“Anthony,” Brielle hisses, and my heart drops to my stomach.
It’s the asshole who raped her, who broke into my apartment and tried to steal my son.
And he’s come back, determined to succeed.
“Take one more move, and I’ll blow his brains out,” Anthony says, pointing the barrel of a gun at my son’s temple.
I whimper at the thought of him ending my baby boy’s life.
Anthony glances at me. “Let Dominick know that it’s not personal,” he says with a smirk. “It’s just business.”
“You don’t want him,” Brielle says, her voice calm and confident. “You want me. I’m the one you wanted to marry. Give him back to his mother and take me.”
I’m petrified of what’s happening in front of me, but the fact that she’s willing to take my son’s place warms my heart.
I hold my breath, praying Anthony will agree, but instead, he laughs.
Fucking laughs.
“You?” He scoffs. “I don’t want you. You’re damaged goods, bitch. You weresupposedto be mine. That baby was supposed to be mine. But your family took everything away from me. And now, I’m going to do the same to you.”
He points his gun at Brielle, and I scream in panic. Everything happens quickly. Damien wiggles out of Anthony’s hold and darts toward me at the same time a gun goes off.
Anthony flies backward, his body hitting the back door and then sliding down and slumping against the floor.
I pull Damien into my arms and hold him close, trying to protect him in case anyone shoots at us.
“Fuck you!” Brielle yells, making me look up.
She’s standing over Anthony, and I realize when Damien got away, she shot Anthony before he could shoot her.
“I hope you rot in hell,” she says, kneeling in front of him with her gun still pointed at him even though it’s clear he’s no longer a threat.
Anthony chuckles. “You think you’ve won,” he chokes out, his breathing labored as he slowly dies. “You have no idea what you’re in for.” He laughs again, only it’s garbled this time.
And then he goes silent, his threat hanging in the air.
36
Dominick
“Are you fucking kidding me?”I bark as I watch our warehouse, filled with millions of dollars’ worth of product, burn down.
“Four of our guys are dead,” Matteo says, rounding the corner. “Whoever did this …”
His voice is drowned out by the sound of my phone, notifying me that our home security just went down. I stare at it, trying to make sense of it all, when all the pieces click into place.
“The warehouse fires were a distraction,” I tell Matteo, running back to the car. “The house is under attack!”
While Lorenzo drives, I call Daniil, who answers on the first ring.
“Boss, we have a problem,” Daniil says, confirming my suspicions. “Anthony took out a portion of the security system. He had to have known what he was doing because the guard gate wasn’t touched, so nobody suspected a thing.
“I was checking the perimeter when I heard a gunshot. By the time I made it inside, Brielle had shot Anthony. Everyone isokay. But … Ricky is dead, and Martha is hanging on by a thread. He must’ve shot them when he got in.”
Fuck. I hate that the people I care about, who care about my family, are dead or injured. But the relief I feel, knowing that my sister protected my fiancée and son, is strong.
“He was acting alone?”