Page 118 of Bratva Bride

“Don’t do it,” the guard on his knees groaned. “We need verification on one of the men first.”

“Bitch, do you wanna get shot?” I snapped, pulling my gun and putting the barrel right against his temple. “I’ll blow your brains all over the fucking pavement if you don’t open that gate right. Fucking. Now.” I cocked my gun, so he knew I was 100% serious.

The other guard gaped and stumbled to the security booth. The gates swung open.

“Neil! What are you doing?! The boss will kill us when he finds out we opened the gate without checking with him first!”

“He’ll kill us for pointing a gun at his wife!” Neil yelled back. He levelled his gaze at me. “I apologise, Mrs De Luca. Please, head on through.”

I tucked my gun away and jumped back in the cab. Lukyan and Adrian did the same. I looked at my three temporary guards and glared. “Thanks for the help.”

They just shrugged.

I couldn’t wait to get Christian, Luca and Lorenzo back.

When we still hadn’t moved, I looked at the driver. He was pale, eyes wide open and frozen in fear. I lightly tapped his shoulder and motioned for him to drive up the long driveway to the house.

It was beautiful. A classic, modern-style mansion, somewhere between ten to fifteen-thousand square feet, with thick concrete pillars and tall glass windows. An antique water fountain lay in the centre of the front yard, the driveway curving around it and leading back out the way we came.

When the car stopped, I pulled a $100 bill from my pocket and handed it to the shaky cab driver. “Thanks for the ride.”

“Uh, no problem,” he gulped, taking the money. “Do you need help with your bags?”

“No thanks. We got it. Have a good day.” I smiled.

I went to the back of the car and opened the boot, dragging my suitcases out. Lukyan and Adrian gave me a hand. My three temporary guards followed along like robots, getting out of the car and waiting at my side like sentries. Once all my luggage was out of the car, the driver sped off like he couldn’t get away fast enough.

All Lukyan and Adrian brought was a duffel bag each. Me? I had four suitcases of stuff and it wasn’t even everything I owned.

Lukyan grabbed two of my suitcases, Adrian took the other two and we made our way to the front door. I rang the doorbell and froze, stunned by who answered the door.

“What the fuck are you doing here?”

Gabriella gave a self satisfied smirk, her eyes alight with mischief. “Didn’t Arturo tell you? I live here now.”

ChapterTwenty-Nine

Illayana De Luca

Okay, keep calm. Don’t lose it. Smile. That’s it. Just. Be. Cool.

Gabriella’s stupid face held a certain smugness, like the fact Arturo didn’t tell me about her presence was a good thing for her and a crappy thing for me.

It probably was.

Lukyan clicked his fingers, giving me that ‘something just clicked in my brain’ look. “Oh, that’s right. Didn’t he mention that some bitch was staying at his house for a bit?”

Thank you, brother.

“Oh, yeah,” I smirked. “That’s right, I completely forgot about that.” I looked down my nose at her as I barged my way through the door, making her stumble. Lukyan, Adrian and my guards strolled inside and they slammed the front door shut behind them.

A tall older man dressed in a plain suit walked into the room and gave a small bow. “May I take your bags?”

“Thank you, Mr…”

He blinked, startled, like no one had ever asked him his name before. “Bernardi. Aldo Bernardi.”

I repeated my thanks, adding his name with a smile. He gave a shaky smile back.

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