Page 80 of Triplets for the Mafia Prince

Marco manages to return fire before going down.

My muscles move on autopilot as I roll behind a shipping crate. Bullets ping off metal all around me. The acrid smell of gunfire fills my nose as muzzle flashes light up the darkness.

"Bring him in alive!" a voice shouts. "Don Nardone wants to handle this personally."

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

Ice floods my veins. This isn’t my ambush. It’s my father’s. But how? Who turned? Who was feeding my father information? The possibilities spin through my mind. Mickey? One of his men? Surely, none of my men. Good men who are now dead because I led them into my father’s trap.

My hand shakes as I check my magazine. Only half full. I don’t know how many men my father sent so I can’t be sure whether I can fight my way out.

"Come out, Niccolo. Make it easy on yourself. You know there's no escape."

He's right. Although I could force them to kill me, which would annoy my father if he wanted to kill me himself. Then again, he’d probably get over it.

And if I die, I can’t protect my family.

The click of a phone being dialed echoes through the warehouse, followed by the electronic hum of a speaker.

"We have him cornered. You’re on speaker."

My father's gravelly laugh fills the space. "Niccolo, my ungrateful bastard son. Did you really think I wouldn't know about your little plan? You’ve always underestimated me."

The mockery in his voice makes my jaw clench.

"You've always thought yourself so clever," he continues. "Playing the role, but always plotting behind my back. And now you'll die a traitor to the family, trying to murder your own father."

My hand tightens on my gun as rage and helplessness war inside me. He's orchestrated this perfectly, turning my own plan against me.

"It's almost poetic," my father says, satisfaction dripping from every word. "The son who thought he could replace me, dying alone in a warehouse, branded a traitor by the very men he tried to turn against me."

My father's taunting voice continues through the speaker, but my mind races through possibilities of escape. There has to be a way out. I need to get back to Bella, to protect her and our child.

"You should thank me, Niccolo. When I kill you, it will be self-defense. After all, you came here to murder me." His laugh echoes off the metal walls. "The other families will understand. A father protecting himself from his treacherous son."

"You tried to have me killed first," I spit out, though I know it's pointless to argue.

"Ah, but who will believe that? Especially since you kidnapped my bride.” There's a pause, and when he speaks again, his voice carries a cruel satisfaction that makes my blood run cold. "Speaking of your pretty little Bella…"

My stomach drops.

"She’s lovely. So young. So nubile.”

A woman's muffled scream carries through the speaker. Bella's scream.

Horror and rage fill me as I hear Bella cry out again. The sound tears through me, ripping me to shreds. All my careful planning, my preparations, and still my father is winning. Still, he's hurting the people I love.

"Touch her and I'll?—"

"You'll what?" he cuts me off. "You're surrounded, outnumbered. But I’m not completely heartless. My men have instructions to bring you back here. I’ll let you see her before I kill you.”

The magnitude of my failure crashes over me as I realize I've not only failed to protect Bella, but I’ve also delivered her and our unborn child right into my father's sadistic hands.

30

BELLA

Terror fills me as Don Gino Nardone presses the butt of his cigar on my arm. The burning tears through my skin. I scream, wishing I weren’t because I know it feeds into his desire to hurt Nic.

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