Page 32 of Shield

Too sick to care that Matti is seeing me in this disgusting state, I stay on my knees, heaving in breaths. I don’t know how long I’m there before I realize that he’s gone.

15

Matti

Vin thumps me on the arm, jerking his head toward the other side of the terrace, clearly wanting a word away from Siena. Begrudgingly, I follow, my eyes locked on her.

“She gonna be alright?” he asks, voice low, his irritation barely masked.

“Yeah. I’m taking her upstairs to clean her up,” I say firmly, letting him know my decision is final.

Vin lets out a frustrated groan, his expression sharpening.

“Fucking what,” I snap.

Vin shrugs. “Just… you told me to get rid of her, remember? Said I had to keep you away from her tonight. This is the opposite of staying away from her.”

“I didn’t bring her here,” I remind him. “She just showed up.”

“She’s not the only one,” he says grimly, jerking his thumb over his shoulder. “Jimmy and Dante just walked in. My guess is they’re looking for her based on the questions they were asking me.”

“Fucking Ruggerio brothers. How the fuck did they find out she was here?”

Vin doesn’t answer right away, glancing off to the side and clearing his throat as he shoves his hands in his jeans pockets.

I narrow my eyes. “Vin.” As soon as he glances back at me looking sheepish, I know. “Aurelio saw her on the cameras at One Pearl Park, didn’t he? Fuck!” I grab his shirt, and we’re nose to nose. “Because YOU fucking brought her there.”

His eyes blaze as he lifts his chin, not backing down. “Yeah, he saw her there, but he has no cameras in my office suite. He saw her with you. In the parking garage.” He wrinkles his nose and grimaces. “Thanks for the little ‘alterations’ you made to my car, by the way.”

I blink, the realization landing like a kick to the head. That asshole saw me fucking my beautiful girl. Saw her coming. Heard her screaming my name. Rage shoots through me as I mentally add one more bullet point to the list of reasons I have to slaughter Aurelio.

Letting go of Vin, I rake my fingers through my hair. “Fuck. Why here? Why not grab her at her house when I dropped her off or at her job today?”

Vin narrows his gaze at me. “You know why.”

“He wants it to happen in front of me.”

Vin adjusts his shirt and raises an eyebrow. “That’s my guess. And he wants to test my loyalty, see which side I choose. He’s had men watching this building since we lifted his induced coma. I would’ve warned you, but it just happened a few days ago, and you were so adamant about keeping her away from you that I didn’t think it mattered.”

“I’ve got to get her out of here.”

Vin nods in agreement, pulling out his phone as I crouch topick her up. She’s half-conscious in my arms, and there’s no way I’m letting her go anywhere alone when she’s like this.

“Baby,” I murmur, keeping my voice low and steady, “I’m taking you upstairs to get cleaned up, okay?”

Before I can move, Vin steps in front of me, blocking the way. “What? That’s the dumbest thing you can do right now. They’re here, Matti. You think when they can’t find her in the crowd, they’renotgoing to just head up to your place?”

“They can’t get up there,” I growl. “My security—”

“They won’t make it past your front door,” he agrees, “but you still have to carry a passed out woman wearing a metallic sparkly dress through this entire fucking crowd and onto the elevator without them noticing. Is that a risk you want to take?”

Grinding my teeth, I look down at Siena. Her face is pale, her lips slightly parted. Her breaths come shallow and uneven. She needs rest, quiet, safety. None of which are available to her here.

Olivia appears in the doorway, her face tight with nerves, out of breath. “I’m glad I found you guys. The Ruggerio brothers—”

“We know,” Vin says, cutting her off.

“Get three cars over here,” I tell Olivia quickly, shifting Siena in my arms. “Take her to her house in Jersey. Stay with her tonight. You and her get in Grit’s car, another car in front, and the other following behind. When you get there, one sweeps the house before entry, then all three stand guard outside and follow her when she leaves. She is never out of their sight.”

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