Page 86 of The Deal

“Merry Christmas, Chloe-bear!”

“I’m stuffed,” I say as I slump back in my chair and run my hand over my abdomen. “Lunch was amazing,amore mio.”

“It was the best, Chlo,” Giovanni agrees.

“Thank you,” she replies as her smile moves from Giovanni to me. “Oh, is that your phone ringing?”

My heart drops into the pit of my stomach as I rise from the chair. “It is.”

As I head toward the main room where I left my phone, my first thought is,I pray it’s someone ringing to wish me a Merry Christmas.

I grab the phone off the side table, my knees nearly giving out when I see Lina’s number on the screen. She’s never called me before, so this can only mean one thing: something’s happened.

My feet start moving toward the back door before I even realise it, but just as the phone stops ringing, it starts up again. The sound does nothing to calm the growing panic tightening in my chest.

I step out onto the back deck that overlooks the lake and close the glass sliding door behind me.

“Lina, what’s happened?” I ask as soon as I answer. The blood-curdling wail that follows sends a chill down my spine, and every hair on the back of my neck stands on end. “Lina,” I repeat, my voice shaking as the panic hits full force.

“I came up to the house to get a start on dessert after lunch, and as soon as I entered the kitchen, I heard the first shot. They just kept coming,” she cries. “I don’t know what to do, Alessandro. Your father warned me never to call the police.”

“Who was there?” I ask.

“Your father, brother, and some of his men. They were all sitting around the table laughing and drinking when I left them. There’s deathly silence now.”

Deathly silence.

“Did you go back out there and check?”

“No, I’m too scared. What if the gunman is out there waiting?”

“Fuck.”

“We ate lunch by the pool … I can’t see anything from the kitchen. I’m currently hiding in the walk-in pantry. I’m scared they might come into the house looking for me.”

They probably waited until she left before launching their attack. Innocent women and children are off-limits in the Mafia world.

“Stay where you are. Hang up and call triple zero. Make sure the front gates are open so they can get in. I’m heading to the chopper now. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

Chapter 28

Chloe

The moment Alex reenters the dining room, I know something is wrong. His grim expression and the ashen colour of his face—which is nearly as white as the T-shirt he’s wearing—tell me everything without him saying a word.

“Why don’t you go into the main room and play with some of your toys while I speak with your dad? “ I ask Giovanni as I tentatively rise from my seat.

“Okay,” he replies, getting up and bolting from the room.

Thankfully, when Alex walked in, Giovanni had his back to his father, so he didn’t see what I saw.

“What happened?” I ask as I cross the room and snake my hands around his waist.

“There was a shooting at my father’s estate.”

“Oh no. Is everyone okay?”

“I don’t know,” he replies as his voice cracks. “All I was told was that multiple shots were fired. I don’t know anything more.”

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