Page 83 of Broken Mafia Prince
“You think the Syndicate will reward you for this?” I sneer, loud enough for her to hear. “If I were you, I’d run. Fast.”
I make sure to catch Isa’s eyes when I say it, hoping she’ll get the message and run as fast as her legs can carry her. I’m relieved when I see her nod jerkily before turning around and sneaking off. Even though she’s older than me and is always trying to baby me, when it comes to dangerous situations like this, she knows to follow my lead.
I glance over at Father and see that he’s already looking over at me. He shoots me a small nod that means many things at once, and I nod back.
“The Syndicate will more than reward me for this. They’ve been trying to get rid of the Montanaris and Gagliardis for years, and I’m going to give them what they want,” Luca grins. “We both know that the only leg the Gagliardis have to stand on right now is that bastard Raffaele.”
I blink at him, confused, and he rolls his eyes. “Edoardo has been running their division down to the ground for years. Everybody knows that if not for the son, the entire family would have crashed and burned a long time ago.” He pauses. “Which is why I plan on decapitating them by getting rid of Raffaele.”
This time around, I laugh. “How cute that you think getting rid of him will just be a piece of cake. As soon as he hears what happened here, he’ll double his defense.”
His mouth pulls up at one corner. “Let me worry about the logistics.”
Before I can say anything else, he raises his gun and points it at my father. “Look at you, the great Enrico Montanari, brought to his knees by insignificant me. Did you think I’d let you get away with treating me like a child that you were doing a favor?” he seethes, waving his gun around wildly. “You think I was just a middleman?” Luca sneers, blood dripping down his chin. “The Syndicate is bigger than you think. This war? You already lost.”
“You’ll forever be insignificant,” Papa laughs. “Marrying my daughter would’ve been the only way you’d ever matter. And even then, you’d still be a nobody.”
“Father, stop!” I whisper, panic creeping into my voice. Luca’s face darkens, his hand trembling around the gun.
“Listen to your daughter, old man,” Luca spits. “You’ve been fighting shadows your whole life, and you don’t even see it. You’re blind. Weak. And now, you’re finished.”
Confusion flickers across my father’s face. “What are you saying?”
Luca shrugs, a smug grin curling his lips. “I guess you’ll never know.” Then, without hesitation, he raises his gun and aims it straight at my father. Even if he’s a terrible shot, there’s no way he can miss from this close.
“No!” I scream, lunging forward just as the gun goes off. My hand catches his arm at the last second, jerking the shot off course—from my father’s head to his chest.
Before I can do more, a man behind me grabs my arm and yanks me back, nearly ripping my shoulder from its socket. Pain flares hot and sharp, but I barely notice.
My entire focus is on my father. Blood has seeped through his light blue pajama shirt and is rapidly spreading over his chest. Even though my father and I weren’t on the best of times while growing up and we’ve just recently learned how to co-exist without bothering each other, he’s still my family, and I love him.
Tears prick the back of my eyes as I stare at his still body, but I refuse to let them fall. I’m not letting Luca of all people see me cry.
I fix my gaze on him, showing him all the hatred burning inside me. “I’m going to kill you, and I’m going to make it as slow and as excruciating as possible.”
“Sure thing, sweetie,” he mocks, pulling out his phone.
I freeze at the sharp click of a camera shutter. A moment later, I find my voice. “What the hell are you doing?”
“Setting another little piece of bait for your boyfriend,” he says, his gaze dragging slowly over my body. Everywhere his eyes linger, my skin crawls like insects are skittering over it. I shudder in disgust at the sudden lascivious glint in his expression.
“I had him distracted, you see. Right now, he’s probably halfway out of the city, thinking you’re hurt and running to play hero.” He grins, pleased with himself. “I do love making things more interesting, don’t you? Killing you just like that would be such a waste.”
I gasp mockingly, meeting his eyes with a smirk. “I have an idea. Why don’t you let me kill you instead?”
His mouth presses into a thin line, all trace of lust gone. Instead of responding, he signals to the man holding me. Together, we leave the penthouse, and I try not to stare at my father’s prone body. I need to figure out how to get out of this in one piece, and make sure Luca never sees the light of day again.
I can’t believe he thinks sending a picture of me to Raffaele will make him come running into what is an obvious trap. How stupid is he? There’s no way in hell Raffaele will agree to whatever crazy demands he has or come running to the rescue while knowing he’s at an obvious disadvantage. Most likely, the Gagliardis will tighten security measures, and then Edoardo will throw a party to celebrate the end of our family.
After Raffaele didn’t show up to the safehouse last night, I’ve concluded that he’s probably realized that us together would be complete madness. Not that I wanted him to show up or anything. I’m definitely not angry that he didn’t and that I haven’t heard from him since then.
I don’t need him.
I’m going to figure this out by myself.
I’m distracted from my thoughts when the elevator doors open, depositing us in the underground parking garage. Luca’s accomplice drags me to the trunk of a black Mercedes, and I’m tossed in carelessly, my head knocking against the side of the vehicle.
The car rumbles through an off-the-path dirt road, judging by how the car rumbles along. I have to brace myself with my hands to avoid being thrown around in the trunk, while still trying to break out of the car. I need to stop thinking about revenge and start thinking about survival. If I don’t find a way out now, I won’t get another chance.
