Page 51 of Royally Embraced: RBMC

“Non me ne frega un cazzo what you are or aren’t, Taysey. You’re nothing to me. The two of them set me and my family up, and you went along with them willingly, knowing they were going to kill me. They nearly killed Andre. A man you have known for the past three years and has been nothing but good to you. You knew the rules before stepping onto another’s territory, Masseria. It’s a shame you didn’t leave behind someone to take over yours.”

Jeter walked around Taysey and Geovani, needing to get to the safe room and check on Tori. “Wait until I know Tori is safe before you off the two of them.”

Kendrick grunted. “I only need one of them alive. If one of you so much as blinks wrong, I’ll blow your fucking heads off. My room is in need of being redecorated since a whore chose many pieces in here.”

Jeter figured Taysey had been the one his brother referred to. Although Kendrick acted like he didn’t care about the woman, three years was a long time to be with someone.

A lifetime of caution had him blocking the box as he entered the passcode—the wait to hear the lock disengage felt like an eternity.

The instant he could open the door, he put his hand on the handle. “Tori, it’s me,” he announced.

“Jeter,” she yelled. Her cry felt like a soothing balm to all his nerves.

He opened his arms, taking her shaking form in, with both guns still in both hands. “Shit, hang on.”

“Watch out,” she screamed.

Jeter pushed Tori out of the way, spinning to face the threat. He lifted his weapon, firing off a round. His body jerked with the impact of a shot from a lunging Geovani. Another volley of gunfire ricocheted through the bedroom. He kept his feet beneath him as he fired his pistol into the downed Geovani. The moaning man twitched and then went limp.

He kicked the gun away from the body, bent, and felt for a pulse.

“Jeter, you’ve been shot. Oh shit. We need to get you to the hospital.” Tori moved to kneel in front of him. Her eyes were wide, but she looked beautiful.

“Are you okay?” he asked, looking her over for injuries.

She reached her hand out toward his shoulder. “I’m fine. You are the one who got shot.”

He moved to his feet, pulling her with him. “Tori. You need to focus, Vita Mia. Can you do that for me?”

Her pupils were nearly the size of her entire eyes, freaking him out. If he didn’t get her out of the closet and away from the dead body of her stepbrother, Jeter feared she’d have a full-blown panic attack. However, out in the other room, there couldbe several more bodies. A quick look at the safe room showed a cozy setup he figured would do the trick, while Kendrick and his team took care of shit outside.

He maneuvered them inside, closed the door, and settled himself in the chair. The wound on his shoulder burned like a bitch, but it wasn’t the first time a bullet had hit him. Luckily, the shot had gone through, barely nicking him.

“Tori, can you see if Kendrick has a first-aid kit around here?”

SHE WORKED TO CLEANand patch up Jeter, only relaxing once she saw the bullet didn’t hit a vital organ. It burned across his arm, leaving a path that bled more than took skin and tissue. “You’re like a cat with nine freaking lives, Jeter Calderone."

Tori meant her words to come out more playful, but they ended up in a hiccup sob. He was surely going to pack up, fly back to California, and leave her ass in Chicago. What man would want to be with someone who got him shot not once but twice in a matter of days?

“C’mere,” he growled, pulling her down onto his lap.

“I am so very sorry my family has done this.” She didn’t claim them, but dammit, they’d hurt him in the name of the family.

“They are not your family. They are nothing. If you will have me, I’ll be your family.” He pinched her chin between his fingers, holding her face toward his.

She blinked back tears, wondering if she’d heard him correctly. “You still want to be with me?”

“Baby, I told you before, and I’ll say it again. You’re it for me. Vorrei fare l’amore con te for the rest of my life. I’ll do it properly once we can go pick out a ring together.”

Tori nodded, her heart hammering beneath her ribcage. For the first time in all her twenty-two years, she felt as though she wasn’t worthless. Not because a man wanted her but because she wasn’t getting thrown away. While her mother had loved her, she hadn’t loved her enough to protect her when she’d known the demons waited at the door. They had nothing to look forward to and nobody to lean on when times were rough. However, she’d thought going it alone would be for the best. Sometimes in life, everyone needed a shoulder or person to help them get through the bad times. For her, Jeter was willing to accept all her bullshit without judgment. Hell, he didn’t see a flawed girl. He said she was beautiful inside and out, and she would be damned if she didn’t find that same person he saw within herself.

THEY SAT INSIDE THEsafe room for a while. Tori listened as Jeter explained what had happened at the warehouse. To say she didn’t feel any sadness at hearing about Rizzo’s death was an understatement. “Does that mean their territory will be up for grabs or that your brother will be at war here and in New York?”

“I don’t believe so. Kendrick has more power than he did, and if I were to guess, there have been calls regarding what Rizzo had tried to pull. If anything, they’ll split his territory up, or my brother will take control. As for New York?” Jeter shrugged and then winced at the pull on his arm.

She opened her mouth to ask more, but the door opened, and Kendrick walked inside. He had changed into a suit and looked freshly showered.

“Well, you two look cozy. Glad I didn’t walk in on the two of you christening my space.” Kendrick flashed a smile. His gaze went to Jeter’s arm. “My physician is here to check your arm out.Don’t give me any fucking shit, either. If nothing else, he’ll do a thorough cleaning and give you some antibiotics.”

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