Page 125 of A New Days Don

“He would trade his life and the lives of those around him if he could ensure his loved ones were safe,” I respond for Massimo, hoping that my words bring him the solace he needs to allow himself to protect us both.

Thiago pulls me back into the house, this time down a hallway that leads to an open room reminiscent of a living room. Despite how hard I fight him, Thiago’s grip on me is firm. Massimo’s feral growl vibrates through the house as he storms after us, keeping me in his sights as the monster that lives under him calculates our next moves.

Thiago chuckles as he pushes me towards the couch, sitting close beside me, “That investigation was taking far too long.”

Thiago places his hand on my thigh. His grip is firm and almost painful, but I keep my face neutral, “Stop there, we don’t want little Mila to end up like her victim now, do we?”

Thiago’s gaze shifts out the sliding back door, a wicked smirk pulling on his lips, “My sniper is waiting for the signal.”

Massimo stops on the other side of the glass coffee table, his fists clenched tight as he eyes Thiago’s hand as if he’s willing a laser to beam from it and burn it off. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work, and Thiago seems to enjoy pissing Massimo off because he attempts to slide his hand up, but not before I grip his hand, prying it off my leg and threatening lowly, “Don’t even think about it, or you will find your cock shoved down your throat.”

Thiago’s green eyes light up with amusement, “Damn, Vicek had a death wish fucking you that night.”

My hand clenches the slippery sheath of the knife. I have already killed one person, what’s another on my conscience?

Massimo’s lethal eyes meet mine. For a moment, they warm, showing me the man I fell in love with, before shutting down again to the cold monster that still sends little tingles of adrenaline down my arms and legs.

Thiago shoots me a look, yanking his hand from mine, “As I was saying, everything was right there under your nose. Massimo had already lost his mind to you and stopped looking for the guy who killed his father, but you got him, didn’t you?”

“Fabio may have shot him, but you defiled his body after death. You’re fucking next.” Massimo snaps. Threatening the crazy mafia guy beside me may not be the move, honey.

Thiago completely ignores Massimo’s threat as he turns to address me, “You, Mila dear, should be thanking me by the way. I led you all the way to your killer. Took you far too long to figure it out.”

That’s when it all falls into place. Thiago was the one orchestrating the anonymous letters, bits and pieces of evidence, and texts.

“You almost blew me up!” I snap, and Thiago rolls his eyes.

“Don’t be so dramatic, lover boy over here showed up. Think of it as me testing his allegiance to you.” Thiago shrugs. I pull my leg onto the couch, “He passed by the way.”

There are certain things in life you can prepare for. It’s funny how all those things happen to be good events that you look forward to—like a trip you have planned or buying a new car. Nothing ever prepares you for the life-altering events that shape your life.

The explosion happened quickly. By the look on Thiago’s smug face, he didn’t even see it coming.

Before the force of the blast could be felt, the harsh, ear-splitting sound of the device going off deafened my ears almost painfully. The blast is so strong that it sends me, along with some shrapnel, crashing into Thiago. Drywall, splintered wood, and bits of blown hardware crash into us as Thiago hits the wall behind us, softening my blow.

My body slumps off of Thiago, who seems to also be in a daze, holding onto a nearby shelf to keep himself stable. My ears are ringing so loudly that it sounds like someone screaming in my ears. The room spins as I try to pick myself back up. Debris in the air irritates my lungs on my next inhale, and I sputter and cough.

The room is a disaster of dust, dirt, sand, and pieces of the wall that had been taken out. I can barely make out what’s in front of me. Everything is a blur, and my eyes burn.

Though I suppose it doesn’t matter. I don’t have time to catch up to my surroundings before I am being pulled into bloody arms and have a gun pressed to my forehead.

But I don’t care. I refuse to cower. My eyes are locked on Massimo’s. He has pulled his gun and has it trained on Thiago, or at least it looks to be. If the last thing I see is Massimo, then I will have died peacefully.

“What the hell was that?!” Thiago screams. Great, psycho number two is about to lose it on me.

I flinch as he jostles me, at the same time, Ren, Adriano, Raphael, and Caleb, who is currently bleeding out of a lost arm, step through the gaping hole that was the outside wall.

“Looks like your men have betrayed you,” Ren smirks to Thiago, whose eyes are frantically shifting to the men that have surrounded us, “Guess you fucked with one too many of their wives, pity I had the evidence with me.”

“You motherfucker!” Thiago screams, and I yelp as a gun fires, my eyes squeezed shut as I prepare for death to take me. For the peace, the silence, the eternal life that supposedly awaits us all on the other side.

Instead, all I feel is the back and side of my face soaked with splattering organic matter. The smell of iron is sharp in the air, and my entire body begins to tremble.

“Get him to the doctor.” Massimo snaps, as his strong arms wind around me, “Mila, angelo mio, you are okay, everything is okay.”

I blink my eyes open, revealing Massimo standing before me, his calloused hands brushing something off of me. I gag when I see the grey matter slap, with a wet schlick to the floor.

Behind me lay Thiago, half his head blown, and I retch again.