Page 51 of Claiming His Mafia Princess

Blinking into the dark, I try to sit up, but my body is in so much pain I’m finding it impossible. I can hardly move my hands, never mind anything else.

“Nevio.” I whisper into the darkness. “Please come and find me before it’s too late.”

My tears feel frozen on my cheeks. I can’t even reach up to touch them because my hands are too sore.

“Please, I can’t do this - I need you.”

Chapter Twenty-Four

NEVIO

It feels as though the snow is against us as it coats the roads and makes the drive treacherous.

The forest looms on either side of the road, thick cold mist dancing through the trunks of those tall pines - it makes the place look ominous.

On any other day, it might have been beautiful.

But my mind is in dark places.

I turn my face away from the line of trees, back towards the road. The driver is going along the slippery tar at a reasonable speed, but I am still annoyed.

“Can’t we go any faster?” I snarl.

“Not if you want to get there. If we go any faster, we will slide and roll, and Dalila will be on her own.”

I shut my mouth. I know he’s right, but it still pisses me off.

“How long until we get there?”

“At this speed, less than twenty minutes.”

Ok. That’s not so bad. Less than twenty minutes and then I can take this frustration and anger out on someone. I hate keeping it bottled inside like this.

I will turn on the man who has taken from me the thing I love most in this world.

In the back of the car, I hear my other security guard checking his weapon.

We all feel tense.

Lenny Malone is a dangerous man. A savage.

We might very well lose our lives this afternoon.

I dial Mas.

The phone rings a few times before he answers. I can hear his car. They are already on their way.

“We’ll be there in the next fifteen minutes.”

“Alright. Then we will be about fifteen or thirty minutes behind you, depending on this snow.”

“You left sooner than I expected.” I say with relief. I am grateful to have the backup so close.

“You should wait for us to get there. It’ll be better if we all go in at the same time.” He suggests.

“I can’t. That’s fifteen or twenty minutes in which anything could happen to her. I can’t take that risk.”

“We’ll see you there then. As soon as we can.”

---