Page 101 of Mafia King's Surprise Baby

When Jasir leaves, some of these men will come with him, if not all of them. He wants this wedding to happen, and killing Leo will be the cherry on top of the sundae if he comes here during the ceremony.

If we’ve already left, then Leo will stand a chance.

If there’s one thing I can’t have, it’s Leo dying. Should somethinghappen to me, it’s with him that I want Enzo to be. One of us will have to be there for our son, and the way things are looking right now, it’s not going to be me. Because I need to sacrifice myself for the two people I love the most in the world: Leo and Enzo.

The sooner Jasir and I are married, the sooner we’ll be out of here. This will at the very least win Leo some time.

He will find me, even after I become Jasir’s wife. He will take me away from this devil, take me back home. Jasir doesn’t want to kill me—he just wants to have his sick fun with my body. Leo needs time, and I just have to hold on, no matter what.

The priest is droning on in a language I don’t know. Jasir is starting to get impatient—I can see it in the tenseness of his shoulders, in the numerous glances to the classy watch on his wrist. For once, I’m with him. We need to be done here asap.

Every minute that draws this out brings Leo closer to this place…and closer to the possibility of him dying tonight. I can’t have this.

When it’s finally time for me to acquiesce to the vows, Jasir turns his dark eyes to me. An unholy gleam burns in them, and I swallow down all the fear and apprehension beating from my heart and in my veins.

“I do,” I say softly, the cavernous church however echoing the words as they dance their macabre ringing in my head, too. There’s no escape for me now, no way out. I’m Jasir’s.

It’s over.

Chapter 30

Leo

We all know it’s a trap I’m walking into, but what choice do I have?

The air is tense inside the car. Mattia’s in front, with the driver. Daku is accompanying us, my companion in the back seat. We’re going to a standoff with an Albanian, and I need a witness to see I didn’t provoke anything that’s already happened tonight and is also going to happen once we reach our destination. There was no time to ask for anyone else to come, so he’s with us, although he has already apprised his council of what’s going on. Their men are supposed to apprehend the older Abrashis while we deal with the wayward son.

I can’t believe this fucker of Jasir is doing this. What does he have to gain? Revenge? He’s an arrogant pig and self-righteous, and he doesn’t know how to take defeat lying down. Their honor, it’s already been washed clean in the war. My father died for this very reason, to bring closure to this rift between our mobs.

This bastard is a dead man walking. At the first chance I get tonight, I’m killing him. And this time, my moves are sanctioned by the Albanians. He doesn’t stand a chance.

My jaw clenches as I think of what’s awaiting me. I don’t stand much of a chance, either, but I have to do this. It’s for Bianca, for Enzo, and for the greater good, too, to remove Jasir Abrashifrom this world.

“Leo, please,” Mattia starts as he turns to me. “Don’t go in alone.”

“You know we’ll be dead the second they spot us if we walk in as a crew.”

“But us spreading out to then breach, it leaves you too exposed,” he continues. “At least wear a vest.”

A snort escapes me. “It’ll be obvious I’m wearing Kevlar. I can’t risk…”

Silence stretches until he nods. I’m a big man. Putting on a vest will not blend in on my frame. No, I need to be seen as vulnerable as I go in. Otherwise, there’s the risk those assholes may hurt Bianca. That can’t happen.

Up ahead is the turn onto the path that’ll take us to Remick’s Church. I know this place—Mattia and I used to come here when we were freshmen in high school. Then we got bolder as we became juniors then seniors. This church, it was too small-time game for us and our crew of friends. Once we discovered the condemned hospital on Roosevelt Island, we abandoned this place, and Bianca’s posse took over it further down the line. We were young and free, and we turned a blind eye to these kids going through the same rite of passage we took as we grew up.

This place, it used to spell good memories. Tonight, these get tainted as the horror of what’s unraveling in its walls dawns on all of us. Jasir Abrashi is marrying Bianca. If there’s one bond that’s sacred in both our worlds—Italians and Albanians—it’s that of marriage. I’m hoping I’ll get to kill the fucker before he’s made her his by vow. But it doesn’t matter, in the end. Bianca ismine, and no man will have her. I’ll kill whoever steps between us.

The car comes to a stop. Luigi and his men are following in three other cars, but I’ve advised them to stop a few hundred feet from us, so it can somewhat look like we’re one lone car coming up against the lot of them. If they’re not anticipating this, they’re idiots, but one thing I’ve learned, sometimes, people really are idiots and intelligence is given too much credit.

“Let me come with you,” Daku says as we alight.

I shake my head. “I can’t risk this.”

He nods, and I exchange a look with Mattia. He hands me a semi-automatic I tuck into my side, within easy reach. It’s a Glock, so I don’t need to worry about the safety being on as the whole mechanism is located in the trigger itself—squeeze it hard enough, and the bullet will fire.

Eerie quiet buffers the surroundings. The wind is whispering gently around us, whistling softly in the fissures of the church’s stone structure.

My feet are leaden as I take my first step. This must be what the last walk in the corridor of death feels like. However, I drag my legs up and ascend the steps to the threshold. The doors are closed, and I push one panel just enough to pass through. I’m hoping this way, whoever’s inside won’t see what’s happening out here, like my men surrounding the building.

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