Page 137 of King of Obsession

The Conti clan was out for blood.

‘Baby.’

I turned, tagging Cleo at my back, eyes soft.

I sighed. ‘Our fuckin’ nightmare has come to life. Mia sola, you’ll have to listen to everything I say and do it.’

My growl went over and above the revving of engines outside, hurling insults. Even from afar, I sensed the hunger for revenge that consumed them.

‘What do you need me to do?’

I stepped out onto the porch, my gun at the ready.

In moments came the roar of a vehicle rushing the gate.

‘We have to move,’ I said, grabbing Cleo’s hand and pulling her back inside. ‘They’ll be through that barrier in seconds.’

She nodded, her face set in grim lines as she followed me.

We paused at the entryway where we’d laid out our weapons.

We pulled on our Kevlar vests and loaded up our guns.

Then, with a long eye lock at each other and a lingering kiss, I led my woman towards the back of the house.

‘Behind me, always carissima,’ I growled.

We eased into the darkness and sidled along the exterior to the right of Cleo’s home.

The truck’s screech of metal was ear-splitting as it rammed through the gate, followed by the crunch of gravel as it roared into the yard.

The growl of engines shattered the night, accompanied by the staccato pop of gunfire.

I shoved Cleo down, where she was hidden by the stone wall that ringed the porch.

My body shielded hers as bullets peppered the ground around us.

‘Stay down!’ I shouted over the din, risking a glance over the edge. What I observed made my blood run cold.

Franco Conti sat behind the wheel of a massive truck, his face twisted in a rictus of rage. Beside him, his sons Bruno and Rocco leaned out the windows, assault rifles in hand, as they sprayed the house with gunfire.

Hunting spotlights mounted on the truck’s roof swept across the yard, blinding in their intensity. I ducked back down, my mind racing. They were coming in hard and fast,intent to end this once and for all.

Franco’s shout boomed out over a loudspeaker, thick with venom.

‘Alessio! You bastard, I know you’re inside! Come out and face me like a man!’

The Contis behemoth truck was circling, revving over the lawn in the front of the house, their wheels churning chunks of mud out of Cleo’s front garden.

I tagged the glint of their weapons in the moonlight and the twisted smiles on their faces.

‘You’re gonna pay for what you did, you fucker!’ Fabio yelled, raw with rage.

I raised my gun, my finger hovering over the trigger. ‘Come any closer, and I’ll put a bullet between your eyes,’ I growled.

Franco laughed, the sound harsh and mocking. ‘You think you can take us all on, tough guy?’ He taunted. ‘We’re going to burn this place to the ground with you in it! But first, before I do, I’ll need my bride.’

A surge of anger, hot and fierce, went through me.

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