Page 85 of The Lies We Tell

At the sound of a shot, Matteo rounded the side of the building, weapon raised. Antonetti had blood dripping down his arm from a wound in his shoulder, and Tessa held the gun out in front of her with shaking fingers.

Her father lunged at her, noticing Matteo at the last moment and causing Tessa to look over, her eyes widening in surprise. It was enough of a distraction for her father to disarm her, grabbing her by the hair and yanking her back against his chest, gun pressed tight to her temple.

“Careful, boy. Or I’ll blow her brains all over the wall.”

“Do it then.” She laughed, low and dark. “You’ve been threatening me for so long. Do it.”

“Shut up,” he barked, yanking her head back until she stopped struggling.

“I’m not afraid of death or of you. Not anymore. You’ve already taken everything from me. My mother, Matteo, any kind of chance at happiness I might have had. Might as well take my life too.”

“I said shut up, you little fucking cunt.”

“Hell of a way to talk to your own daughter.” Matteo met Tessa’s resigned gaze, and it arrowed straight through him. She wasn’t allowed to give up yet. He wasn’t finished with her. “You went to a lot of trouble to slip a spy into my house to give her up so easily.”

“It’s not like she was very useful. Too busy on her knees for you to be much help to me. Apparently she didn’t want her mother back bad enough.” Antonetti pressed the gun harder against her head, and she shrank away from him.

“Her dead mother.”

A tear slipped down Tessa’s cheek, and her body jerked.

“Yes, yes. Her mother is dead. But she didn’t know that.” He gestured to Tessa. “In the end, though, she was just as big of a disappointment as I suspected. And after all the trouble I went to to find someone who sounded just like my Eliana.”

“Next time find a better whore,” Tessa spat, gasping when her father tightened his hold on her neck.

“You always were too much trouble.” Salvatore tsked. “Couldn’t pay men to marry you, couldn’t get you to keep your mouth shut, couldn’t bribe you to finally be useful for once in your life.”

“My apologies for being such a burden to you. Why didn’t you kill me when you killed my mother?”

“Because I wanted to sell you. I didn’t realize you’d drive such a hard bargain with this fucking mouth.” Salvatore gripped her chin in his hand and squeezed while she fought against his hold.

“You think he’d enjoy watching you die?” A wicked grin spread over Salvatore’s face, and he looked between them. “You lied to him, after all. He’s here to kill me, and since I suspect he’s already killed your brother, he’ll get his wish. But it might be fun for him to watch you die first.”

Tessa blew out a shaky breath, her eyes meeting Matteo’s and darting away. He hated that look in her eyes, like she was ready for death. Like she expected him to enjoy watching it. He didn’t care if she was ready or not; he wasn’t prepared to let her go. They had too many things to discuss, to mend.

“The only person dying here today is you,” Matteo said. “Because she’s mine.”

Salvatore barked out a laugh, pressing his cheek to Tessa’s temple. “Oh, he wants you all to himself. Your blood on his hands only. Or maybe he’ll pass you around to his men first, let his enforcer have you. Alexei’s skills with a blade are legend on this island.”

“Let her go, and I’ll kill you quickly.” Matteo’s eyes darted over Salvatore’s shoulder when he caught sight of a shadow moving along the wall, but Salvatore didn’t seem to notice.

“Or”—Salvatore shifted Tessa in front of his body like a shield and tightened his grip on her neck until she clawed at his forearm, her lips turning blue—“I’ll shoot her so you can’t have her. Yeah. I might enjoy that more.”

Luca raced forward in a blur, driving the butt of his gun against Antonetti’s temple so hard his eyes rolled back in his head. When his grip loosened enough that Tessa could wrench herself free, she fell to the ground, crawling away on her hands and knees while she coughed and sobbed.

Antonetti spun to face Luca, but his steps faltered, and he swayed on his feet from the blow. Another hit and Antonetti fell to his knees before slumping forward onto his chest. Luca bent to retrieve the discarded gun and tucked it into his waistband.

“Why the fuck didn’t you just shoot him?” Matteo demanded.

Luca shrugged. “You said you wanted it to look like an accident. I figured this gave us options. Alexei and Berto should be here any minute to help us take him back to the casino.”

Nodding, Matteo crossed to where Tessa sat on the ground, staring at all three of them. When he crouched next to her, she immediately scrambled away from him, flinching when he reached out to wipe away the blood her father had smeared across her cheek.

“If you’re going to kill me, I would prefer not to be tortured first. Just…” She cast a furtive glance at Luca. “As much as you might enjoy a slow death, just make it quick.”

Another black SUV pulled up to the mouth of the alley, blocking out most of the sun and casting long shadows over them.

She scooted further away at the sight of Alexei, pressing her back against the cold stone wall. Matteo pushed to his feet and took several steps back, keeping a close eye on Tessa. She didn’t look like she would bolt, with her arms wrapped tight around her legs, but he didn’t want to take any chances.

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