Page 58 of Sins of the Father
“Let’s go.”
Mia’s hands trembled as she touched his wound. The moment she felt the sticky warmth of his blood, something inside her broke. A sound tore from her throat—raw and strangled, part sob, part fury.
This… this was no way to live. To love.
Outside, the night air hit her like ice. Luc’s arm wrapped around her, pulling her close as they slipped through the exit to where the cars waited. He guided her into the back seat, shielding her from the flashing lights and chaos. Carlos wasalready giving clipped orders, his face grim, while Bianca and Tony were ushered into the second vehicle. Armed guards fanned out, forming a perimeter. As their car pulled away, Mia leaned her forehead against the cool glass of the window. The city lights blurred through her tears. She felt numb, her chest hollow, the adrenaline fading into exhaustion.
Luc’s voice was low, steady. “You’re safe now.”
But Mia didn’t feel safe.
Tears slipped silently down her cheeks as the car sped through the night, bodyguards trailing close behind. For the first time, she realized the depth of her fear—not of dying, but of losing him. And of what this life was turning her into.
CHAPTER TWENTY
The shower ran scalding hot, yet Mia still felt the blood on her hands.Luc’s blood. It had flowed more freely than the night he’d been shot outside the cinema. She scrubbed her palms, wrists, and the spaces between her fingers until her skin burned raw. The steam couldn’t erase the phantom stench of gunpowder in her hair or the echo of Bianca’s screams—so like Donata’s the night she died.
For years, Mia had buried that memory, locking it behind walls of silence. Now it rose up, dragging her under. Her knees buckled, and she caught herself against the slick tiles, choking back bile. This was the third attempt on her life. The second time Luc’s world had bled into hers with such brutal clarity.
The bathroom door clicked open.
“Mia.”
She glanced over her shoulder. Luc stood framed in the steam, his bandaged shoulder stark white against the bronze of his bare chest.
“You should be resting,” she said hoarsely, her voice cracking on the last word.
A beat of silence. Then his reflection appeared behind hers in the fogged mirror. “You’re shaking,” he said quietly.
Water dripped from her lashes like tears. “I imagine this is how life will be now,” she whispered, “one attack after another. The violence and the fear constant companions.”
His hand hovered just above her back—close enough that she could feel his heat. “Look at me,” he demanded softly.
She did. His thumb brushed the hollow beneath her ear, a fleeting touch that almost broke her. “You walked out of that club alive. That’s all that matters.”
“It’s not.” The words tore out of her like shrapnel. “Bianca could’ve—”
“Bianca’s fine.”
“And you took a bullet! Why would you push me away without thinking about yourself?”
A dangerous flicker crossed his face. He stepped closer, his good arm braced on the counter, caging her in. “You think I’d hesitate to take a hundred more?”
Her breath caught. “You’re not supposed to want to take any more.”
Luc exhaled hard, jaw tightening. “It’s the life. It is what it is.”
“No, it isnot!” Her voice broke into a scream, raw and trembling. “Nothing about this life of violence and bloodshed isnormal. I don’t want it to be my normal. I love being with you. I love our laughter, when we watch movies, when you hold me. I love it when we have sex. But Ihatethe violence you accept so easily.” She pounded her fists against his chest, each word a sob. “Why did you have to drag me into this?Why?”
“You want to fall apart?” His voice dropped, rough and steady. “Do it. I’m here to catch you.”
His fingers slid into her wet hair, forcing her to meet his gaze. Complex emotions swirled in his: possession, guilt, something perilously close to tenderness.
Because of her, Bianca could have died. Bianca, who had no part in this world, could have been snuffed out just for being her friend. The bullet could have pierced Luc’s heart. He could have died.
“They’ll keep coming for me,” Mia said, her voice hoarse.
“I know.” His tone turned lethal. “But tonight was their last chance. Now I’m going for them. And I won’t leave anyone alive.”
