Page 88 of Enzo DeLuca

Orto’s eyes widened. “You’re awake?” His gaze drifted to the table. “Why didn’t you eat the pie, you fucking bitch?”

Oh, no. This was an inside job.

“It doesn’t matter. I’ll take you screaming and kicking if I have to.”

He rushed toward her. Eve fired a shot. The look of disbelief that filtered across his face would’ve been humorous under different circumstances.

“You... You shot me,” he whispered. “You shot me in the stomach, bitch.”

He raised his weapon. She let off another round. Headshot. His gun fell from his hand seconds before he dropped to the floor. Eve ran over to him and grabbed his gun. Two more men entered the house before she could stand up and take cover. They looked from Orto’s fallen body to her.

They raised their weapons. She fired two rounds before they could. Headshots. She wasn’t taking any chances on their asses. Their bodies dropped to the floor, also. She moved closer to them. She didn’t recognize either of them. Eve checked her clip before approaching the open front door.

She peeked her head outside. Lying on the ground in front of the steps were the two guards who were supposed to be guarding the house. Also on the ground were the containers that had held their pie. The pie that Emelia DeLuca had brought. Turns out, piccola Em wasn’t so sweet after all.

Wait. Now she remembered where she’d heard that name. When she’d found the previous don, he’d uttered those words, piccola Em. He’d said that and something more. What was it?Think, Eve. Think. Yes! He’d said, perdonare piccola Em. Eve hadn’t known what it meant at the time.

She still didn’t really know what it meant. From listening to Enzo, she’d learned that piccola meant little. Sometimes he called Eve his piccola testimone, his little witness. But what did perdonare mean? Eve scanned the area, searching for any other shooters. Those three couldn’t have been the only three Emelia sent.

Eve stepped outside. She stopped near the fallen guards and checked their pulses. They were still alive. So, they weren’t the targets, she was. Orto had said he was going to take her, kicking and screaming if he had to. Did Emelia fear Eve was going to remember something and report it to Enzo?

That disloyal bitch. She was the betrayer. Eve started walking backward, heading back to the house. A shot rang out. It hit the front door, barely missing her. She dove into the house, landing on one of the men she’d shot earlier. She tried to close the front door. But one of the bodies was in the way.

Shots riddled the door as two men raced her way. Eve raised the body up, using it as a shield until she could kick the door shut. Once the door was shut, she released the body, letting it drop to the floor.Fuck! His dead ass was heavy. Plus, being trapped in this house, she hadn’t been able to work out like she used to.

She was lucky her aim was still on point, or she’d be dead. Eve pushed herself to her feet. The guest room had a panic room in it. Enzo showed it to her last week. He’d given her the code. If she could make it to that room, she’d be safe. Her gaze landed on Gio as she ran to the room.Shit. She couldn’t just leave him there. She glanced back at the front door.

This was an inside job. They wouldn’t kill one of their own, would they? The front door burst open. She was wasting too much time. Eve turned and ran. Bullets slammed into the wall next to her as she rounded the corner and raced down the hall. Behind her, she heard someone scream, “Don’t shoot her. Don Enzo isn’t going to negotiate if she’s dead.”

They wanted her alive. But she wanted their heads. Eve turned the corner. Why did this guest house have to be so damn big? Then again, it was probably better than being in the main house. Though the kitchen had been renovated, Enzo said he was happy having her all to himself in the guest house without all of the guards on every floor of his home.

Here, he could chase her around the house naked at night without anyone seeing them. Here, he could show her the funny side of him that his men didn’t often get to see. Here, he could be himself with her as she got to know him better. Damn, she missed him and hoped he was okay. She’d almost reached the end of the hall when a guard shouted from behind her.

“Stop, or I’ll shoot.”

Eve froze. They wanted her alive. That didn’t mean they wouldn’t shoot her.

“Lower your weapon and slowly turn around.”

The sound of tires screeching filled the air.Please be Enzo,she thought as she lowered her weapon to the ground, then slowly turned around to face her attacker. He was another guard she didn’t recognize. Orto must’ve been the inside man. The rest of them were Emelia’s goons. Gun trained on her, the man pulled out his phone and made a call. Another guard stepped into the hall. He, too, had his weapon pointed at her.

The guard on the phone spoke in Italian, so she had no idea what he was saying. When he ended the call, he shoved his phone back into his pocket, then nodded to the other guy. The two men continued speaking in Italian. Neither seemed concerned about the approaching vehicles. That could only mean one thing. More of their own had arrived. Fuck.Enzo, where are you? So much for protecting me when I need you.She remained still as the guard approached her.

“You’re a good shot,” he told her in English. “Did the don teach you to shoot?”

She nodded, lying.

“You won’t be shooting anyone else.” He grabbed her arm and jerked her forward. “We’re going on a little ride. My boss wants to see you.”

“Who? Emelia?”

“Since you already know, why ask?”

The man led her outside. Two vehicles had pulled up. As they walked down the steps, her guard said something in Italian to the new arrivals, who then moved to get back into their cars. Before even one door could be open, two more dark SUVs pulled into the winding driveway.

One went one way, preventing the attackers from backing up. The other SUV went another way, blocking the attackers in and preventing them from driving forward. The guard gripping her arm, pulled her along with him as he rushed to get into a car. Bullets began flying. Eve ducked because bullets didn’t have names on them.

She was shoved into the back seat of a car. The guard climbed in behind her and then screamed something in Italian.Guidare l'auto. She assumed it meantdrive the carbecause the vehicle sped off. The driver was trying to drive through the grass to avoid the vehicles blocking them in.

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