Page 174 of Broken Mafia Prince
“Raffaele, stop,” Matteo hisses in my ear. “You’re going to get her killed.”
“Who sent you?” I ask. “Did my father put you up to this? Or is it the Syndicate? Whoever you’re working for, I’m going to find them and kill them slowly, until they beg for death.”
He cocks his head. “Don’t get ahead of yourself. You’ll have to find them first for that to happen.”
I watch in frozen terror as he takes a step back, putting them right at the edge. Giulia’s gaze meets mine, and I can see how hard she’s trying not to look scared. Helplessness washes over me, and I feel like the weak, pathetic child again. The one from years ago, who was bullied for his hideous scar, his poor grades, his lack of friends, his ugly dog.
“The powerful and untouchable Raffaele Gagliardi, the family executioner, the ruthless has-been brought down to his knees because of a woman.” He throws his head back and lets out a bark of laughter, the sound ricocheting around the hills, ringing in my ear like a mockery of all the effort I’ve put into protecting her.
I growl. “If anything happens to her, there’s no corner of the world you and everybody you care about on earth will run to where I won’t find you,” I swear, fingers curling into fists.
I take a step closer, my eyes never leaving Giulia. Each deliberate step is driven by a desperate need to protect what matters most.
“I’ll make you regret this. Let her go. Don’t make me end you.”
He shifts sideways, every movement calculated—as if studying my every move. The slightest misstep could cost everything.
“Back off! I’m going back to my car, and you’re going to let me leave—or I swear I’ll fucking kill her right now!” he spits out in a sharp voice.
I lock eyes with Giulia, seeing fierce determination mixed with a desperate plea for help. In an instant, she lunges, her body pushing against her captor in an attempt to escape the nightmare he has forced upon her. Then a shot rings out, slicing through the silence, and my world goes still. She falls back, her hands reaching for me, a single tear tracking down her left cheek.
My body freezes as I watch her fall. The whole world fades around us, until it’s just me and her. She slips, disappearing over the edge of the cliff, swallowed whole by the darkness below.
“Giulia!”
A cold rage fills me, burning hotter than before. I’ve failed. There is no coming back from this.
I strain against the edge, my heart pounding frantically as I search for signs of her.
With violent anger, I twist sideways and fire several shots into her captor. He staggers back, collapsing before he can take another breath.
I look toward the edge of the cliff, my breath ragged, heart pounding like a war drum. Gripping the rocks, I peer down, scanning the darkness below.
Below, the water churns violently, crashing against jagged rocks, a chaotic, merciless abyss. The cliffs are steep, sharp, and unforgiving, disappearing into the darkness like the mouth of hell itself.
The waves crash against the stone with relentless force, and the helplessness of the situation settles over me like a ten-ton weight.
But fuck it all.
As I lean forward, preparing to jump after her, Matteo suddenly grabs me, pulling me back.
“You can’t! Jumping after her would be nothing short of suicide,” Matteo says firmly. “She’s probably dead, Raffaele. No one can survive in these waters with a gunshot.”
“Giulia!” I scream. “Giulia! Giulia!” Over and over again for what feels like forever. I don’t stop calling for her until my throat feels raw. There’s a roar in my head, like thunder, crashing waves, and then a hurricane. I can feel a crack in the walls of my humanity, and it splits all the way down.
I turn to the man and see that he’s managed to crawl a short distance away, his back riddled with bullets. Blood stains the ground beneath him, but he’s still breathing—barely.
Now Matteo towers over him as he kneels, gun pressed to his head, just like the bastard did to Giulia.
I don’t think. I move.
Dropping my gun, I close the distance in seconds, my fists shaking with rage.
“Raffaele, wait, we need to question him?—”
I push Matteo out of my way. I swore to protect her, I swore to give her a future; I made so many promises and broke them all in a heartbeat.
My body is being moved by the forces of wrath and vengeance.
