Page 12 of The Vendetti Soldier

“Cazzo! Stop fighting me, Ror. Mio fratelli will get your papa!Stubborn man.” His fierce expression has me pausing, taking him in. He’s completely serious, and after witnessing their Capo dei capi pumping bullets into everything that was moving, I have to give some faith to his promise. He’s going to be my husband; he would want us protected and alive.

“Thank you,” I manage before I want to crumple into a ball. I’m used to having to be fierce, but with him, I don’t have to be.

He’s got me.

I’ve never been able to say that about anyone other than my family, and here’s this man who risked his own safety to run outside to the car to get me. Rather than fight him, my arms hold him, hugging him tightly in gratitude and relief.

He wanted my loyalty, and after tonight, he’ll have it.

Chapter 6

I was bred for war darling. Be it love or chaos, everything I do is to the death. - Dave Wise

Santino

I’m furious.

Positively boiling mad at what’s going down. On our land, where our home is, no less. We’ve had people attempt to sneak onto the Estate many times, but this is a full-onattack. They’ve breached our walls and have literally brought it to our front door. The same door that helps protect our famiglia. Knowing they have a way to harm my nieces and nephews and are so close makes me insane with bloodlust. I want to peel their skin from their facesand watch them all burn in one heaping pile. If Dante were here, I have no doubt he’d be doing exactly that, but he’s not, so his depravity falls to the rest of us to carry out.

Leaving Mischa secured in my office with Rorik, Luciano makes sure they’re strapped with fresh weapons and plenty of ammo before we close the door behind us. It won’t get that far, though; there are too many of us home right now that we’ll paint the entire Estate red before a pezzo di merda makes it to our famiglia to harm them. If I were truly worried about the attackers getting inside, I’d have sent our betrotheds to the closest safe room to wait it out.

“Ready, Luc?” I ask as I check my favorite gun I own; machine guns have never steered me wrong, so I automatically grabbed for it out of my hiding spot when I crossed the threshold to my office. The Estate is peppered with various weapons if you know where to look, and each of our offices and bedrooms are equipped with safes housing cash, various jewels, and an array of weapons. The garage is worse; if anyone ever had access to our stash in there, they’d be able to arm a small army.

He nods, “Stay safe, fratello.” We run in opposite directions.

I take one last glance at his back, loaded down with his sniper supplies, taking comfort he won’t be in the direct line of fire. I retreat down the hallway, running as fast as my feet will carry me. We’re supposed to be out there protecting our Capo, but he’s crazy enough to throw himself in front of everyone given the chance. The entryway is smoky when I finally arrive, so I use my free arm to cover my nose as I move to join mio fratelli. There’s a lone Irishman standing on the opposite side of the same car asbefore that had the twins in it. He’s got his weapon drawn on the twins’ father.

Yuri sits still, and dare I say it, calm? My respect for him grows, knowing he was more concerned about his children’s safety that he stayed behind as a distraction to help protect them.

“I’m leaving here,alive!” the man says, his Irish lilt heavy with his screamed words.

“Do you want him alive, Capo?” I ask, knowing Luciano should be on the roof at any moment. Mio fratello is one gifted sharpshooter and will have this man on the ground in a matter of seconds. Valentino stands at my brother’s right side, both hands filled with his gold-plated Glocks. Salvatore is on his left, closest to me, while Cristiano will no doubt be in front of the main panic room, ready to be the last to defend our famiglia. He’s always been the baby to us, and Matteo has made it more than clear he expects him to be inside the panic room to preserve the bloodline, but I know Cris better than that. He’ll hate being out of the action and unable to help protect our Capo, so he’ll be pacing outside the door, ready to shoot whoever may make it close enough to him.

A shot pierces the air, echoing in the stillness, and the weapon flies from the Irishman’s hand. He wails at the sight of his now-missing hand, and I take my first full breath since we were alerted the gate was breached.

“You won’t be going anywhere,” Capo declares. He’ll have an endless amount of questions paired with excruciating pain forthe man. “Salvatore, grab him. Valentino, get a rag for his hand. I don’t want blood all over the floors. Santino, get Yuri inside.” He dishes out orders to all of us, then he’s on his phone checking in on the men we have around the property while demanding there be more rotations across the premises. He’ll be calling Dante next to give him a heads-up on what’s happened and to be prepared in case they try to hit him again next.

I move to help Yuri out of the car and into the safety of the Estate. He’s been hit, I quickly discover, as he falters standing, weak from being a sitting duck in the back of the car. His adrenaline must be leaving him, as his face turns ashen. It’s only a shoulder shot, but an ugly one, and must be hitting him harder at his age.

I’m reaching my hand to him when a rage-filled battle cry takes me by surprise. The man comes at me from the side of the vehicle, brandishing a large knife. It shines in the many lights from the Estate and in that moment, I know I’m about to be stabbed. Yuri has his grip on one of my hands while the other is heavy with my machine gun. Capo has made it clear he has questions, so I can’t kill this man as I’d do without a second thought if we didn’t need him.

Mio fratelli run to help me, but none of it matters. As the man steps close enough to plant the blade in my flesh, his body flies backward as multiple shots hit him in the chest. Pink mist flies everywhere with the accuracy and destruction Luciano’s powerful sniper rifle inflicts.

“Cazzo!” I curse, flashing my attention to the roof. Luc stares back at me in return, his expression just as stubborn as mine is, currently pointed at him. “We needed him!”

Salvatore claps his hand on my shoulder, “We need you more, mio fratello.”

“Si,” Matteo agrees. “There will be plenty more to question and kill, I don’t doubt it. What is truly important is that mio famiglia is alive, and we have the chance to get our retribution for this blatant slap in our faces.”

“Pezzo di merda,” Valentino mutters and spits at the dead man on the ground.

“You have me wishing I had more children,” Yuri comments, making a few of us chuckle in response. He sighs and then shakes his head with sadness, “All of them gone. Good men, killed.”

Matteo stares down the long driveway, saying, “They were trying to sabotage your visit.”

“Now they have an idea that our families will be joining.”

Matteo meets his gaze. “Exactly. Which is why there will be no more engagement.”

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