Page 125 of Dreadful
“S-self d-defense classes.” Tears stream down her cheeks, and my heart breaks.
My woman is tough, but from what she’s told me—and from what I’ve seen—every kill she’s had so far has been relatively easy, calculated, and gone off without a hitch. She’s been through so fucking much already, and this is the first time in a long time that she’s had to actually fight for her life. No wonder she’s at her breaking point.
“Come here,dolcezza.” I encircle her waist with my arm and try to gently pry the gun from her hands. “You did good, baby. So fucking good—”
The door crashes open against the wall, and Roman and Tiero burst into the room, pistols ready. Tallie pushes in front of me with the gun raised, but I yank her back the same way I did when she faced off with Raze at the barbershop and snatch the gun from her hands.
Awe fills my chest, though, as she keeps trying to protect me. No one has ever been willing to sacrifice themselves for me, let alone twice, and here she is fighting me to do it again.
“Talia, it’s okay, they’re my men.” I glare up at them. “Slow as fuck, though. What took you guys so long?”
She relaxes in my arms slightly, still unsure. The duo’s postures sag once they get a read on the room, and she finally settles back against me.
“Hey now, we didn’t want to crash the party too…soon…holy shit.” Roman’s tanned skin blanches at the sight of our dead Boss face-first in his dinner, but Tiero simply holsters his gun with a flourish and grins at me.
“Hell yeah. I knew you’d be able to do it, but fuck man, way to do it in style.”
“Good job,stronzo.” Raze’s voice is muffled against the floor. Other than speaking, he barely moves. If he wasn’t talking right now, I’d assume he was still passed out. “Thought I was gonna die three times, but thanks for keeping me alive.”
“Glad you’re awake, bro.” Roman toes his brother in the side, making Raze groan.
“If you’d have been out any longer, you could’ve had brain damage,” I point out.
Tiero snorts. “Roman and I never worried about the dumbass’sbraindamage for a second. Theidiotagot caught by Claudio’s government stalkerware program. Thegovernment, Sev. I was hacking thatmerdain fifth grade. He deserved a good kick in the ass for that one.”
“Get him out of here anyway, will you? He needs rest. You might have gone overboard.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Tiero waves his hand at me and signals for Roman to help him.
“You get outta here, too, Sev,” Roman grunts as he and Tiero bend to wrap Raze’s arms over their shoulders before standing with him. “Cops don’t play around Beacon Hill. Someone’s probably already called about the gunshots.”
“Fuck, you’re right. Hurry up with him and don’t worry about us. I’ll get Tallie home safe.”
“Will do,” he replies and nods to Tiero.
They’re a lot gentler than I expected as they carry their groaning brother out of the dining room and hopefully toward one of their cars. When they’re gone, I turn Tallie around in my arms and cup her cheeks. Tiny blood splatters over them like freckles, but she’s safe. Safe but worried, if her expression is any indication.
“Sev, I’m sorry about your—”
“Shh, I’m glad you’re okay,dolcezza. Gertrude was my mother in biology only. She never showed me the type of love that you—” I swallow back the words. She was about to say them earlier in the heat of the moment. I want to hear them when she’s actually ready. “You did what I couldn’t, and youlived.Grazie a Dio, you’re here with me, and that’s all I fucking care about.” I smooth her curls out of her face and kiss the top of her head. “Come on, let’s go.”
“Razewillbe okay, won’t he? He looked pretty bad.”
“Psh, Raze has gotten into plenty of worse fights than that with his brothers.”
“And his brothers…they’re not enemies, right? I didn’t think they were. I went to them for my tattoo, for Christ’s sake, but then they held you back and beat up their own brother…”
“No. They’re crazy, but if I was ever in charge, Roman and T wouldn’t be soldiers, they’d be commanding them.”
Her face falls slightly, but just as quickly, a small smile sparks back up and she huffs a laugh. “Jesus, I’d hate to get in a fight with your enemies, then.”
“You just did,vipera.” I chuckle and move into her vision so my happiness is all she can see. “And we won.”
Her eyes widen as if she finally gets it. Ifeelthe moment she realizes…
“It’s over,” she whispers. She looks around me at the table, and tears fill her eyes at the sight of the once powerful monster, slumped over on his throne. She meets my eyes again, and a wide, grateful smile deepens the dimples in her cheeks. “It’s over, and wewon.”
I kiss her hard on her lips before I swipe the tears from her cheeks. Relief sparkles in her golden-green eyes. I smile at them as I repeat after her.
