Page 59 of The Consigliere

We reach the top of the staircase, and I am out of breath but exhilarated to have created distance between me and Mario. and as she reaches another door, she says in a whisper, “Prepare yourself for anything.”

“Wait.” I place my hand on her arm and she turns, the light revealing her face for the first time. She’s a pretty woman, but there is raw pain in her eyes. It’s as if she’s lived a thousand nightmares and can’t shake the demons they created and yet she smiles sadly and says with a sigh, “I hope you make it.”

“What do you mean?”

She shakes her head and places her finger on her lips.

“Quiet. We need to tread with caution.”

As she inches the door open, a shaft of light nudges through the crack and I swear my heart is racing double quick time.

As we edge inside the room, my heart tumbles because it appears I am right back where I started. The gruesome chamber reveals itself and strikes so much fear inside me, I may not survive the heart attack that appears imminent and as we enter, several pairs of eyes settle on us as the men in black turn and stare at us with astonishment.

I almost stumble when I see a familiar face and as Cesare starts running toward us, I watch with the greatest sense of relief of my life. In fact, all hell breaks loose as the soldiers turn and create a ring of steel surrounding us, but the biggest shock of all is that it’s not me they are looking at.

“Stephanie.”

Cesare’s voice breaks as he gazes in disbelief at the angel who rescued me, and her sharp intake of breath reveals she is as surprised as I am.

“Cesare.” Her voice falters and the tears aren’t far away as she falls into his arms and huge sobs wrack through her body as he holds her tenderly.

Along with the soldiers, I stare at the scene in amazement, not really understanding what’s happening right now and as Matteo’s loyal soldier holds the woman he lost, so tenderly in his arms, I note the raw emotion on his face as he holds on tight as if he will never let her go.

CHAPTER29

MATTEO

This place is creepy as fuck and as we silently pour into the tunnels, I instruct my men in a hoarse whisper to spread out and use their phones as a torch. To keep their guns ready and only when they are certain it’s Mario, to shoot the fucker dead.

Two soldiers stay with me as we weave our way with deadly intent and as we move silently through the dark, damp tunnel, I have a real fear that we’ll be too late.

It’s an eternity before I hear a sound like a gunshot, and I still, my men stopping abruptly behind me. Then I hear the chilling voice of a walking corpse.

“Jefferson was a safety net. A get out of hell free card, but he is weak and a fool. He is no match for me and will never rise to the same heights of power I will with you by my side. We will be invincible, darling. Nobody can stop us, and you get the bonus of being controlled by me. You will have my full attention and I will enjoy every cruel second of it.”

The red mist covers my eyes, and my blood boils as I surge forward, desperate to tear the fucker apart with my bare hands.

His voice edges out of the darkness. “I know you’re here, Abigail. Come to daddy.”

I see a light in front of me and a cruel voice says darkly, “What do we have here? Visitors?”

We stop short and then the man himself comes out of the darkness and before I register what’s happening, my gun is snatched from my grip with the flick of a whip.

Before I can react, he catches the soldier behind me and his cry of pain is accompanied by a gunshot as he fires his gun, the bullet way off target as it embeds itself into the wall.

My other soldier reacts, but a shot brings him down as Mario uses my gun on my own man and without thinking, I grab the gun from my one remaining soldier and hold it in front of me and fire at will.

I almost think I’ve found my mark when silence greets me and then a low laugh wafts down the tunnel toward me as Mario says with a wicked laugh, “Missed.”

Then the whip catches my hand, causing the gun to fall from my grip and another sharp sting catches the side of my face. With a roar, I fall deeper into the tunnel, and I see his hooded body not far out of reach and as he raises his hand to have another go with the whip, I dive for his feet and pull them out from under him.

His painful grunt makes me smile as I rain blows down on his head and body with blind fury. Then, grabbing his whip, I wrap it around his scrawny neck and pull it tight, the sound of him choking music to my ears.

Footsteps come up fast behind me and my soldier says gruffly, “Let me help.”

He grabs Mario in a headlock as I punch his face into oblivion and only when his body goes limp do I lean back on my heels and take a deep breath.

My thoughts turn to Abigail, who is still in this pit of hell, and I call out. “Abi, it’s Matteo. Come out princess, we’ve got him.”

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