Page 161 of Dangerous Contract: Part 2

“That can be discussed later,” Toya spoke up. “Shouldn’t we be escaping or some shit.”

Yeah, or some shit.Raz would question Leo later. Monique was fine, and that was all that mattered. But Raz needed to know what had happened.

“The clean-up crew are on the way up the stairs. They were already en route when I called them,” Rome told him. “They have a crew downstairs that are going to start cleaning up the venue. He ran into the gala owner downstairs, who told him it would take a hefty donation to make up for this.”

“Got it.” Raz already knew it was going to take a lot to keep the owner and staff silent.

“They’re going to get rid of any bodies in the building,” Rome continued. “But they’re taking Dad’s body to the family. They know where to take him.”

Rome let it end at that, probably not wanting to speak about it in front of the women. Raz nodded. Yeah, they knew where to take Cattaneos who’d been killed but couldn’t be taken to the morgue.

With the adrenaline winding down, the pain was winding up. Raz held in his groan, not wanting Monique to notice that he was hurting.

“It’s time to leave,” Raz told them. “I want to do a sweep of the area before we go, just to make sure everything is fine.”

“You sure you’re up for it?” Monique asked, eyeing him warily, picking up on his pain.

“I’ll be fine, love.”

“I’ll handle the sweep,” Rome told him. “You, Cas, Leo, Den, and the ladies should go get treated. I’ll escort you all out of the building before I do a final check with Bryce and our guys.”

Raz nodded. He trusted his brother to handle things. Right now, he had Monique to think about, and judging by the blood on her hands and the weariness in her eyes, she needed rest as much as he did.

“All right,” Raz said. “Let’s get out of here.”

Cas nodded, holding little Denver close. “Come on, Den. Let’s go get some air.” The kid had been through hell tonight, and Raz’s heart ached seeing him cling to Cas as they headed out. Meka brushed the boy's hair back and smiled down at him. Den smiled back.

The quiet hum of the cleanup crew echoed through the stairwell. As they made their way down the stairs, they met up with the cleanup crew that was heading up to collect his father’s body.

Raz exchanged a nod with the team’s leader before continuing down. They reached the main floor, and Raz’s gaze moved across the mess left behind – shattered vases, bullet casings, and blood smears decorated the polished floor.

He couldn’t believe his father had caused all this bullshit. His lips tightened, but he let the frustration pass. The old don was gone. His nightmare was over. Once the cleanup was finished and they’d convinced the police that the old don had gone into hiding, they would be able to put this night behind them... for the most part.

“Who is that?” Monique’s voice broke through his thoughts.

Raz looked up, following her gaze toward the double doors. A woman had just stepped in, dressed in a cream-colored businesssuit and matching high heels. Her blonde hair cascaded over her shoulders in soft waves as her piercing eyes landed on him.Fuck!Raz recognized that woman.

The woman’s lips curved into a smile. “Hello, sons.”

Chapter Fifty

ORAZIO

––––––––

Numb. That was how Raz felt. He felt numb after getting rid of one problematic parent, only to have another one magically appear. One who’d walked away from them years ago and hadn’t dared spoken to or visited them at all.

Yet, there she stood, smiling at them, calling themson. As if his fucking brothers hadn’t been through enough bullshit to scar them for a fucking lifetime. He couldn’t deal with this shit right now.

He continued forward with Monique by his side. He knew his Rosa must have questions. He’d answer them all once they were clear of this building, once they were away from thatwoman.

Not taking the hint, the woman who birthed him moved to the side, stepping in his way, blocking his path. Raz was three seconds away from sending her to meet his father when the sound of coughing drew his attention away from his mother.

He looked left, and that’s when he saw Miconi’s team helping the old man toward the exit. One of the guards was carrying a battered Isla Miconi in his arms. The guard’s gaze met Raz.

The man looked ready to kill. Raz smirked. The guard stepped in his direction, only stopping when Miconi scoffed, thesound making the guard fall back in line. With the way Raz was feeling right now, he hoped they all fell out of line.

Yeah, he was tired. But not too tired to resist giving the cleaners more work to clean up. Raz’s mother noticed Isla and Frederico and rushed over to them, the guards stepping aside as if they knew her.

---