Page 35 of These Sinful Kingdoms

“What does it mean?” Kingston said, eyeing the rose warily.

“It means, that a hit has been put out for me. A hit by the Moretti Thorn. The Moretti assassin. Nicolo has signed my death warrant.” I said, feeling lightheaded.

“This isn’t the first time. We can fix it like we did with Kobayashi.” Kingston said with a look of determination.

“No. No one knows who the Moretti Thorn is, and no one has stopped him before. Once a contract is in place and a rose has been delivered, death is not a matter of if, it is simply a matter of when and the Thorn never fails to deliver.”

Chapter seventeen

Gianluca

“Thankyouformeetingme on such short notice.” Evelyn said as we sat down. Kingston had stayed at home with Kenji and Fabian after Evelyn had called Aurora early this morning about an urgent matter.

“What is it that you wanted to speak about?” Aurora said, wringing her hands in her lap as she tried to poise herself.

I reached out and pulled one of her hands into mine, squeezing gently to offer her some support.

“I want you to know that we will fight this, and it is a high chance of winning. The case I am building against Nicolo and Rocco is quite strong, especially now that I have had information given to me from Kaito Kobayashi.” She smiled at his name, and I wondered what had transpired between the two of them.

“Okay. So, what is the problem?” Aurora asked, shifting in her seat.

“It would seem that Jasper; your son’s biological father has put in a custody claim. He filed it last night.” Evelyn looked sympathetic as she watched Aurora and I held my breath, her hand had a death grip on mine.

“Can he win?” She whispered. I would kill the man before I let him take Fabian from her.

“Theoretically, yes, he has a right to make a claim and if the case is good enough, he could. But he doesn’t have much to stand on. His background and the fact that he only recently got out of prison won’t go in his favor. Though I do have to warn you, the courts may decide to give him visitation access at a minimum. I’m consulting with a friend who is an expert on child custody battles, the best of the best and we will ensure your son remains with you.” She handed Aurora some more paperwork to sign as I pulled out my phone to text Kingston.

Luca: Jasper filed for custody.

Kingston: This is Nicolo and Rocco. We will have to do something about security. He can’t go to school now. The man will just take him.

Luca: I know. Suggestions? Our place is too exposed.

Kenji: Luca. Kingston told me. You know we could move to my grandmother’s place. I have state-of-the-art security in place there and more room.

Luca: How did you get my number? Never mind. I’ll suggest it to Aurora.

Kingston: I’ll make some calls. See you soon.

I opened the car door for Aurora, her face blank as she went through the motions, but I knew she was close to breaking.

“Hey, gorgeous. We will fix this. Kenji suggested we move our little family over to his grandmother’s place. They have more room and a security system. I think it is a good idea.” I cupped her cheek as she stared at me, then nodded.

“Okay.” I leaned in to kiss her, when the sound of glass shattering had me acting on instinct. I pulled her down and out of the car, reaching under the seat for my gun.

The back window of the car was shattered as another gunshot echoed through the screams of people around us.

“Aurora. The glove boxes. My other gun. Get it out.” I snapped, watching as her own internal training kicked in. She may not like her past, but the woman had been taught to shoot and fight like the rest of us and now was not the time for her to freeze.

I slowly scanned the road, finding a black SUV on the corner with two men aiming guns at us.

“Hand over Aurora Moretti, Gianluca and we will be on our way.” One of them called and I recognized that voice.

Sebastian Trainer. He was one of Nicolo’s personal guards. A damn good shot too which told me he had deliberately missed us.

“I can’t do that, Seb. You are fighting a battle that doesn’t need to be fought.” I called out, looking over the hood of the car to see where the other man was.

“I’m just doing my job, G. Like you should have done. Aurora, you need to come with us.” Aurora stood, giving Sebastian a clear shot as she bared her teeth at him, marching right into the fucking street before I could stop her.

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