Page 124 of Ruthless Secrets
“And I made a promise the day I gave birth to Zoe that I would keep her safe, so nothing you can say is going to change my mind, Alio.”
There’s no time to argue, and Alio knows it. He curses under his breath but doesn’t fight me further.
“Fine, but I want you to stay out of sight until we know what we’re dealing with.”
I nod and press myself flat against the wall, my heart pounding as Alio moves through into the living area.
I hold my breath as I follow behind him, trying not to make a sound.
“Wait here,” he mouths before stepping out in the living room, his finger hovering on the trigger of his gun.
For a second, everything stands still.
Then all hell breaks loose.
The alarms explode into action, cutting through the silence like a knife.
I jump as the front door is blasted open, followed by heavy footsteps.
Alio stands strong, his gun raised as he faces whoever it is that was lurking outside.
“Where are the girls?” a man demands.
I don’t recognize his voice, which only adds to my fear.
My body trembles as I glance at the door to the guest room, praying that the sound of the alarms will mask Zoe and Holly’s cries.
“What girls?” Alio’s face is a mask of false confusion.
I fight the urge to run to Zoe, but I’m stopped by the sound of a gunshot.
For a moment, I can’t work out if Alio was the one to fire.
But then his gun slips from his grip, before he goes crashing to the floor.
I swallow my cry of horror as blood starts to soak into his white t-shirt from the wound in his chest, and I know that it’s all over.
He’s dead.
Every instinct in my body screams at me to run, but I can’t risk it.
Zoe, Holly, Lila, and Rosa. I have to keep them safe, if not for me, for Marco and Andre.
My feet are moving before I have a chance to think. Slowly, I step out of the shadows, my legs shaking so badly I can barely stay upright with my hands help up in surrender.
Two huge men stand in the doorway, their guns now aimed at me, not that they need them. From the looks of their heavily muscled bodies, they could kill me without even breaking a sweat. They know it, and I know it.
Whatever words come out of my mouth next will determine my fate, and the fate of the De Luca family.
“I-I’m the only one here.” My voice trembles. “Andre took Lila and the babies. H-he’s meeting with Marco and t-they’re coming back for me.”
I glance quickly at Alio’s unmoving body on the floor and my stomach churns.
This will be my fate also if the two men decide not to believe me, but there’s no turning back now. I’m the only thing standing between them and my daughter, and I’m not going to go down without a fight.
“Shit.” The one on the right still has his gun pointed at my chest.
“Just grab the girl,” the other grunts. “One is better than nothing.”
