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“After you,” I gestured toward the door.
She walked toward it and I followed close. I heard the shuffle of chairs, and I knew the Healy guys were getting up. I moved closer to Sam and put a hand on her lower back.
“I’m sorry about this,” I whispered in her ear. “Don’t hold it against me, okay?”
She frowned at me over her shoulder, looking confused. I turned away from her, grabbed the nearest chair, and threw it as hard as I could at the group of Healy guys coming my way.
They didn’t expect it. They probably planned on having a strong word with me, maybe refusing to let me go home with Sam—since she was blood Healy, that made her important. Those fucking goons probably thought it was their duty to make sure she was protected.
Fortunately, nobody expects to get a random chair thrown at them. It hit the closest guy on the left and ricocheted into the group, knocking two over like fucking bowling pins. It was glorious, but I didn’t have time to wait. I grabbed Sam by the wrist and pulled her with me through the door, slamming it behind us, and running as fast as I could toward my truck.
“Matteo!” she said, gasping for breath and struggling to keep up in her heels. “What the hell was that?”
“They weren’t going to let you leave with me,” I said, looking over my shoulder. The guys spilled out of the door and I cursed. “Come on, we have to run.”
“What are you talking about?” she asked.
“You’re blood Healy,” I said. “And I’m not in the family.” Although they didn’t know that I was Valentino, thankfully. They probably figured I was just some hanger-on, some street guy looking to make good with the Healys by sleeping with one of their girls.
Otherwise, they would’ve come at me with guns instead of fists.
She stopped suddenly and pulled her wrist from my grasp. “You’re what?” She gaped at me. “You’re not in the family?”
“I know,” I said. “I’m sorry I misled you. I didn’t realize—”
I looked over as the four guys came barreling toward us.
“You lied to me,” she said.
“Sam,” I said. “Please, I’ll explain everything, but I swear to you, I want to keep you and my baby safe. So please, can you trust me? Just a little bit, and I’ll make you understand.”
She glared holy hell at me and I loved the fire in her eyes, but the four Healy idiots were bearing down and we didn’t have time.
I grabbed her hand, and she let out a frustrated groan as I started running again.
She came with me. We sprinted as fast as we could with her wobbling on her heels the whole time, around a corner, and up to my truck. I got the passenger side open and she jumped in—
But the Healy boys were on me.
I ducked to the side and let the first one punch the glass window. He cursed and pulled back, shaking his hand as I elbowed the next guy in the side of the head, knocking him sideways. He dropped as I took a fist in the eye then got tackled sideways by the fourth goon.
I struggled with him and knocked him to the ground before I lost my feet. If I hit the sidewalk, I was dead. I lashed out with a fist, caught one in the jaw, and reached my other hand behind my back.
The gun came out fast. The closest guy was mid-swing and couldn’t pull up in time. I wove to the side then smashed the butt against his head hard enough to draw blood. He dropped and I shoved the barrel in the face of the next guy behind him.
“On the ground,” I snapped. “On the ground or I end you here.”
Slowly, the last two standing Healy goons knelt with their hands up.
I moved toward the truck. None of them got up. I wasn’t sure if they had guns or not, but I couldn’t risk it. I climbed behind the wheel, gun pointing across Sam. The guys on the ground slowly got up to their feet as I turned on the engine and peeled out of there.
“You can put the gun down now,” Sam said, staring at me with wide eyes and an open mouth.
“Shit,” I said. “Right.” I roughly shoved it back into my waistband. “Didn’t mean for you to see that.”
“You have a gun,” she said. “And you’re not Healy.”
“That’s right.”
“You can fight too.”
“I know a few things about fighting, sure.”
She sucked in a breath. “Who are you, Matteo?”
I glanced at her for a long moment then up at the road again.
She didn’t want the truth. She wanted some pretty lie that would make this all okay.
But it wasn’t okay, and I wasn’t going to lie to her, not ever again.
