Page 47 of Luciano

“I remembered. Why are you here, pregnant?”

I licked my split lip. “I called our husbands and told them where we’re at?”

“He’s on his way,” she said.

My stomach twisted, but I sighed. Rage-filled, merciless Luciano was on his way.

I shook my head. “You shouldn’t be here.” I looked pointedly at her stomach. “Go before you get hurt. I can handle whatever happens.”

Aria chuckled, crouching lower. “Oh, you are sweet as sugar, just like Luciano said you were and brave, but this world is going to eat you alive.” She tittered.

I stiffened.

Her lips curled. “Tied to a chair, bruised and bloody, and you’re worried about me? I’m the one with a gun.”

I exhaled shakily. “How did you even get here?”

Aria smirked. “I followed the van that took you.”

Before I could respond, we both heard it—

A door, far off in the warehouse. Footsteps.

She moved faster than a pregnant woman should be able to, pressing a finger to her lips again before she disappeared behind a stack of barrels.

I heard boots on concrete.

A shadow stretched across the floor, and then Matteo stepped back into the dim light.

And he wasn’t alone. My heart sped up to a rate that couldn’t have been healthy.

Chapter 22

Ava

The man behind Matteo was tall—big as fuck, tatted, his skin dark and he was inked from his hands to his neck.He was fucking handsome. He had that presence that not many men had, that made me want to shrink, even though I fought the instinct. He looked at me, then back at Matteo, confusion clear in the way his brows pulled together.

“Who is she?” His voice was deep, smooth, with something dangerous underneath.

Matteo hesitated, like he didn’t want to tell him.

“Luciano’s new wife.”

The air shifted. The man’s entire body went rigid. His nostrils flared, and his eyes went wide.

Something wasn’t right.

“What the fuck, Matteo?” His hand flew toward his waistband. He pulled a gun and pressed it to Matteo’s temple.

Matteo took a step back, his hands half-raised in defense. "Listen, Brooker."

“Fuck listening. If Luciano comes, then Saint’s coming,” Brooker snapped, everything he said sounded lethal, he looked lethal.

“You know we got a partnership. You knew what the fuck you were doing when you called me here to back you up. What the fuck you trying to get me involved in?”

Matteo stammered, his hands trembling as he tried to talk his way out of it. “Brooker, listen. We get rid of them both, and you can take over. No more Saint. No more Luciano. You run the city—”

A gunshot sounded. The noise was so loud my eardrums felt like they’d burst. I jumped, the instinct to run spiked my adrenaline.