Page 78 of The Devil's Secret

I get up, going to her, gently taking her hand. “I don’t blame you or Raquel. You’re not responsible for their actions. Don’t be so hard on yourselves.”

“Yeah.” Chiara nods, sliding her hand out of mine, pacing as though she blames herself no matter what I say.

“Sir?” An armed guard grabs Dom’s attention. “One of the cameras on the other side of the fence malfunctioned,” he explains in a low tone. “The men are looking at it.”

Dom hurriedly gets to his feet. “I’ll go check it out,” he says, starting to rush away with the man.

I’m too busy focusing on him to notice anything else until it’s too late. Until a bullet rips through the air, the one coming from the man who’s been cooking our food, listening to our conversations, severing the only peace we’ve had in a while.

But it’s not the bullet itself that starts the war, but it’s who it’s aimed for.

It hits Chiara on the side of her stomach, her body falling as though in slow motion. Dom screams her name, running to her while I’m there, unable to move, as though frozen in time.

My eyes, they won’t peel away from Chiara’s body floating in the water.

I hear my name as though from a distance, someone grabbing my arms, practically dragging me backward until I land onto the ground.

Hands clasp my cheeks. “Jade, baby. Stay here. Are you listening?”

“Okay,” I whisper softly, seeing Enzo clearly now, his gaze doused with animalistic rage and intense worry.

“Don’t cry. Shit, baby. I’m sorry. I’m gonna take care of it. Just don’t fucking move from this spot.”

I nod, tears trickling down my cheeks. I finally feel them now.

“I love you.” His lips fall to mine in a quick embrace before he leaves me there, not knowing if Chiara is alive.

More bullets blaze to life, more men arriving. I can hear the taunting, the shouting, the fighting.

I huddle behind a large tree, a tall shrub immediately at my back.

Is this about me? Is that why they came? Did I just cost Chiara a chance at becoming a mother? Did they harm Robby?

The fear from the unknown crashes over me, hitting with the same force as the whip of gunfire around us. Will we lose someone? How many more lives can these monsters ruin?

“Give us Chiara and Raquel. That’s all we want,” a man I immediately recognize says.

Benvolio.

Someone else’s laughter erupts and I instantly recognize it.

Agnelo.

“I want that whore, Joelle, too. Where is she, huh?” he asks roughly, sending a shiver running down my spine.

A guttural snarl woven with a growl erupts from Enzo.“I’m gonna rip your damn head off just like I did to your men, who are lying dead, where you’ll soon be. Both of you,” he snaps, his voice deadly. “I’m gonna enjoy gutting you like a pig.”

I swallow through the bile rushing up my throat, choking on the rancid taste.

“You fuckin’ jackass motherfuckers,” Agnelo continues. “Who do you think you are, huh? You’re all about to join your mommy and daddy. My nieces, Joelle, they’ll all be following you there too.”

Pop.

A single gunshot causes me to gasp, my body jerking backward.

Please don’t let Enzo die.

“Nice try,” Agnelo chides with a terrifying tone before the words are replaced with more gunpower, bullet after bullet shooting from all around.

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