Page 3 of Reign of Hope

“Time for you to go,” I say through clenched teeth as I move Allegra firmly behind me, putting myself between her and the punk holding the gun.

“This isn’t your fight, asshole. This is between me and the bitch behind you,” the snarky hood responds, but I can see his hand shaking.

“Since your gun is aimed at me, I’d say this was between you and me.” Then I look behind me to see that Reno and Dante are at my back, with Raffaele and his men right by their sides. “Take a look around you. Not sure I like your odds, bud.”

“I’d still kill you,” he spits out.

“Spike, man. We’ll get her later,” says one of the other punk-ass fuckers in his crew.

Spike looks around and slowly lowers his gun. He looks around to catch Allegra’s eyes. “This is gonna cost you,” Spike threatens, his tone menacing. He backs away until he gets to his car, with his buddies, and pulls out, his tires squealing as he races down the street.

Once Spike’s gone, I turn and face Allegra. She trembling as she pulls her cell phone out of her purse. “Vic, don’t go home. Please. Don’t go home. Call me as soon as you get this message,” she pleads. She then looks up at me. “Thank you. I know you have no reason to help me, but I am grateful. I’ll get out of your way.”

Before she can take a step, Raffaele’s low, deep voice growls, “Don’t fucking move, Allegra.” All eyes face Raffaele, and he steps forward, closer to Allegra. “You brought a problem right to my door.”

“I didn’t mean to,” Allegra replies, her voice a mere whisper.

“Quiet!” Raffaele barks. Without taking his eyes off Allegra, he calls out to his best friend and most trusted second. “Ivo, find Victorio. Now!”

“You got it,” Ivo replies and gets on his phone.

“What do I do with you, Allegra?” Raffaele asks. He’s not looking for an answer, but he shakes his head like he wants to throttle her.

I step in to defend her. “She didn’t mean anything by it.”

“Zano!” Reno interjects. I meet his gaze, and he shakes his head, warning me to shut the fuck up. I glance at Dante, who is eyeing me curiously.

“Perhaps we should get out of the street,” Reno suggests. “We don’t need the entire block knowing our business.”

“I have to go find my brother,” Allegra says in a panic. “If they find him, they’ll?—”

“They’ll fucking use him to force you to comply,” Raffaele finishes for her. “Your brother is a pawn, and you are the prize.” He expels a frustrated sigh. “Your brother is an immature fool, and he’s going to get himself killed, and probably you too.”

“Nah, they’ll play with Allegra until they’re bored with her, then make her turn tricks, like the rest of the Skull whores,” Francesco adds.

“I have some money. I’m going to send Vic away,” she says quickly, her eyes flitting to each of us. “I need to find him before the Skulls do.”

Francesco looks to the sky like he can’t believe what he’s hearing. Reno snorts a sound of derision. Ivo’s still busy on the phone and is ignoring us, and I’m wondering how Allegra has survived this long being so naive.

Raffaele chooses to ignore Allegra and motions for his driver to pull up his car. He looks at Reno and Dante. “I can have you taken to your plane. It seems I have a situation to deal with.” He then turns to Allegra. “I should have let Spike take you with him. You’re not part ofUltimo Morte,and personally, I would have walked away. It seems, though, that Zano, here, cannot walk away from a lady in distress.” He nods in my direction.

At this point, Reno is staring directly at me, along with Dante. I meet their gazes, and Dante lets out a heavy sigh. “Shit,” he says, “I got a feeling this is going to get real.”

Reno doesn’t respond, but his eyes are glued to mine. “Our flight will wait,” Reno tells Raffaele. “Dante, call the pilot. Tell him he’s on standby. Raffaele, if you don’t mind, I think we want to see how this plays out.”

Raffaele watches him cautiously, then turns to me. “Fine.”

* * *

Ivo rides in the front next to the driver, Reno and Raffaele sit across from me and Dante, with Allegra sandwiched between us in the back of the limousine. Allegra keeps texting on her phone, trying to get ahold of her brother. With every minute that passes, the Skulls could be getting closer and closer to finding Vic. Although, with Raffaele’s vast army of soldiers and connections, we have the upper hand.

We ride in silence, and when Ivo’s phone starts ringing, Allegro jolts in her seat, unconsciously gripping my arm.

“Yah,” Ivo says into the phone a moment later. “Where?” followed by, “How many?” There’s a pause before he replies, “Hold tight. It’s Raffaele’s decision. I’ll call you right back.”

Ivo twists in his seat and directs his attention to Raffaele. “The Skulls are closing in on Vic. He’s holed up in the basement of his apartment building. The Skulls are coming in hard. They’re armed and ready for a fight. Francesco’s got three with him. It’ll be enough to hold off the Skulls until we get there, or we let them have Vic and walk away.”

Allegra has a look of terror in her eyes, tears threatening to fall. Fuck! A woman crying has never affected me before. Well, except for Mom or my sister, Elena. But watching Allegra fall apart is like a knife to the gut. Her fingernails dig into my skin. She looks at Raffaele, silently pleading for his help.

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