Page 133 of Mafia Don's Secret Twins

And the father of my children.

I was standing, completely frozen, when Paolo found me.

And apparently, he saw that as his opportunity to do something he’d always wanted to do.

Covered in mud and broken, men, apparently, will still be men.

I almost had a grip on the knife at his belt by the time Dino hit him with the rock.

But stabbing him through the heart?

I needed that.

I’m looking at his body when Dino touches my arm. “We need to go,” he murmurs. “The mountain might give out, and I don’t know where the rest of the men are.”

Volkov.

The rest of the guards.

All of them will be a problem right now, and after coming within inches of being swallowed alive in a river of mud…

All I want is to get back to my girls.

I nod.

Dino looks at Paolo, then back at me. He kneels, taking the knife out of his chest. I try not to flinch at the ugly noise it makes, but I can’t help it.

It’s not a good sound, and even over the rain I can hear it squelching.

“You had good aim,” he murmurs as he wipes the blade off on Paolo’s shirt. “Try not to stab straight on. Easier to glance off a rib that way. And definitely don’t stab in the middle of the chest.”

“I know where the sternum is,” I say calmly.

It’s remarkable how clear some details are right now. The slow pump of blood out of Paolo’s heart. The knife. The rain making little rivers down his face. I don’t feel anything, not heat or cold, but I just…

I don’t know what to do with myself.

“Here,” Dino says, offering me the knife. I put my hand forward, my motion jerky as my fingers close around the handle.

We both watch as I take the knife and hold it at my side, shaking.

“If you need to, use that,” Dino murmurs. “Side. Kidney. Leg. Stab someone in the groin and you’ll hit an artery. The neck would be best though. The force you put into that last blow? That’s what you need,” he says.

I blink, looking at him. “Aren’t you going to tell me to leave it to you? That I’m delicate? That you should protect me?”

I’m still bitter, apparently, about being treated like I’m made of tissue paper, which is absolutely the stupidest thing to be upset about right now.

My father was just swept away in a mudslide.

I shouldn’t be worried about beingprotected.

“No,” Dino says softly.

That catches my attention.

He looks at me. “I want you to be able to protect yourself. I will always be here for you, Marisol. But I can’t survive an act of God. If something else happens, take the knife. Go to the port. Find a way to get back to Elio and the girls.”

“Dino…”

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