Page 12 of Fatal Love

The sky was a brilliant blue, the kind of sky that normally makes you feel elated and happy to be alive. But that was the furthest thing I was feeling. Tiny tendrils of fear were pumping through my veins, paralyzing me in my car. I watched the people come and go from the entrance as I sat staring out the window from inside my vehicle.

The tapping at my driver side window made me jump like a startled bird. “Rachel?”

An anxious breath hissed out of my lungs when I saw Michael standing beside my car. “Jesus. Michael, you scared the shit out of me.”

“Unlock your doors.” Like a big cat stalking his prey, Michael eased around the hood of my car and slipped in beside me. “Are you okay? You looked lost sitting in your car.”

“You could say that.” My eyes closed as I dropped my head to the seat's headrest. “I called the judge.”

“Why?” Michael turned to face me, his enormous frame taking up the entire front seat. “You already got your delay.”

“I wanted him to know what was happening. With this—” I motioned toward the hospital. “I wanted to give Riley time. I’m not a monster, you know?”

Michael watched me, his gaze boring into mine. He said nothing and everything just sitting there in silence. I fidgeted beneath his scrutinizing gaze, shifting my eyes nervously.

“I know. Look—” Michael sighed. “This was an intentional hit. Agent Jackson came by and showed us something they collected from the scene. Dmitri Ivanov did this, Rachel.”

“Are you sure?”

“He left his calling card.” My head pounded with this additional information.

If Dmitri Ivanov was the one who stabbed Vincenzo, we had bigger problems on our hands than this case, with Riley. Dmitri was at the top of the wanted list for the FBI and Interpol. He was wanted for a laundry list of shit I couldn’t comprehend.

“I don’t know how, but Riley won’t go to jail.”

Michael tilted his head in question. “How can you promise us that?”

“I’m going to point a giant spotlight on Dmitri Ivanov—smear his name in the media and make him slip up again. This time we’ll be waiting.”

“That’s too dangerous. I can’t let you do that. This man tried to kill his own daughter—you’ll be like a bump in the road to him. A bug he’ll squash with the bottom of his shoe. Do you understand?”

The rage I felt in my blood at his dismissal of my ability to handle myself, was beyond anything I'd ever felt. “Get out of my car, Mr. Brighton.” If Michael thought he could tell me how to operate, he had another thing coming to him. A fragile doll, I was not—and he would soon learn that. “Let your client know the trial has been delayed indefinitely. I assume I don’t have to worry about her fleeing the country since her husband is laying in a hospital bed, right?”

“Why are you doing this? Rachel…”

“Move. Now.” The warmth of his body sent shock waves through my core as I leaned across him and shoved the door open. “Let me know if he dies—that'll change things.” I hated being so callous with my words, but I was tired of being told how to handle things.

Michael's hesitation poured from him like a broken faucet leaking water. He took a deep breath and nodded before slipping out of the seat. “Don’t do something that will put you at risk.”

“Good day.” I called out as the door slammed shut. I pulled off, leaving a bewildered man in my wake. I watched in the review mirror as Michael shoved his hands in his pockets and stared after me. His form grew smaller in the tiny rectangle as I navigated away from him. I was done playing nice. If she wasn’t guilty, I would figure it out and end this game—and maybe, take down one of the most notorious criminals in the world.

Dmitri Ivanov didn’t know who he was messing with.

Six

Michael

Red hot blistering anger. That’s what I felt as Rachel tore out of the hospital parking lot. She had no clue what she was poking at, and nothing I could do would prepare her for the swarm of hornets she would get when she agitated the monster inside. Dmitri Ivanov was not a man to trifle with. He'd left a trail of blood and death in his path of destruction, and she was crazy if she thought by some miracle, she was immune to his savage ways. Hell, Vincenzo was proof of that—even if she didn't really know who he was. I did. He was La Lama, a fucking nightmare by all accounts, and was currently lying in a bed, clinging to life by a worn-out thread.

“Michael?” Antonio’s voice cut through my haze of red. “I—” his voice cracked as he shook back the tears threatening to fall.

I gripped his shoulder and looked him in the eyes. “Hey, Vin’s going to be okay. He’s the toughest prick I know.” I started toward where we'd parked. “Let’s go back to my place and talk. I need to bring you up to speed on some things, and this isn’t the place to do it.”

He paused, glancing over his shoulder at the entry. “I should stay.”

“No. You shouldn’t. Riley is the only one they'll let inside with him, and Massimo promised to keep you apprised of any changes. All you can do now is pray and be there when Riley needs you to be.”

Antonio nodded, moving on autopilot as I guided him across the parking lot to my awaiting vehicle. The last twenty-four hours had been a roller coaster of emotions. His sudden appearance at my door last night had thrown me for a loop. When I told him months ago I would wait for him, I'd meant it. The connection I felt with him wasn’t some passing phase. It was deep and real, and something I knew I wouldn’t find with just anyone. I just needed him to see it as well—and he did, but his fear blocked the path to having what he wanted. Even more confusing, we shared an attraction to the same woman. A woman who, by all rights, should've been off limits to both of us. But by some turn of luck, Antonio had slept with her. It wasn’t planned, and he tried to do the right thing—but she was a demanding little vixen. One of the many traits we were both attracted to. As much as I wanted her in my bed, Antonio needed my focus right now. He was the sensitive one in the family—the one who wore his feelings on his sleeve, and this incident would haunt him for some time.

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