Page 35 of Deadly Obsession
It’s this moment, on rival territory, that I realize I would do anything for this woman.
I unarm myself, handing over the two guns in my shoulder holsters, the one I stuffed in the back of my pants, and one in a holster on my ankle.
“The knives too,” the guard says as I turn to walk into the townhouse.
“It’s fine, Keith,” a man says, appearing in the building’s entrance. “He’s not going to be a problem, are you, Carter?”
I recognize this twerp as one of Lenetti’s top soldiers. Blond hair. Average height and build. Slightly older than me. Ruggedly handsome.
“Matthew. Lenetti’s head of security,” he says with a nod of his chin.
“I thought...” I begin.
“Recently promoted thanks to your brother. He shot Gio’s main guy.”
“He what?” Sage squeals, peering back at the sidewalk where the blood has been washed away.
Fuck.
I was right.
Lenetti’s had the same asshole as his head of security for thirty years. Vershun was also the Empire’s Caporegime—the fourth highest rank in a mafia behind the underboss and the consigliere. The caporegime leads soldiers, maintains order, and enforces rules.
If Lance killed him, then I’d be surprised if he was still—
“Don’t worry, your brother is alive.”
I silently curse because I clearly showed this fucker a hint of vulnerability. I’m typically good about hiding my emotions, but Lance fucked up, and he’s lucky he wasn’t killed.
“Come on, Sage,” I say, taking her hand and tugging her inside.
Matthew holds up a hand before we walk through the doors.
“You try anything, and she’s the first to die,” he says, nodding at Sage who hugs my arm to her body.
My jerk reaction is to put a bullet through this fucker’s brain, but Sage is still trembling next me.
I don’t say anything and walk on, following one of Lenetti’s staff members down the hallway to a sitting room. The woman says she’ll notify Noah that we’ve arrived and leaves.
The moment we’re alone, Sage pushes away from me and starts panicking. She paces the room, breathing in and out slowly, shaking her hands like they’re covered in water, and she’s trying to dry them off.
“Hey,” I say, taking a step toward her. She backs away from me.
Fuck that hurts.
“I just need a minute to process…” she waves her hand around the space, “everything. You. Del killing a man in broad daylight in the middle of Manhattan.”
“To be fair, this entire block is owned by Lenetti and only his soldiers and trusted circle live in these buildings. Only people he allows can walk down the sidewalk so there wouldn’t be any witnesses, or a chance Lance would get caught. He must have had a good reason to shoot that man.”
A manic laughter bursts out of Sage.
“Of course, right. How silly of me. Murder-schmurder.”
“Sage,” I sigh, trying to approach her again but the sharpness of her narrowed eyes stops me.
“If I had known you’d be here, I wouldn’t have come.”
Her defiant mask slips but only for a second.
