Page 18 of Bloody Union

Hearing my phone ring, I reach into my pocket, pull the phone out and quickly answer. “Yeah?” I bark, not in the mood for pleasantries.

“Boss,” It’s Stefan. “We’ve got a fucking problem. Those assholes we brought back to the warehouse, well they’re dead.”

“How the fuck are they dead?” I clip. What the fuck is wrong with these motherfuckers? They had one job. Just one and they can’t even do that right.

“Fucker’s must have had it planned. We were ambushed, fuckers shot up our vehicle. But they managed to hit the three bastards in the back and not Marco or I.”

Fucking Bratva. How the fuck are they one step ahead?

“I’ll check in tomorrow. I want every man on this. I want to find the bastards who shot up my wedding and then shot the prisoners we had.”

“On it, Boss.”

I end the call and look back at Makenna. Today has been a fucking clusterfuck. My wife has too many fucking secrets, but I’m going to find out every single one of them.

Six

Makenna

I stare downat my hands, Alessio’s blood coats them, even with the disposable gloves on. Alessio passed out once I removed the bullet. For the first time in my life, I was worried. Usually I’ve only had to stitch myself or Kinsley up. But today I had to do it to Alessio, my new brother-in-law, knowing that there was two people watching as I did; two men that wouldn’t hesitate to put a bullet in my head if I messed up. I was worried that if I did mess up, what would happen? I hate this unnerving feeling I have. It’s not me. I don’t care what people think, I never have.

Growing up with older brothers it helps shape you, they take you under their wing and teach you to take care of yourself. Show you how to be strong and resilient, show you what it’s like to not be afraid and I wasn’t. Until that day. The day when the facade fell and I came face to face with the devil incarnate. Then the young girl that was fun and outgoing became the woman I am today. Since then I’ve learned a lot of things about myself about the world and I’ve used every single thing to my advantage.

“Kenna?” His warm tone makes me look up from my hands.

“Mrs Bianchi…” Angela calls out just as Dante’s hand grips hold of my hip. Having him so close makes me shiver. “The doc’s here.”

I nod, “Thank you, Angela, you may go home now.”

She glances between me and Dante. “Thank you, I have dinner for you all, and the guest rooms are made up.”

I give her a soft smile, one that she returns. “Send the doc up and have a good evening.”

Within seconds, the doc is walking into the room, he takes a sweeping glance at us before moving to Alessio. “Nice work, Makenna, not that I should be surprised. You’re an old hand at this now. Must make a change from stitching yourself up.”

The hand on my hip tightens as the air in the room changes, this is more dangerous.

I ignore everyone and focus on what the doc’s doing. Hanging the antibiotics, before giving him the blood transfusion. It takes a while, nobody says anything we’re all watching the doc intently. Well Romero and I are, Dante however, has his gaze firmly on me. I glance up and I’m shocked by the intense gaze he has on me. My hand reaches for his and I hold it tight. Up until today, I hadn't really had anyone to lean on, but right now, in this instance I have Dante. I’m not sure how long it will last but I’ll take whatever is on offer, for however long it lasts.

“Do you want me to have a look at your arm?” Doc asks and I shake my head. Up until that moment, I had forgotten that I had been shot. It’s just a graze, but the pain has hit now. “I’ll leave the gauze and things for you. You know the drill. I’ll be by tomorrow to check on Mr Bianchi here.” He packs up his bag and starts to head out.

“Thanks, Doc, I’ll see you tomorrow.” He nods before he leaves the room.

“Romero, would you like me to show you to your room?” At my words, Romero’s gaze leaves Alessio and moves to me; the softness in his eyes is unlike I’ve ever seen. He gives me a sharp nod. “Follow me.” I take my hand away from Dante and realize I’ve left blood on him. “Sorry,” I whisper as I rip the gloves off me and throw them into the trash beside the bed.

He doesn’t take his hand from my hip, instead his other hand goes to the other side. We’re all still in our wedding attire and I’m dying to strip off and put on something more comfortable. But first, I need a goddamn shower.

We walk out of the room and I leave the door ajar, needing to hear in case Alessio needs any help. We walk down the hall, “Romero, your room is on your right. There’s food in the kitchen, help yourself to anything you need.”

He gives me a nod as he walks toward the bedroom door, when his hand touches the handle. “Thank you for saving him,” he says softly.

“Good night, Romero,” I reply, not wanting to answer any questions. I know they all have some, but there’s only one person who’s going to demand them and right now, I don’t have it in me to answer them. Not now.

Dante and I are silent as we make our way to my room. I’ve not been here in a couple of weeks. This house has been my safe haven. It will always be and yet, today, I let three men I barely know walk into it. That’s something that has never happened before and I’m still trying to figure out why I did this.

Once we reach my room, I close the door behind us. The floor length mirror in front of me shows me just how fucked up I look. When Alessio went down in the church and I saw the blood pouring out of him, I did the only thing I could. I reached for the skirt of my dress and I pulled as hard as I could, ignoring the ripping sound as I tore it from my body. I couldn’t think about what I was doing, I just did what I had to. But staring at myself, all I see is what I am. A bloody bride. Blood covers my arms, legs, face and what’s left of my dress. I look like a fucking corpse. My gaze goes to the man behind me; his focus is on me. His eyes dark and hard, as he too takes in my appearance.

“I guess I know what everyone’s going to call me now,” I say with a laugh. Although it’s forced, it’s all I can do to stop the tears.

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