Page 73 of Crimson Vows

“What happened after you shot him?” I ask as the gravity of the situation presses down on us.

“I don’t even remember pulling my gun out. I think I only wanted him to stop, but he kept walking away, and then the next thing I knew, he was on the ground, and there was blood coming out of his mouth. I panicked, so I ran,” he stammers out.

“Was he dead?” Nico pauses his pacing to ask. When Dante doesn’t answer right away, Nico repeats the question louder. “Dammit! Was he dead?”

“I don’t know. I think so,” Dante answers, looking up at his friend, desperate for guidance. “Maybe. If he wasn’t, he didn’t look good.”

Amelia. Her name slices through my thoughts. Does she know what happened to Vincent? If she suspects Dante was the one who shot her brother, she will be out for blood, looking for him, for all of us.

Nico’s eyes dart to the exit and then to the window. “What are we going to do?”

Our sanctuary is shrinking, and the small room’s walls are closing in even more. I don’t have an answer for Nico. All I can think about at this moment is Marco and if he is safe.

“We have to find Marco,” I reply, standing up and looking at Nico. “He was going to talk to Amelia. If she finds out about this while he’s there—” I can’t even finish the statement, the idea of it too horrible to fathom. My next words disappear in my throat as our heads snap toward the front door. Based on everyone’s reactions, we all heard it.

Footsteps. We exchange glances, and in a moment, we are all standing, our guns pointed toward the approaching stranger.

As the footsteps grow louder, none of us says a word. I’m unsure if we are breathing while waiting for what is coming our way.

The door slams open, and an eruption of adrenaline floods the room.

“Marco!” The name rips from my lips before I can swallow it down. He stands there, shock etched into every line of his face, a mirror to our own terror.

Time stills. Marco’s eyes scan the room, landing on Dante, then ricocheting to each of us.

“Marco!” I shout again as I lower my weapon and launch myself at him, arms flinging around his broad shoulders. The solidness of his body is real. He’s here. He’s alive.

Chapter Thirty

MARCO

Ilook around the room, trying to process the scene set out before me, my mind sorting through numerous questions. My initial instinct is to demand answers as to why in the hell Dante is here when I left clear instructions that nobody else was to know about this place. But then Gia came crashing into me, her arms tight around my waist. As I stand here, her body trembling against mine, every question seems to evaporate. She’s safe. They’re all safe.

“Marco, thank God.” Nico sighs in relief. “Hey, look, I am so sorry. I know you said not to let anyone else in, but I—”

“Stop.” My voice cuts off his apology. “None of that matters right now. I came here because we’re under attack.”

Blank stares all around. Gia’s grip on me tightens. Dante doesn’t move, he just watches.

“Under attack?” Nico’s brow furrows. “Who is? What are you talking about?”

“Amelia called me before we had a chance to meet.” My words come out clipped, like gunfire. “Vincent’s been shot. It happened outside his place when he got back. The King family is under attack. I came straight here to make sure Gia was okay, but now we all have to get to work. We need to reach out to the captains and check in to make sure they aren’t under similar threat as well.”

Shock ripples through the room. A cold fist clenches my gut as I think about my cousin currently fighting for his life at the hospital. Was he still alive? Had he already succumbed to his wounds? I push the dark thought from my mind. There’s no denying that Vincent is a flawed man and has hurt me and the people I care about, but he’s family.

“Marco—” Gia’s voice is barely a whisper against my chest.

“I know. I couldn’t believe it when Amelia told me.” I scan their faces. “I don’t know how I let myself get so distracted by all of this nonsense. I can’t help but feel like this is on me somehow. But don’t worry, we should know very quickly who is behind this.”

“What do you mean?” Gia asks, looking up at me with apprehension in her eyes.

“Amelia has already sent some men over to review the security footage from the exterior cameras. The second they identify the fucking cowards who did this, it’s war,” I reply, my muscles flexing under the promise of revenge.

Nico’s head turns in slow motion to Dante. “You know what will happen when they look at that footage, don’t you?”

“What’s going on?” I snap, my eyes jerking back and forth between the two men. Gia’s grasp on my body tightens.

“Marco, you need to stay calm,” she warns me.

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