Page 9 of The Forever One

There’s a pause as Ugo taps his thumb on the side of his phone, contemplating his next move. For some reason he wants her here and I don’t fucking like it. It doesn’t make sense. He could just use a sniper, kill her, and I’d be a widower. Yet, he’s putting this whole elaborate plan into place because he wants her here.

Why?

“Fine.” My eyes snap to his and I snarl as he puts the phone to my mouth and whispers, “Tell your whore you’re alive.” Oh, Ugo. Every word you say is another bullet I’ll bury in your body.

“River, don’t you fucking dare come here. Go back to New York where it’s safe.” I say it quickly, trying to put as much strength as I can in my voice, trying to make my words sound even and my body in control. Except it comes out like a croak, where only one word out of three is actually audible.

“Marco? Baby, are you okay? And New York is exactly where you got kidnapped, so no, it’s not fucking safe.”

“You and Lina go back to New York right n—”

Ugo backhands me hard enough for a burst of blood to explode in my mouth as I bite the inside of my cheek on contact. Goddammit, she’s stubborn. But I hope she’s not suicidal because coming here alone—and bringing Lina isn’t exactly coming with reinforcements—is the most reckless thing she could ever do.

I make myself the promise that if we survive this, I will lock her up in a gold prison and make sure she’s never able to put herself in danger, ever again. Although, technically, I’m the one who’s been kidnapped.

“He’s fine, but he won’t be for very long if you don’t get your whore ass over here. Do you understand? And Lina? I’m looking forward to seeing you again.” There’s silence, like Ugo’s words have paralyzed River’s vocal cords.

“I’ll be there, but, Ugo?”

He hesitates, but this parasite is too curious for his own damn good. “What?”

“I’m going to enjoy slicing your balls right off and shoving them down your throat.”

I grin at my wife’s words just as Ugo growls and throws the burner phone against the stone wall of this disgusting little barn.

My wife is perfect and as soon as we get out of here, I’m going to make it my mission to tell her that. Every. Fucking. Day.

My strength is coming back, fueled by River’s energy, but it’s quickly snuffed out as Ugo approaches me and, with the barrel of the gun, pushes against my bullet wound. Hard.

Hard enough that the pain shuts everything down and my world goes black.

CHAPTERSIX

RIVER

What I’m doing may make me a dumb bitch—flying to Naples to deal with some mafia shit because my husband has been kidnapped is certainly not something sensible people do—but here I am, with Lina and Tyler, waiting to be picked up by ‘the enemy’, ready to be whisked off to some secret location.

Fuck, it all sounds ridiculous, even inside my own mind.

Tyler can suck a dick for all I care too, because I was supposed to be coming here alone. My back-up, consisting of J and her Reapers and some of Ray “The Stinger’s” men as well as George “The Butcher” and his soldiers, are all flying into Naples as soon as they can. Some are using Marco’s private jet, and others are using Tyler’s, which is the only reason he’s here. The bastard tricked me into bringing him and Lina and I foolishly trusted his help came without strings. The strings being they were coming with me.

Although, when Lina had asked for his help, she forgot to tell him that she wasn’t a part of the whole plan to come here, insisting she was needed. And, of course, Tyler wasn’t accepting that the woman he has taken such a liking to was putting herself in danger. Not that it’s a danger he understands. He still seems to think that if he throws some money at the situation, everything will be fine.

So, here we are, at the airport like regular tourists—minus the luggage—waiting for Ugo’s men to pick us up and take us to wherever it is they want me. He told me to come alone, and I tried so hard to make that happen, knowing Marco and Enzo were at risk if I did anything other than what I was instructed. But, stubborn men, and stubborn Italian women—Lina—are difficult to get rid of. Plus, Tyler had a good point when he reminded me that this Ugo dude clearly wants me for some reason, so he was likely to allow me to bend some rules to some extent. And a businessman and a salon owner-slash-dancer aren’t exactly seen as a threat to the average bear.

Stefano has given J everything she’ll need to track my phone, so she knows where everyone needs to head once their planes arrive in the next half an hour. We didn’t want to leave too much time between us arriving and them, mainly because we’ve got no idea what’s going to happen when we get to where we’re going. The sooner help can arrive, the better it will be for all of us. I’m well aware that I’m so out of my depth with all of this that I’m almost drowning in fear, but I refuse to let the fear beat me into submission.

This is one of thosepush-the-emotions-down-and-deal-with-them-later moments.

“When are they supposed to be here?” Lina’s voice is quiet, but it’s not timid. She knows I’m not happy with her for putting herself in this situation, but if the tables were reversed, I’d have done the same thing.

“No idea. Cunt-face just said he was sending someone to meet me at the airport.” My hands are in the pockets of my lightweight black jacket and I can’t seem to keep my feet still, tapping them side to side in agitation. I hate waiting.

“Don’t worry, ladies. We’ll get this whole thing sorted out in no time. The Ambrosios are businessmen at the end of the day.”

Lina scoffs. “Tyler, baby, I love you, but you have no idea what you’re stepping into. You should probably wait here until everyone else arrives.” She wraps her arm around Tyler’s waist and snuggles into him, as if he’s about to bow to her request.Not if I know anything about Tyler Walker.

“Not a chance, Gumdrop. But nice try.” He smiles and kisses her head and a pang of jealousy, or more like longing, flitters through my insides at the image. I miss Marco and the way he holds me, the way he loves me.

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