Page 263 of The One
Nico is going to finish what he started.
I brace for it. The pull of the trigger, the gunshot that ends me…us.
This time, there’s no way out.
Mari presses against my back, her breath hitching, her whole body trembling. I reach for her, pulling her into my arms and holding her tight.
If this is the end, I want tofeelher and breathe her in.
I bury my face in her hair, memorizing the way she fits against me. Her fingers clutch at my shirt, desperate, terrified.
“Sorry,dolcezza,” I whisper, just for her.
She squeezes me tighter, tucking her face against my chest.
“I love you,” she murmurs, lifting her head. Her eyes shimmer with unshed tears, raw fear, and so much love.
Bang.
The man beside Nico jerks, eyes widening in shock before his body crumples, blood pooling beneath him.
Mari chokes back a gasp. My breath stalls.
Nico lowers the smoking gun, his smirk widening as he turns back to me, utterly unbothered by the body at his feet. His eyes glimmer with something dark, unreadable.
“We can’t afford witnesses now, can we?” He wipes a speck of blood from his sleeve, almost absently. Then his gaze locks onto mine, sharp as a blade.
“Now the fact that you're still alive is truly our secret.”
Chapter One Hundred
Mateo
Afew hours later, I sit back comfortably and steer our new boat onto the open sea.
We have no destination, just sailing toward the horizon, where the first light of dawn waits to break. The sky is already painted in soft hues, a promise of the sun to come.
After the stormy night, the sea is calm now, the sky clear, not a cloud in sight. I’d like to believe it’s a good omen for our happy future ahead.
Mari sinks onto my lap, freshly showered and smelling like heaven itself. My arms instinctively wrap around her, pulling her close, needing her warmth, her touch. She winces when I graze the bullet wound on her side.
I hate the reminder of how close I came to losing her. Again.
Good thing our mafia days are behind us. Perhaps now, I can finally breathe and live without the constant fear of something happening to Mari.
“Wow. What a night,” she exhales, snuggling in deeper.
I huff out a laugh, nuzzling my nose along the length of her neck, breathing her in. “That’s what I like to hear after a stormy night in bed, not after being ambushed.”
She blows out a breath. “Yeah, it got a little dicey a few times. And you said we just had a simple plan to execute.”
I shake my head. “I never expected a fiery family reunion, that’s for damn sure.”
Mari tilts her head, watching me carefully. “How are you feeling about it all?”
Good question. The shock of finding out I have another brother is still rattling me. And before I can get to know him, I’ve lost him too.
“My mind is a mess,” I admit. “Part of me is actually relieved, though. At least some part of my ancestral legacy will live on. What our family built over generations won’t just disappear into the hands of our enemies. If Nico takes the Molinaro side too, he could unite both empires and bring the kind of stability Tiero and I never could achieve.”
