Page 78 of Mafia Don's Secret Baby

“Fine. You?”

“They don’t want me dead. Get Callum to the room, and I’ll try to secure the entrance.”

Matteo looked torn as he considered his options. Leaving me was the last thing he wanted to do, but if he were to carry Callum out of the room and across the penthouse to the office, he’d need both hands. He needed a clear path, and only I could give that to him.

Alternatively, I could have carried Callum, but then Matteo would be pulling fire in our direction by following us. Plus, only he could open the room.

I had to be between them and the weapons.

“Matteo, go!” I shouted, leaving no room for questions.

The double doors leading to the balcony shattered open, and two men slammed through, wearing what looked like rappelling harnesses. I took a brief moment to glance out the window and found ropes dangling from the roof above. Fuck.

“Go!” I shouted to Matteo. “Be a father.”

The words seemed to get him moving. He fired two more shots, taking out the two men who had barged through the balcony door before disappearing into Callum’s room.

Almost immediately, two more men dropped to the ground, working to unhook their harnesses.

I stayed in the main room just long enough to watch Matteo carry a sleeping Callum across the penthouse and toward the office. Nobody came through the front door. I couldn’t be in two places at once, and I needed to take care of the most significant threat now—the two men on the balcony.

I focused my full attention on the men unfastening themselves from their harnesses. I couldn’t allow anyone to see where we were heading, or they’d try to force their way into the panic room.

If we didn’t get backup soon, I knew they’d be able to break into it. If they couldn’t break into it, I wouldn’t put it past them to burn down the whole floor to force us out.

If they knew we were inside, they would be relentless.

Time wasn’t on our side, and I prayed someone had managed to get the word out for help.

I needed to keep as many people out of the apartment as possible, and that meant stopping anyone else from rappelling onto the balcony. The front door would be next.

I sprinted to the shattered doors and didn’t hesitate before launching myself at the man nearest to the edge. He looked severely unprepared, having just unfastened his harness. With all my body weight, I shoved him over the railing, and he toppled backward, clinging to my shirt for just a moment before I threw myself back and broke free.

I had a brief second to glance over the ledge. His body hit the railing of the balcony beneath with a hard smack before falling to the streets below.

I turned and faced the second man. His tactical belt held both a firearm harness and a few straps for knives, and he reached for it, but I didn’t allow him to get that far. I slammed my hand into his wrist and kicked him back toward the ledge.

Unlike his friend, he was prepared. He caught his balance easily and grabbed the front of my shirt, pulling me into his body. He turned in a way that had my back resting on the railing, and he pushed my chest backward until I dangled over it.

I never realized how strong the wind was so high up in the New York skyline. It beat my hair around my face as I hung there, using only the man’s arm to keep me steadied on the balcony. “You killed my friend, bitch.”

I spit in his face, clinging to him for dear life. I wrapped both legs around his waist to keep myself steady.

If I went over, he’d be coming with me.

He tried to push me, but when he realized the grip I had on him, he pulled us both back, throwing me to the ground instead.

I couldn’t allow myself to think. I had to act, and I had to act quickly.

I reached for the knife that Matteo had given me and stood, plunging it forward as quickly as possible. It met skin and tore the man’s stomach open. He hunched over, wrapping a hand around the bleeding flesh. I kicked out, catching him in the arm as I grabbed my second gun and pulled the trigger.

He crashed into the patio furniture before falling to the ground.

I tucked the gun back into the holster and immediately moved toward where the ropes had been dangling from above. I tugged one of them hard, but it didn’t budge. It had been set to hold the weight of a grown man, so tugging would prove useless.

Think, Lilianna, think.

I glanced up toward the roof where the men had rappelled down from, and I saw where the rope had been tied. Nobody else stood up there, but it was only a matter of time before someone else made it up there…

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