Page 135 of King of My Heart

“What the fuck?” he hisses. We hear a clatter behind him, like he got up suddenly and a chair fell behind him. “Dove sei?”

“She’s fine,” Sam cuts them off. “I got her.”

“Don’t tell me she’s fine. Where the fuck are you?”

“Manhattan.”

“Lucky!” we hear him shout away from the phone. “Get the car. Now.”

“Mattia’s dead,” Sam continues as if nothing was wrong.

“You better be joking, Samuel.”

“The Volkovs had him killed. They took Luna too, but she’s fine.”

“Are you telling me some of the Wolves had their hands on my girl?”

From Sam’s silence, he keeps going. “I let you use the services of Mattia and Luna regularly because I trusted you. Now you call to say my IT guy is dead, my girl hurt, and you’re starting a fucking war against the Wolves in my name.”

“The Volkov brothers know this has nothing to do with you.”

“Then why did they have their hands on my girl.” Vito’s voice is pure, uncontrollable fire. To say he is possessive would be quite an understatement.

“Send me your location. I’m on my way, and you better have explanations when I get there. Because Lucky is in a shit mood, and I have no reason to not allow her to skin you alive.Luna, Piccolina, sto arrivando.”

He hangs up on us. “Guy’s in a mood,” I huff.

“Fucking Viktor,” Sam spits. “Fucking me over all the way.”

“You are playing a dangerous game, Samuel,” Luna murmurs. “Volkov brothers are merciless. Aleksei will torture you for his pleasure. Viktor will kill everyone you love before he kill you.”

But that’s a lie, isn’t it? Because he won’t kill everyone he loves. He might end me, but he won’t harm Rose. No, he’ll keep her all to himself.

“A wolf’s face is the last thing you ever see,” Luna repeats their motto like a well-learned lesson. I guess she must know it, being so close to Vito.

“And yet you’re very much alive,” Sam calmly replies. “I’ve got a first-aid kit in the car. Let’s go.”

Vito Luciano is quick when he picks up his preciousPiccolina. He shows up in an all-blacked-out town car, a tall, red-headed woman following close behind him when he gets out. Rachel is feeding Luna some sugar cubes so she doesn’t crash and encouraging her to hydrate. We’re all waiting on the sidewalk, like sitting ducks.

The woman waits a step back while Vito talks, her hands behind her back and her gaze on Rachel. Luna crashes into him like she was drowning and finally found a life raft. He kisses the top of her head, encircling her in the protection of his arms. “Go to the car,” he tells her softly. She doesn’t wait to be told twice, out of view the next second.

“I must say you’re the last person I expected to put my family in trouble,” Vito tells Sam calmly.

“That was a misunderstanding. The Volkov brothers are angry at me. I can promise you they won’t hurt any of you.” His voice is just as still. It’s fascinating to watch two powerful men exchange.

“Mattia was an exception then?”

“An example,” Sam corrects him. “If he wanted a war, he would have killed Luna. She’s fine.” I have a feeling my boyfriend can’t stop repeating that she’s fine to reassure himself.

“Which one is your significant other, Samuel?” Vito asks with a composure I could never hope to have.

“So you know which one to kill?” my boyfriend replies, pretending to be cool and unbothered.

Vito doesn’t bother to respond. “Sort your shit out with the Wolves. If any of this touches my family again, he’s gone,” he says, pointing an index finger at me. “And she’s off to make me money in one of my houses.” Rachel shifts back at the sound of that. “Clear?”

Not liking the idea too much, I slowly slide my hand to the back of my jeans and grab the handle of my gun. The woman behind Vito isn’t even looking at me, yet her hand is already below her suit jacket, showing me her own toy like she’s got a sixth sense. She turns to me the next second, offering me a chilling smile.

“The brothers will be dead before you hear of them again,” Sam promises.

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