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“I don’t care if you think I’m a coward. Soon, you’ll be dead, and your city will be mine,” Juan called.
“And what makes you so sure of that?” Renato asked, his tone a disinterested drawl.
It was clearly irritating Juan if the way his voice kept growing higher and higher was any indication.
“Because I’m not alone in my endeavors. You’ve pissed off the wrong people, De Sanctis, and now you’ll understand the danger of that.”
“The wrong people, or the wrong person? You’re talking about Commissioner Reynolds, right? This house is in his family, isn’t it? He’s really going to hate what you’ve done with the place.”
“He wants you gone, and he wants me to do it. Win-win for me.”
“Hmm, maybe. But you can’t get to me here without risking yourself.”
“True, maybe not, but we won’t stop. If I don’t get you today, then we’ll never stop hunting you, orher. One day soon, we’ll get to her.”
Renato was silent for a long moment and then looked down at me. “I can’t risk that,” he told me quietly. He set me carefully down on the ground and avoided my hands when I tried to reach for him.
“What are we going to do? They’ve got the higher ground, we need a miracle,” I muttered senselessly, fear paralyzing every part of me except my mouth.
Juan shouted down at us, “Or do you not care if your woman dies?”
“If she dies, I don’t care about living,” Ren said in a near whisper, his eyes fixed on mine. “Because I won’t live without her.”
There was a faraway sound in the air, like beating wings, growing closer and closer, but Renato held all my attention.
He cupped my cheek. “Keep readingThe Prince, little nurse. It will help you lead the family. And I have to change my answer from the chapel, when you asked me if I’d ever been in love.” He kissed me again. “The answer is yes. You are the first, and last woman I’ll ever love.”
“What the hell?!” I latched on to Renato’s vest and refused to let go. “You can’t go out there.” Sonny’s hands clamped down on my shoulders, pinning me in place.
Renato ran a hand over my matted, dirty hair and pressed a kiss to my forehead. “‘Never was anything great achieved without great danger.’ I have to go with Machiavelli on that one.”
The sound in the distance grew closer. Help on the way? How would they get in here without being blown apart?
Renato pried my hands from his vest, and I swayed into Sonny. His grip didn’t allow me even an inch to fight against. He wasn’t going to let me go with Ren. My husband took two steps away from me, his gaze fixed on me.
“Very well, Castillo! I surrender,” Renato shouted, his voice carrying over everything else. He took another step back.
I cried out, reaching out for him, but he shook his head at me.
“Don’t even think about it, little nurse. Trust me.” Then he turned and distracted everyone by walking out onto the battlefield that lay in front of the house, his hands rising slowly.
Everyone froze. A panicked cry left me as I watched him walk into the dead zone, drawing all attention, making himself a target.
“The mighty Renato De Sanctis, putting his own head on the chopping block instead of his wife’s. How romantic,” Juan sneered.
Renato stared up at the balcony. His gaze never wavered.What was he doing?He was going to get himself killed.
Then the noise overhead was upon us, and all hell broke loose.
Juan raised his gun and took a shot at Renato. I screamed at the sight of the bullet connecting with his gut. He fell to one knee. Absolute terror gave me strength I’d never known before, and I stomped hard on Sonny’s foot and used the moment of his distraction to break free. I ran toward Renato.
Suddenly, the air around us came alive with bullets. Light shone down over the dark gardens, illuminating the place where Juan stood on the balcony with the human shield of his men.
Precise shots boomed, cracks of noise ripping through the night. The shield of men fell, and Juan was right after. The back of his head blew out, and then he disappeared from view.
The helicopter hovered for a moment, and I covered my eyes and looked up, blinking in the bright lights. I glimpsed Elio sitting with his legs over the side and the sniper rifle in hand. Then I ran toward Renato again.
De Sanctis men swarmed out of their covered hiding places and ran down the remaining cartel members who were making a break for it. The sound of fighting filled the air again, but it didn’t matter. Nothing mattered except the figure in black lying on the white ground. I dropped to my knees when I reached him and touched his face.
