standing around it, waiting for their accomplices.
Narrowing my eyes, I aimed at the gas tank. The explosion was instantaneous, engulfing each man in angry flames.
Four down, six to go.
Snow crunching beneath my feet, I ran hard, praying to anything or anyone who was listening to keep Ari safe.
I moved silently through the snow, but my tracks were impossible to cover. I used trees as my cover as I approached thecliff and a bone-chilling terror shot through me, seeing my wife cornered on the ledge.
If she fell, it would be to her death.
Aiming my gun, I shot the man closest to her and her gaze jerked up to me. A terse nod, and we worked in tandem.
Five down, five to go.
Leaping from tree to tree, I aimed and shot while Arianna did the same from her end. Until we were down to the last one.
Before Ari had the chance, I pulled the trigger, making sure to only wound him.
I closed the distance to find my wife’s pale face locked on me, her mouth opening and closing in silent gasps.
Dropping to my knees, I gathered her in my arms, feeling her trembling against me.
A sob tore from her lips and I tightened my arms around her. “Shhhh, I’m here.”
“I thought?—”
I pulled back slightly, examining her body and her face, but was relieved to find only a small scrape on her cheek and the material at her knees torn.
She buried her face in my neck, her body shaking against me. “They said you were dead. Hannah too.”
