Page 87 of Forgotten Vows

And then I hear a door opening, footsteps, and then Adriana's voice, shaky and terrified.

"Lachlan?"

"I'm here." My voice cracks on the words, and I have to force myself to stay focused and keep my weapon on Gio. "I'm right here. You're safe now."

She appears in the doorway, and the sight of her nearly breaks me. She's pale, her eyes red from crying, her clothes dirty and torn. There's a bruise on her cheek, and I can see the terror in her eyes.

"Adriana." I want to go to her, want to pull her into my arms and never let go, but I can't. Not yet. Not while Gio is still standing.

She sees him, and her entire body goes rigid. "Lachlan, please. Just get us out of here. Please."

"I will." I keep my eyes on Gio, my weapon steady. "I promise. Just stay behind me."

And then I hear footsteps on the stairs and Declan's voice, low and soothing. "It's okay, kid. Your dad's right downstairs. We're going to get you to your mom, okay?"

"Mama?" Matteo's voice is small and frightened, and I hear Adriana make a sound that's half sob, half gasp.

"I'm here, baby!" she calls out. "I'm right here!"

Declan appears in the doorway with Matteo, and my son looks so small, so fragile, his face pale and his eyes wide with fear. There's a bruise on his cheek, and his clothes are dirty, and when he sees Adriana, he tries to pull away from Declan.

"Mama!"

"Matteo, wait—" Declan tries to hold him, but Matteo is desperate, struggling against his grip.

And then everything happens at once.

Matteo tears himself free, stumbling forward, and his foot catches on something—a body, one of Gio's men lying dead on the floor. He goes down hard, his hands hitting the ground, and I see him look at the body, and then at the gun lying next to the dead man's hand.

I see my son reach for it and pick it up, pushing himself to his feet. Holding a loaded gun.

"Matteo, no!" Adriana's scream is raw and terrified, and she moves toward him, but I'm faster. I step between them, putting myself between my son and Gio, and I see Matteo's face. His hands are shaking as he raises the weapon.

He's aiming at Gio.

"Put it down, son." I keep my voice calm, even though my heart is racing. "Put the gun down."

"He hurt Mama." Matteo's voice is shaking, tears streaming down his face. "He hurt her, and he took me away from her, and he said—he said he was going to make me—kill?—"

His voice breaks, and I can see the trauma in his eyes, the terror of a nine-year-old boy who's been forced to see and endure too much.

"I know." I take a step toward him, carefully, moving sideways so I can keep my gun on Gio, too. "I know what he did. But you don't have to do this. You don't have to be the one to?—"

"He deserves it!" Matteo's voice rises, desperate and angry. "He deserves to die for what he did!"

"You're right." I'm close enough now that I could reach out and take the gun from him, but I don't yet. I have to be careful. "He doesdeserve it. But you don't deserve to be the one who kills him. You don't deserve to carry that with you for the rest of your life."

"Lachlan, please." Adriana's voice is breaking, and I can hear the desperation in it. "Please, don't let him?—"

"I won't." I meet Matteo's eyes, and I see myself in him. I see the rage and the fear, and the desperate need to protect the people he loves. "I promise, Matteo. I won't let you do this."

"Then what?" Matteo's hands are shaking so badly now that the gun is wavering. "What happens to him? He just gets to walk away?"

"No." I turn, and I look at Gio, and see the smirk on his face, the satisfaction in his eyes as he watches my son hold a weapon and teeter on the edge of becoming exactly what Gio wanted him to be.

"He doesn't get to walk away," I say quietly. "But you don't have to be the one to stop him."

I fire.