Page 25 of Little Rabbit

Dario’s face alights with fury. “Shut the fuck up, cunt,” he snarls, and that’s when I realize what she’s doing, because a man like Dario will never let something like that slide. He immediately loosens the arm around her neck and pulls the gun back from her temple. The moment she has the right amount of room, she drops all her body weight and Dario staggers, releasing her completely as Lazaro and I bring up our guns, firing simultaneously. Of course the slippery fucker manages to avoid the bullets, cursing and scrabbling back until he gets himself behind one of the trees lining the driveway.

Sienna scrambles forward, and I pull her behind me, Lazaro blocking her from the other angle. “We need to get out of here and get to the plane,” I tell Lazaro in a low voice, never glancing away from where Dario is hiding. The shooting from up on the hill has stopped, which I’m going to take as a sign that our men have captured or eliminated whoever was up there.

“Get in the car and we’ll get out of here,” Lazaro answers. “We just need to hold this bastard off until we can get down the drive. I don’t know who else he has with him, but it’s the only way out of here unless we want to hike.”

“Too long and too many chances for surprises. Tell our men to get us the hell out of here.” My voice is grim, but I’m not taking any chances with Sienna.

“I’m not the only one coming for her, Caruso,” Dario yells from behind the tree. “She’s our blood and you have no right to her. You’re declaring war.”

“A war you stand no chance of winning. Anyone else that tries to get in my way will die right along with you.” I turn my head and whisper to Sienna, “Open the door quietly and get inside without shutting it. I want you to get down on the floor. Do you understand?”

Sienna doesn’t answer immediately, her expression hard, but she finally nods and follows my order. Once I know she’s inside the car and out of harm’s way, I focus my attention back on Dario. “I have a message for your brother, father, and uncle, so pay attention. Your family double-crossed us, and we will never let that go unpunished. Your days are numbered, so I suggest you think good and hard about how you want to spend them.”

“I don’t fear you, Caruso,” Dario sneers. “You’re not even the fucking Don, so you don’t get to make threats. I’m going to give you one more chance to hand her the fuck over and I won’t kill you.”

“I’m not going anywhere with you,” Sienna calls out loudly from behind me. I bite back a curse. “I don’t know who the fuck you are, but from this interaction, I don’t want to get to know you. Who the hell puts a gun to their own sister’s head, and tells her to fall in line like some kind of dog? That’s fucked up.”

“Women are nothing but bitches anyway,” Dario tosses back. “The only thing you’re good for is marrying off to the highest bidder. After that, you’re not our problem.”

“He hasn’t learned the art of being charming to get what he wants, has he?” Sienna remarks sarcastically.

I ignore her, focusing only on getting us the hell out of here. Thankfully, Lazaro has been silently moving around the car to the driver’s side, and the moment he slides inside, I’m in the back of the car and we’re on our way. I don’t announce our exit, and instead I hear Sienna slam the door shut just as I shut mine, and we’re peeling down the driveway toward the main road.

It’s seconds before shots fill the air, hitting the car body, and shattering the back windshield. Lazaro and I duck, even as more shots are aimed our way once we hit the end of the drive. It appears Dario brought a few more men for back-up, but it’s no worry of ours. Our men will ensure they’re taken care of. We just need to get to the plane. “Stay down, Sienna!” I yell.

“No problem, considering I don’t want to see my brains splattered all over the backseat,” she tosses back tightly. I don’t look back at her, but my lips quirk up.

The private airstrip is a half hour drive from the city, but Lazaro wastes no time. I keep an eye on the mirrors the entire way to ensure we’re not ambushed, but the coast seems to be clear. Which means Dario and his men are small in number, and the others probably haven’t caught up. We have time to get back to the villa and make a plan.

As soon as the car stops, Lazaro and I are both out, and I’m wrenching open the back door to pull Sienna and her bag out, using my body to shield her as we run up the plane’s steps. “Get us in the air. Now,” I bark as I lead Sienna to the rear seats of the plane.

“We’ll be up in less than five minutes,” Lazaro promises as he starts barking orders of his own. The stewardess scrambles to get things squared away, while I hear the pilot in the cockpit giving his own directions.

I stow Sienna’s bag away before I sit next to her and make brisk work on buckling us both in, ignoring her when she tries to push my hands away so she can do it herself. She doesn’t say a word, but the glare she gives me speaks volumes. I smirk at her, and then nod when Lazaro comes to inform us that we’re taking off immediately as he takes the seat across from us.

Sienna looks out the plane’s window, and I don’t relax until we’re climbing into the air. When we finally level out, I unbuckle my seatbelt and order Lazaro, “Get everyone on the phone. We need to let them know we’re coming.” Lazaro pulls out his phone and then a laptop from the upper compartment. I turn and look at Sienna, who arches a brow at me, and I ask, “Are you alright, coniglietto?” I quickly look her over to make sure there is no blood, but I don’t see anything. Not that I wouldn’t put it past her to hide it.

“I’m fine,” she replies, undoing her seatbelt. “How long until we get there?”

“A little over 2 hours at this speed,” Lazaro answers. “I told the pilot to push us a bit.”

Sienna nods. “Alright. So now what?”

Before I can answer, Lazaro’s phone rings. He answers it quickly and then starts to tap away on the laptop. “On our way back,” he says briskly. “ETA is two hours and fifteen minutes as long as the pilot keeps our current pace without any issues.”

“Good,” Aurelio replies. “I take it there were some problems?”

“Dario De Luca showed up with some men,” I reply. “I want to know where the other De Luca men are right now, because they can’t be far behind.”

“They’re making their way to Greece on a connecting flight, so they haven’t even made it that far yet,” Aurelio replies immediately. “You’ll be home by the time they land.”

“Good. I want constant updates on where they are, especially Dario,” I order. “I doubt that fucker is going to turn tail and run back home to his father.”

“Leonardo probably won’t let him go home,” Nico’s deep voice says tightly. “The question is, how much do Marco and Giovanni know?”

I can’t stop the smirk that pulls at my lips. “Boo Bear!” I exclaim. “I’ve missed your voice. Don’t worry, I’m on my way back to you.”

Lazaro snorts out a laugh, but the phone line is silent. “I’m going to enjoy killing you,” Nico replies darkly. “And I’m going to do it in a way that has you screaming like a baby and begging for mercy.”

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