Page 55 of Brazilian Revenge

His heart beat faster. Not choosing her wasn’t an option. He had lost her before after a wild weekend of sex. If he lost her now, after having spent time with her, enjoying her company, and really getting to know the fantastic, generous, beautiful soul she was…that would be his undoing.

He caught a glimpse of red and quickened his pace. He could call the police, but by the time they arrived it would be too late. No. This was his fight. His family to protect.

With every step he took toward Satyanna, a different part of him adjusted to the building tension and stiffened. His pulse hammered. His gaze darted to the area around her, and he found him. A man almost as tall as he, wearing a white wide-brimmed hat and matching linen shirt and pants. If one didn’t know how evil he could be, they would have deemed him a typical tourist visiting Rio for a week of fun.

Leonardo wasn’t open for negotiation. He slid his hand into his pocket and clutched the semi-automatic pistol. The black gun felt cold against his palm. Hard, merciless even, but not heavy.

“Harry Clemonte, don’t move,” he said out loud, pointing the gun at his head.

Satyanna gasped, and when her eyes found his, they widened. “Leonardo,” she said, and he wasn’t sure it was good or bad. Did he interrupt something? They should have had enough time to talk. Besides, wasn’t that the idea? To capture Harry?

Harry lifted both hands in the air in surrender and turned around to see him. Leonardo didn’t lower his gun, and the people around them swooshed, moving away while whispering, “Armed man. Get out of the way.” A few objects fell to the floor, and the sales people hurried to grab knickknacks and jewelry from their booths.

Leonardo had instructed his security to call the sheriff; if all went as planned, within a few minutes Harry Clemonte would be arrested and go behind bars. At last.

“It’s over, Clemonte,” Leonardo said, his voice firm.

A lazy smile spread across Clemonte’s oval face. “Hardly. What do you intend on doing now?”

“I should kill you, but you’re not worth it. Stay put until the police arrive and don’t test me.”

Clemonte pursed his lips. “Charming.”

Suddenly, someone launched on to him and brought him to the cement ground. His body slammed against the hard surface, and with the impact, the gun slipped from his hand. His attacker threw it away, and he motioned to hit the guy, but before he moved, Leonardo felt a punch to his stomach, his insides tightening with pain. All before he could even raise his gaze and face the prick who had been coward enough to hit him. Stupid enough. The man was almost his size, burly, with greasy brown hair slicked back.

“You didn’t think I’d come alone, did you?” Harry chuckled. “I hate fighting. Not good for my nails.”

Seeing red at the corners of his eyes, Leonardo growled. The guy was lifting his fist midair, when Leonardo outsmarted him and kneed him in the gut. Hard.

The man screamed, his head bending down.

His hand was cramping from all the action, but he didn’t waver. No. If he stopped, he knew within a couple seconds that son of a bitch would try to clock him. Leonardo flipped him on his back. Under his breath, he heard some noise, people whispering, even though they were a few feet away. No one wanted to get accidentally hurt. And Satyanna…he couldn’t tune out her voice, “Don’t kill him.”

The man’s blood soaked his hand, and Leonardo struck his face again. Once, twice, until he fell on the floor in the fetal position.

“Step back,” Harry shouted. Unlike before, there was no amusement in his drawl.

Leonardo stood to his full height, his eyes automatically looking for Satyanna. She was walking in his direction, saying things he couldn’t quite hear.

“You’ve been an inconvenience for too long.” Harry said, and pointed a handgun at him, the metal shining against the sun.

“Are you crazy, Harry?” Satyanna asked. “Lower that gun. Now.”

Leonardo instinctively touched his pocket, looking for the gun, and remembered it had fallen when the goon caught him unprepared.

“I’m done,” he said, and Leonardo could almost smell the sleek bullet smoking out of the muzzle. He swallowed, hard, getting ready to try and dodge it. Although, what was the point? There’d be others.

The gunshot reverberated in his body, and a fraction of a second later, Satyanna flung into him, her weight crashing against his own. He touched her, and when his eyes drifted to her shoulder, any pain he had experienced until then subsided. A wave of horror washed over him. The blood on his shoulder was Satyanna’s. His heart froze. She’s been shot.

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