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“No.” Riley lets out a whimper.
"Mad he can’t track you now?” Nikolai drops her back onto the bed, bending down to check the glasses.
“I can’t see, you jerkface!” Riley throws a pillow at him. He bats it away, standing with a tiny chip on the end of his finger.
“This.” He shows Riley.
“I. Can’t. See!” She punctuates each word.
“They must have put it on her,” I tell Nikolai. His whole body is tense. He’s like a bomb about to go off, and I really don’t want to see that. I didn't miss the scars that looked like slashes across his back. I get a sense that Nikolai can be scary when provoked.
“I hate them. I would never do anything to help them or risk my sister’s life.” Riley sinks down onto the bed. She’s right; neither one of us would knowingly do anything to help our family. In fact, they’re not our family. They never were.
Nikolai goes into the bathroom. A second later, I hear the toilet flush. “Come on,” he orders, but he doesn’t wait for Riley to get up. He plucks her off the bed.
“What’s happening?” I block Nikolai’s path to the door.
“Your brother is in the building.”
“Where’s Matteo?” Before Nikolai can respond, I hear gunfire. Nikolai lets out another string of Russian. Sal steps into the room and checks his own gun, and I hear it cock.
“Stay with them,” Sal orders.
“You’re fucking hurt. I’ll go.” Nikolai puts Riley back down. “Keep your little ass in this room,” he half-growls at her. I move out of his way. Nikolai steps out into the hallway. The second he does, he lifts his gun and fires two shots. Riley screams.
“It’s fine,” Nikolai says nonchalantly like he knocked a vase over or something. He drops his arm down to his side. “I didn’t kill him.”
“But I will.” I hear Matteo’s voice. I rush out into the hallway to see Matteo standing over a body. It groans before trying to get up. My eyes lock with the same ones I see in the mirror every day.
“You think you can come into my home?” Matteo grabs him from off the floor by the hair of his head. I see the gunshot wounds in Aidan’s leg. I almost don’t recognize Matteo. “Come for my wife and child.” Matteo brings a knife to my brother’s neck. I stand there, unable to look away.
“In the room.” Nikolai pushes my sister back into the bedroom where she’d poked her head out. It’s then Matteo notices me standing at the end of the hallway. My brother does too.
“Mona,” he calls out to me.
“Speak to her again and I’ll cut your fucking tongue out.” This is the Matteo Cattaneo I’ve heard stories about. “Go back to the bedroom, amore mio.” His tone softens when he speaks to me.
I cock my head to the side. If I want to be this man’s wife, to live this life, I need to show him that I can.
“Okay, love.” I give him a smile. “Don’t stay out too late. I love you.”
He smirks.
“I love you too, little rabbit.”
I turn my back on Aidan O’Haire. The same way he has always done when it comes to me and Riley. The family name dies with him.
I was born to be a Cattaneo. That has always been my fate.
EPILOGUE
MATTEO
Years later
“Daddy!” As I step off the elevator, Alessia squeals, running at me. Her red pigtails bounce the whole way. I scoop her up into my arms. Her little hands come to my cheeks as she rubs her nose against mine. She giggles when I return the gesture.
“How is my bunny?”
