Page 103 of Mafia King's Surprise Baby

“You know what?” he continues. “Me? I’m not divorcing her. Ever. You lose, Leo.”

Jasir pulls Bianca to him. I’m fully expecting him to kiss her in front of me. Instead, he licks the side of her face, all the way from her jawline to her temple. She flinches, and his hand tightens around her arm.

He’s gone too far. No one does this to a woman, much less mine.

“You don’t need a divorce if you’re dead,” I say calmly, my voice echoing sonorously in the cavernous church.

Here’s what Jasir doesn’t know. I’m a damn good shot. Even from fifty feet away, in the dim interior lit by only the halo of a few dozen burning candles, I can down a man with just one bullet.

It’s over in a matter of seconds: I’ve pulled my gun out, aimed, shot, and Jasir Abrashi is going down, toppling forward, a single hole in his forehead, the back of his head a gory mass of exploded brain matter as I didn’t use a hollow-point bullet that stayed inside his cranium.

Bianca yelps and jumps out of the way as he falls. I’m already off my feet and running in her direction when a hail of bullets explodes in the surroundings. The sound is deafening in thehallowed space, but I don’t let it hinder me. I need to get to her.

However, the burning pain in my side? It slows me down. I’m still crawling to her, though, angling my body against the side of a pew for some support.

“Duck!” I yell. “Stay down!”

But I’m sure she can’t hear me in this ruckus. Fire is now erupting from my side, and flames are scorching down my chest as I try to breathe. Every hiss of air is like a red-tipped blunt knife see-sawing into my torso.

“Leo!” I hear a woman scream.

It’s Bianca, and she sounds so far away.

Stay put, I want to yell at her, but no sound is coming out of my lips. I’m not even sure they’re moving, to be honest.

A sound overlays the hail of bullets that’s been raining so far. It’s a mechanical rat-tat-tat. Good—Mattia and Luigi are here. My men are carrying machine guns today. They’ll get to those bastards and take Bianca out of here.

“Leo! Leo!”

It’s a hardship to open my eyes, which I didn’t even realize I’d closed. When I blink up, my vision is hazy, yet I can still see her, make out the outline of her beautiful face. Bianca is hovering over me, her hand warm on my cool cheek.

“Come on!” she seems to be screaming. “Stay with me! Don’t leave me, Leo!”

I don’t want to, I yearn to say, and again, the words don’t breachthe barrier between my brain and my lips.

My left side feels wet and warm, and the pain is beginning to feel debilitating. Every breath I try to inhale is a pitiful wheeze that however burns like acid down my throat, my chest compressing as if a heavy weight is pressing down on it. Black stars are bursting in front of my eyes, obliterating the blurry image of Bianca. They’re even there when I close my eyes.

Pain… Everything becomes just pain even as I feel myself being lifted, then rocking side by side as if in a vehicle rushing ahead at full speed. I think I can feel someone’s arms around me, my head nestled in a soft lap.

I hope it’s Bianca’s.

It dawns on me then: I’m dying.

I don’t want to die. I’ve only just found Bianca again, and we have a son. We have our whole lives ahead of us.

But as the darkness encroaches, I know I’m fighting a losing battle. This one, I just might not win…

Chapter 31

Leo

Two weeks later

If I’m forced to look at these beige four walls for one more day, I’m going to kill someone!

Damn those doctors looking after me. If they weren’t the best in their field, I would’ve told them to take a flying leap to Hell a long time ago now. On the coattails of this, I would’ve swanned out of this private hospital wing that looks like a five-star hotel’s accommodation.

I’ve been here for fourteen days now. The first seven, I don’t recall anything of them. All I remember is the church and taking down Jasir Abrashi, then running to Bianca, fiery pain bursting in my side and chest as I tried to get to her.

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