Page 31 of Unruly Protector
“Can you rewind and go slow?You’re not making any sense,” Rina snaps, and I have to agree.
Donya has a panicked look on her face and her hands are shaking.She’s clearly scared while my woman is pissed.Arturo reaches out and covers Donya’s hands with his.
“My phone started to ring.I didn’t pick up right away since my attention was on Fredo who I saw rushing out of the church right after you left.And when I picked up while watching him disappear, the soldier I put on guard to keep an eye on Daniel told me a group of men just hit the warehouse.I gave him direct orders if anyone besides us came near the warehouse, he was already hiding when they came in.They saw Daniel was dead and headed out quickly.I ended the call and made a split-second decision to get everyone out of church.What if their next stop was here?Easy as fuck targets with only one entrance to get those men inside and start shooting up the place.I might have overreacted, but—”
“Fuck, no,” I snap.“Good call.And make sure to cancel the reception, we’re not taking any chances.”
“Wait,” Rina chimes in.“Did you just say Daniel was dead?He should still be alive since only a few hours have passed.”
Arturo shakes his head.“I gave direct orders.If something turned fishy the soldier had the all clear to put a bullet in Daniel’ head.No exceptions.No escape.No fucking chance that asshole was ever going to walk out of that warehouse alive.”
My eyes slide to Donya.Her gaze is set on the window, clearly distracting her mind instead of focusing on the discussion in here.Being in this world sometimes gives you a choice.For women it’s the arranged marriage that takes her choice away, but ignoring the violence and dirty side of the Famiglia is a choice Donya is clearly making to feel more comfortable.
Again, I let myself feel like I was granted a fucking dream with Rina.Even if she had a hard time going through her first confrontation with getting washed in blood.But the way she’s holding herself since then is the strong woman I now have at my side.
The woman currently muttering underneath her breath, “A bullet to the head.Way too merciful if you ask me.”
“Bloodthirsty.”I grab her hand and bring it to my lips, place a kiss on her knuckles, and add, “That’s my girl.”
She rolls her eyes and jerks her hand away muttering, “Pervert,” but she smiles nonetheless.
I drag my attention back to Arturo.“Do we know who it was?”
He shakes his head.“The soldier didn’t recognize anyone.But with Fredo getting up and out of the church first, right when shit hit the fan?I’m telling you he’s connected.Like you were the first one to voice it weeks ago.”He casually compliments Rina, pulling her into the discussion to make sure she’s a part of it.His following words are directed at both of us.“I ordered a few men to take Gracy, Henley, Beck, and Flora somewhere safe.We need Beck’s sister to join them and maybe send the bunch off on a short vacation.Somewhere out of state, or better yet, out of the country until we’ve cleared this up.They are the highest risk of a direct threat.”
I nod thoughtfully, remembering the talk I had with my uncle before I headed into church.“My uncle mentioned Daniel and Dustin were cellmates.It’s safe to say these two are working together with Fredo.The whole gambling angle and shift in behavior amplifies it.”
“Italy,” Rina blurts.“We could give them a two weeks all-paid vacation to Italy.Give them a chance to enjoy the region we grew up in.Gracy would love to see where her father lived a large part of his life, her brother too.Henley would understand and go along.And Beck, we could easily tell him a hint of the truth since he knows about Daniel and he could persuade Flora and his sister.Besides, Beck and Flora’s short vacation was cancelled a few weeks ago, they would love to have an impromptu trip to swoop them away.I could offer to help out with the animal shelter, make it seem we had everything planned to surprise them.It wouldn’t raise any suspicions.They would be safe while you guys handle it.”
Donya clears her throat.“Clemente, your uncle...he’s very kind and makes you feel at ease.”
If she only knew how many men he tortured and killed while being all calm and collected, my mind snickers.
“When you guys basically saved me by promising me to Arturo, Marco came to make his discontent clear.He kicked in the door at the same time your uncle arrived.I don’t know how he did it but with just a few words he calmed down a raging bull without much effort.Marco looked like he just won the lottery or something and gave me a wink instead of the murderous look he was wearing before your uncle showed up.”Donya shifts uncomfortably and adds, “What I’m trying to say is, your uncle is flying back later today.I overheard him mentioning the scheduled flight due to an early meeting tomorrow morning.He could take them with him since he has a private jet.He would also be able to give them the right protection.”
Her head bows and with it she tries to pull herself out of the discussion as easily as she slid right in.
“Thank you for sharing your thoughts, Donya,” I compliment.“You’re right, and I think it’s a great solution.”
Arturo nods with pride.Before these two women were in our lives, we wouldn’t have thought about discussing business in front of females.I guess my sister, Gracy, was the first one to break this rule since she was wrapped in some issues and I valued her opinion.No need to repeat how I feel about Rina, and now even Donya manages to put in her valuable two cents.
Rina’s head swings from the window toward me.“Where are we going?”
“We have a few safe houses in the area.You and I are going to one and so are Donya and Arturo.Maybe we’re overreacting to this situation, but it goes without saying that when shit hits the fan, we prioritize safety over immediate retaliation.But that doesn’t mean we sit on our thumbs,” I growl the last part out in anger, though it’s not directed at Rina.
Arturo adds, “There are already soldiers at work.When I saw Fredo leave, my phone rang but I signaled to Leandro, who in return put a tail on Fredo.We’re waiting to hear back.There’s also a bunch of soldiers checking out the warehouse.”
“Soldiers this, soldiers that.Do you guys keep calling them soldiers because you forget their names?”Rina mutters with a hint of defeat and vulnerability shimmering through her words.
“We know each and every one.They all have loyalty but we do have them in some form of layers.Others have more responsibility while some never get more tasks than they can handle,” Arturo supplies, somewhat agitated.
“I know about the ranking system.Don’t get pissy with me, I didn’t mean it the way I might have made it sound.I was just curious if I would have to do some form of homework to memorize faces and names of all the soldiers.Even if they function at the bottom, they are just as important, if not more.And knowing their names makes it personal.We need personal.”
Arturo snorts.“Not too personal.Like I said, loyalty is the key but some don’t need the personal touch.Unless you mean my foot up their ass because there are a few soldiers I don’t want near my woman.”He gives their joined hands a squeeze.“No matter how loyal, some are vicious assholes.”
“And yet they matter,” Rina says with determination and a snap, making me aware this discussion of soldiers is very personal to her.
Now it’s me who reaches out and squeezes my woman’s hand.Because I know where all of this is coming from.Mattia.He was a soldier.One who gave his life for her.
