Page 24 of Mafia Don's Secret Baby

Nobody would fucking hurt her.

I couldn’t even feel my knuckles make contact as they went numb, but I kept going. Even after his hand dropped to the floor, I didn’t stop.

I felt a hand on my shoulder, and it broke my focus enough for me to spin around and grab the person’s wrist. I thrust their body backward into the wall beside the door.

I realized in a split second that I was fighting off Lilianna.

Her cheek had reddened, and her mouth parted in a gasp.

The blood stopped rushing through my ears as I looked down at her, breathing as if I’d just run a marathon.

“He’s dead,” she whispered, one of her hands rising to lie on my chest. “I’m okay.”

I stared deeply into her eyes, and she held my gaze, not backing down.

“Matteo, it’s over,” she said. I wondered what she saw as she stared at me. She moved her hand from my chest and grabbed the fist that I had pressed into the wall beside her head. Then, she grabbed the hand behind her head and brought them both to her lips, kissing each knuckle. The stinging pain in them finally registered, and I glanced down at them.

Blood covered my hands, both mine and the blood of the man I’d just beaten to death.

I looked over my shoulder and took in both men on the ground—one cleanly killed and the other…

I’d beaten him far past death. His face was unrecognizable in the misshappen lump of gore.

“Matteo, look at me,” Lilianna said.

Her voice brought me back to the moment, grounding me.

“We’re safe.”

But she wasn’t.

Tonight had been a declaration of war from Vlad. He’d sent men to infiltrate my home and take Lilianna. She was mine.

He knew it, yet he still orchestrated this attack.

I lifted a hand and brushed it against her cheekbone lightly. Lilianna winced beneath the touch. “They hurt you,” I said. “Where else?”

She shook her head. “A few bruises, but I’m fine.”

“Where else?” I demanded.

She exhaled deeply and lifted her arms between us. “Just a few bruises on my forearms. Maybe my neck. They didn’t have a chance to do much.”

“And Callum?” I asked.

“He’s still asleep. They didn’t even know he was here.”

I took a moment to take a deep breath and exhale through my nose. With each moment, I found more of my composure.

“Where is your gun?”

“I couldn’t get to it in time, and I couldn’t stay in the room and risk waking him. If they would have found him…”

I understood and nodded.

“I’m going to go and put him back in bed. I’ll be out to help with all of this in a few minutes, okay?” she said.

She looked at me as if I was about to break. She didn’t move from her spot between me and the wall, as if waiting for me to let her move. I didn’t want to. I needed her close. I needed to see that she was okay and still here.

---