Page 57 of The Don

I reach for her and pull her into my arms. She clutches my shirt in her delicate fists. I wish I could kiss away the stress from her face. “I don’t know what’s happening.”

“But somethingishappening?”

I nod and brush my mouth over the tops of her cheeks. “I’ll fix it,” I promise.

“You can’t—”

“Yes, I can.” I nudge her nose with mine until she lifts her head and puckers her lips for me.

I brush my mouth across hers. “If anything happens to my cousin—”

“As long as she’s with Salvo, I think she’ll be safe.”

“How do you know?”

“Because he looked at her the same way I look at you.”

“Which is how?” she whispers, her tongue darting out to tease my lips.

“He looks at Shae as if the only thing that will stop him from protecting her is a bullet to the head.” I take her lips, quick and hard. I taste the depths of her mouth, reminding her that we can weather this storm; we can survive anything together.

When I pull away, Zahra has a dreamy smile on her face. “When this is over,” she whispers. “Then you can please my ass. But not a second before.”

I imagine that the next few hours, maybe days will be dangerous, but Zahra always knows how to give me something to look forward to.

“Can we chill with all the PDA in the airport?” Zoe says.

“Oh, you don’t like that?” Alfonso says. “Since when?”

Zahra pulls away from me. “Check fucking mate!” she calls excitedly. “I love him for you.”

Zoe rolls her eyes. “Can we get out of here?”

“Yes, please. Follow me,” Tommaso says, leading the way like an excited tour guide.

It’s only because I know him so well that I notice the way his head keeps scanning in every direction, checking to make sure that we’re not being followed. Or maybe that we are.

* * *

When we arrive at Salvatore’s condominium building, Alfonso takes the girls to an empty apartment, and Tommaso takes me up to the penthouse.

“Tell me,” I say as soon as I step into the condo. Tommaso catches me up while I search the apartment.

“They weren’t taken from here.”

I nod, but I keep searching. Salvo would expect me not to skip a single step.

“When Salvo arrived, I took him to see…”

“Flavia,” I finish for him. “What happened?”

“He talked with her for a while. I don’t know about what,” he adds before I can ask. “But whatever she told him was useful.”

“Did he kill her?”

“Yes.”

“Good. What happened next?”

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