Page 41 of Luciano

I moved. Faster.

Out of nowhere, a shooter stepped out of the crowd. Weapon raised.

My heart rate didn’t spike like it should have. I wasn’t afraid of dying. Death would be a reprieve for me. I’d made peace with it when I was eight years old, watching the life drain from her eyes. Death was just an end. A conclusion.

But Ava wasn’t safe yet. That meant I needed to live.

My hand went for my gun—

A shot rang out from behind me.

The shooter jerked. A hole tore through his skull.

I spun, gun already in hand—

Aria stood behind me. Gun smoking.

I hadn’t expected her intervention in saving me.

She didn’t like me. Not even a little. So why? Why risk herself while she was pregnant?

Her eyes locked on mine, and for a moment, I saw it—the flicker of something softer beneath the ice. She nodded. Just once. And that was enough.

Then Saint was on her, lifting her off the ground, pulling her to safety. She let him, but her fingers stayed curled around the weapon.

Another shot rang out, then another. Two more guards were dead. More than half the room was cleared out.

Where were the shots coming from?

Everyone had been searched. Everyone had been cleared.

My eyes slid off the man Aria had killed.

The shooter was in a catering uniform. This had been set up—in twenty-four hours. That was troublesome.

I heard my father’s voice. Sharp and urgent.

I turned—saw him being rushed out by his security, his face pale but composed. He caught my eye for a split second.

I only looked away for a second.

When I turned back—

Ava was gone.

A void opened in my chest.

Not fear. Not panic. Just... emptiness.

For the first time in forever, I felt helpless.

I hadn’t felt this since I was eight years old.

But I wasn’t eight anymore.

Now I had the power and capability to move the world to get her back.

Luciano 20

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