Page 132 of Brutal Legacy

My breath was coming hard.

His hands landed on either side of my face, and the acrid sweetness of the cloth he held suffused my head. The world went fuzzy around the edges.

Elio’s voice was deep and hypnotic. “Still so stubborn. Just know this… even before you let me know that you’ve loved me and onlyme your entire life… I was ready to do whatever I had to, to keep you safe. Even before I knew you’d never wanted to leave me… I would have protected your life until my dying breath.” He tipped my chin up and placed a kiss, soft as a feather, to my forehead.

It felt like a goodbye.

“Just what do you think I’m willing to do now to keep you safe?” A last soft kiss and a murmur. “I’m going to take care of you,topolina, and not even you can stop me.”

The world was falling away under my feet, and the touch of his hands was the last thing I remembered.

That bastard.

I wokewith a start to find myself strapped securely into the backseat of a luxurious Jeep as we bounced and jolted along a small rural road.

Elio’s younger guard, Ettore, and Toni were in the front. I twisted around to check out the back. Two sleek black cars followed behind us.

“Rise and shine,” Toni called, twisting around to see me.

I squinted at her. “It’s dark outside. What the hell happened?”

“You were about to have a panic attack.”

“So Elio drugged me? Your boss is nuts.”

“Not as nuts as your husband,” Toni said and smiled at my expression. “I mean, I’ve never seen him act like this before, and I’ve known him for ten years.”

That’s right. She has. She knows all about Elio. More than me.

“Lucky me, I guess I just bring it out in him.”

“It appears to be your unique talent.” She stared down at her phone and frowned.

“Ettore, take route two ahead,” she said quickly.

Ettore nodded and turned left at the next junction. The two cars behind us branched off in different directions.

“Where are they going?” I asked.

“Confusing and redirecting any possible tails,” Toni explained. “We’re nearly there.”

I slumped back against the seat and thought of Elio. Where was he now? Already in the air, thousands of miles above us? Where would he take the fight?

Italy… where he’d be greatly outnumbered.

If he died there, then our story really would be the greatest tragedy ever written.

We were driving on a twisty, dark road, the headlights illuminating trees on both sides. I had no idea where we were.

“Turn right,” Toni said quietly.

Ettore glanced at her. “You mean left?”

“These are Giada’s instructions,” Toni said.

Ettore shrugged and did as he was told.

We entered a slightly more built-up area. Ettore glanced around.

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