Page 53 of Mr. Kelly

“What are you doing?” Luciano asks when Angelo releases him. Angelo squeezes his cousin’s shoulders.

“I’ve always wanted to protect you. Keep you away from harm. This makes that impossible. I put my life on the line to getyou fired instead of killed and then you do this?” Angelo tears up a little. “I’d hope you’d fix your addictions but now you can’t.”

Luciano starts crying. “I can. I can get better. We’re not much different.”

Angelo shakes his head. “There is no time. We are different. This was a suicide mission. I knew that and you didn’t.”

“It’s not. We have a solid plan,” Luciano insists.

“Andrea’s resources are greater than Surly's. You’re not making it out of the country. They won’t forgive this.”

“Shut the fuck up,” Surly threatens with another one of his ineffective growls. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Angelo sighs. “I do, because I brought River her Teddy.”

Surly’s eyebrows furrow in confusion, but Luciano turns and sprints in the opposite direction, just to run right into Theodore. All the love and relief I feel is so overwhelming I fear I might faint. I never thought I’d be a damsel in distress, but here I am.

Theodore looks at me, but I know his mind is somewhere else. He’s got Luciano locked into place by his throat and Andrea has that sick smile that tells me he enjoys this part. His gun is aimed at Surly as his threat practically comes out in a coo.

“Don’t make me kill you now and ruin all of my fun.”

Teddy nods at Angelo, and he scoops me up like I’m a bride and carries me out of the place, aptly stepping over dead bodies that I don’t dare study. An SUV guarded by Andrea’s men wait for me. I look over his shoulder in time to see Mario bolt out the door, intent on running for his life.

“Mario is running,” I inform him.

Angelo stops and looks over his shoulder. “Can you walk from here, mama?”

I nod tight. “Go get him.”

I usually would not take part in encouraging such violence, but that coward has hit me too many times since I’ve been abducted. Once I’m on my feet. Some of the other men rushforward to escort me, but I stand there and watch as Angelo’s agile body breaks into a smooth run. He pulls his gun and stops just short of Mario to take aim. One shot rings out and Mario crumbles, holding his ankle,sharpshooter. Angelo punches the screaming man to knock him out, as Mario’s body crumples on the concrete, his head banging the surface. It’s all very surreal. A man I once trusted and thought I loved was only there to bait me into trafficking.

If Teddy weren’t the amazing man I’ve come to love, I’d severely question my taste in men. Mario preyed on my loneliness. He didn’t give a shit about me or my family, just the next payout. I shudder at the thought of him succeeding. He would have raised my son to be just as lecherous as him, or worse. He probably would have tried to kill or abandon him once he found out he wasn’t his. I run my hand over my belly as I watch.

As much as I want to feel sorry for them, I can’t. Not right now. The guys close the door of the car just as I see Angelo drag Mario’s unconscious body back into the building, leaving a crimson trail of his blood behind.

I’m not stupid. I know who Andrea is and who Teddy was, just like I know he’s shielding me from what he’s doing. Knowing and seeing are two things, and that’s where he wants to keep it. I’m fine with it. My day has been terrifying enough; I don’t need to witness the reality of what I know. Surly’s crew isn’t making it out alive.

I start shivering again. I can’t believe I was kidnapped. If Teddy and Andrea weren’t the men they are, I would have been sold and abused the rest of my life. I doubt a regular person would have found me so fast.

I tear up again, letting the complete range of fear and sadness flow through me. All the worst-case scenarios attack since I have some comfort in knowing it’s over. Gunshots still explode in thedistance. Lying on my side, I curl into a fetal position where I plan to stay until it’s over.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

THEODORE

Luciano screamsas I break his last finger. He has passed out and vomited from pain at some point during this process, but it doesn’t deter me from my goal. He'll regret ever touching my love. He's a dumb addict, and Angelo's love for him is the only thing keeping him alive.

While I may spare his life, the quality of it will be limited. The security footage of River's abduction plays in a loop in my head. Those idiots didn't check for cameras at the swap point. Standing, I ignore his whimpers as I pull out my gun. His eyes grow with fear and shine with finality. He's not going to get the break from the pain that he craves.

"You like to shoot at people?" My question comes out in a furious growl.

Luciano’s mouth quivers, ready to beg for his life, but I don't give a fuck about anything he has to say. Unloading the clip, I shoot around him, not caring how some of the bullets graze him or how the hot metal ricochets and burns him. Now he knows the fear River felt when he shot at her.

I allow my hand to slip just enough to shoot him in the thigh. His tears don't mean any more to me than River's meant to him. The agony wrecking his vocal cords is the kind of shit I loveto hear. They looked so hard for this side of me, so now they fucking got it. Leaning in, I punch him in the throat, turning those screams into gurgling and coughing.

Angelo returns with the biggest object of my ire bleeding from his ankle. Looks like the fun started without me. It’s okay. I’ll finish it.

“Angelo, get your cousin out of my sight. I’m sparing him this one time for you, but if he even steps within a hundred-mile radius of me again, I will kill him.”

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