Page 4 of Mafia Don's Secret Baby

I swore I’d never let Callum see these things, but here I was.

A hand gripped my shoulder, and I spun around. Instinct had me ducking as the man who had been sitting beside us swung at my jaw.

“I warned you, and you turned your nose up at me.”

I threw Callum behind me on the floor, using my body to block his as the man pulled a gun from a holster at his side.

“No!” I screamed, throwing myself over my son and praying my body would take the brunt of the attack.

I waited for the sharp pain as a bang erupted behind me, but after a few seconds, nothing came.

I peeked over a shoulder, keeping Callum protectively under my body.

A set of familiar dark eyes stared back at me, his face splattered with blood.

Matteo.

Chapter Two

Matteo Costello

The expectation of conflict had been on everyone’s mind today. But our suspicions had been assuaged when Aelita had been texting Silas provocatively all morning, and Vlad had been on his best behavior for the past week. It was almost too good to be true.

Still, Alessio, Silas’s father, had warned me in private that he’d intercepted talk of a coup today, and I’d planned accordingly. I stood behind Silas, monitoring the room for any sign of a threat. I kept a close eye on Vlad as he walked his daughter down the aisle, monitoring him for any indications of a threat.

But the first shot hadn’t come from him.

It had been Aelita, and she hadn’t hesitated. By the time I stepped forward, she had the gun pointed at Alessio. I reached for my firearm, but Vlad stood in front of me, drawing his weapon, too.

I watched Silas drop to his knees as I turned my full attention on Vlad and kicked the gun from his hand. I slammed my fist into his jaw and aimed my own weapon, only for it to fly from my hand. Someone had shot it from my hand.

I trailed my gaze around the room, and the second it took for me to take in all the details felt like an eternity as I took in the face of each and every person attacking us. I locked my attention on Vlad Petrov for just a moment, allowing fury to bubble to life in my chest. I put aside the cool and composed facade I typically maintained.

I’d kill every single one of these motherfuckers who had a role in this.

Vlad stood between me and Aelita, and I needed him out of the way to get to Silas. I’d kill him, and then I’d kill Aelita. Then, I’d get Silas the medical attention he needed. He’d survive this. He had to.

I charged toward Vlad first, but two other men passed him, coming for me with their weapons. I didn’t have much to defend myself with, but I had years of experience.

I heard another shot from behind before the telltale sound of a body hitting the floor.

I knew what had happened without looking.

I felt the presence of my best friend fade, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. Not with Vlad attacking me and then two other goons following in his shoes.

Aelita had single-handedly killed the Don and the heir, and she thought she’d get away with it.

One man made the fatal mistake of getting too close before drawing his weapon, and I pushed his wrist away, causing a misfire. In a swift motion, I twisted his arm behind his back, disarming him and taking the weight of the weapon in my hand. I ducked behind him and allowed his friend to fire twice. His body absorbed the shots before I fired the gun once.

I only needed one shot to take down my target, unlike these low lives.

When he fell, I turned the gun on the man in front of me and pulled the trigger again.

It was easy to ignore the spray of blood against my face as I rushed toward where Aelita was trying to escape the carnage. Vlad stood at her back, allowing his cronies to finish off the Costello family.

I took four long steps before I heard it.

A scream, both unfamiliar and completely familiar, rang through the room.

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