Page 114 of Ruthless Guardian

“You have to get out of here now,” Giuseppe barks, snapping me from the tense silence.

My eyes jolt to his. “Oh, so now you’re helping me?”

“I never condoned whatPapàdid to Laura, Raffa. You have to know that.”

Blood consumes my vision, dark crimson staining the stone floor, my fingers, my nails. Squeezing my eyes shut, I force thenightmares back. “Well, you didn’t do shit to stop him either or to stand withmeback then. You just stood there and watched as he banished me from our family, from the entire damned city.”

“I’m sorry. I regret it every day,fratellino.” He creeps closer, a look so sincere in his eyes that I want to believe him. “I wish there was a way to go back and change things, but clearly, it’s too late for that. But it’s not too late to get you two the hell out of here.”

I chew on the inside of my cheek as indecision wars in my chest. How can I trust him after all these years?

“Please, Raffa, there’s no more time to waste.” Giuseppe surges toward the door just as heavy footfalls echo in the hallway beyond.

“Merda,” I hiss.

Isabella races to my side, her bare arm brushing mine, and the faint touch is enough to spur me to action. “He’s right, Raf, let’s get out of here. We can talk about all of it later.”

My head dips, and I reach for her hand tentatively. Her fingers weave through mine, and a wave of relief rolls through me.

But it’s short lived.

Giuseppe leads the way, darting out into the corridor. He pulls out a gun from his back pocket and turns toward the door to the courtyard. The one blocked by the torched bodies. “Wait,” I hiss as I slide my backpack down and reach for the lighter fluid once more. Even if the rest of the villa survives, I need to erase the existence of this room. Maybe then, I’ll finally be free of the ghosts. I douse the old wooden doors of the wine cellar then light a match, holding it tightly between my thumb and forefinger.

I pause, and my eyes latch onto Giuseppe’s from over the flickering flame.

Something unreadable flashes across his face, but an impossible moment later, his head dips. I flick the match into the air, and the entire door goes up in flames within seconds.

“Go!” Giuseppe shouts.

CHAPTER 56

NO WAY OUT

Isabella

“I’ll hold them off.” Giuseppe shoves me toward Raf as the footfalls grow louder and dangerously close. “Go!” he shouts again.

Flames lick up the old wooden doors to the wine cellar, heating up the narrow space. Sweat slickens my brow, and my lungs struggle as smoke and the pungent earthy odor thickens the air.

Raf’s gaze chases to his brother, and a charged moment passes between them.

“Please, Raffa, go now, before it’s too late.”

My guardian’s hand tightens around mine before he jerks me to the right, in the opposite direction of the thundering footfalls. “Let’s go.” We race across the stone floor, toward the door I’d escaped from earlier. Gunshots ricochet across the narrow hallways behind us.

I point at the door at the end of the hallway, slowing. “Be careful, there are guards out there.”

“Not anymore,” he mutters.

We reach the end of the corridor, and Raf yanks the chair out of the way before drenching it in lighter fluid.

“You’re really set on burning this place to the ground, aren’t you?”

He nods, pure darkness etched into his jaw. “It’s only a breeding ground for more nightmares.”

“Okay. I’ll help.” I reach for the book of matches in his pocket and light a few before tossing them on the floor, igniting the trail of combustible fluid. A wall of heat erupts, crimson and ochre flames setting the hall ablaze.

He pauses for an instant to watch the fire, the flares reflecting across those intense midnight orbs.

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