"Massimo." Rex called for me.

“Stay here.” I jerked to my feet and ran down to meet Rex. "What the hell happened?"

“This might be him.” He pointed at the pool of blood by his leather shoe.

“EJ said Mikey went this way. He’s injured.”

"This is what I've been trying to tell you. The society is under attack. I need both of you to come to New York and help me find out who’s after us."

"I understand.” I glanced up to catch my breath. Mikey and I were fools for thinking we could leave our families behind. Sooner or later, we were bound to return home. “If he’s hurt, I know where to find him. But first, I have somewhere to be.”

“You have twelve hours. These assholes—” He pointed at the mayhem the assault rifles had left behind.— “They’re not gonna wait around.”

Chapter4

Turn Around

EJ

"What the hell were you thinking getting involved with the mafia again?" I dug deeper. Zack squirmed and screamed, but I didn't ease up on the pressure until I had a firm hold on the bullet buried in his ass cheek. "They don't like being toyed with."

"They sought me out. When Mikey asked for another race, I couldn't say no. I figured if his fancy friend wanted a quick thrill, why not win a few bucks in the process and get Mom into that clinical trial." He winced.

I should've taken him to the hospital to see a doctor, but I didn't want to make any trouble. If the doctors saw him like this, I was afraid they would send all of us home, including Mom. She finally had a shot at beating cancer. I couldn't let Zack ruin it for her.

"Stop being a baby." I handed him two Vicodin. "Take them. We'll talk in the morning."

He nodded, mumbling a thanks with droopy eyes. I puffed out a breath, grabbed a blanket from the foot of the bed and threw it over him.

When I got to my room, I slipped out of my cocktail dress and jumped in the shower to wash the blood off. I wished I could say this was the first time I had to patch up my brother. The drag races brought in a steady stream of income, but they were dangerous. Though as far as crazy nights went, this was by far the most insane. Holy shit, the hot Adonis in a suit was a mobster. How did I miss that? Oh right, because I spent most of the day thinking about the abs he flashed me when we first met.

I donned a pair of shorts and a tank top and headed downstairs to get a bite of that steak Massimo had ordered. A smile pulled at my lips, and all I could think of was the desire in his deep blue eyes when he kissed me. How was it possible to have this kind of connection with someone I had just met?

The doorbell rang. I padded down the hall, still thinking of Massimo and all the things we didn't get to do on our date. I swung the door open, and my breath hitched. It was as if I had conjured him.

"Why did you leave the hospital?" he barged in. "They could've gone after you."

"You shot my brother." I stood my ground, meeting his gaze.

"He was shooting at my friend."

"Because he kidnapped me."

"Okay." He put up his hands.

I glanced at the clock over the mantel. "It's three in the morning. What are you doing here?"

"I didn't get to talk to you. What happened?"

"Mikey showed up here shortly after..." I swallowed. "You know, our date. He said he was out of time and needed Zack to concede and let him run the crew. Jesus, it doesn't work that way. He can't just show up and mobster his way in."

"Why were you doing all the shooting?"

"When we arrived at the hospital, Zack was there waiting for us. But so were these guys wearing masks."

"How many?"

"Five. Zack's crew scattered. They had come for me, but they quickly realized we were in the middle of something big. Mikey gave me a gun. I figured shooting at the bad guys we didn't know was the better option." My hands trembled as I told Massimo the rest of the story. Up until now, I hadn’t realized how scared I had been.