She was mine.
Mine to protect.
“Yes. She is mine.”
“Then your life is about to change,” the stranger said, turning the wheel as he took the ramp to the airport. I didn’t know where he was taking us. I thought he said he was taking us to a safe house. Now I wasn’t always the quickest to catch on but I was pretty sure there were no houses at the airport.
I don’t know what stopped me from questioning him but when he pulled onto a tarmac, I spotted my brother's plane coming to a stop.
The car stopped and the stranger jumped out walking towards the trunk of his car.
“Get Donatella,” I heard him say.
Doing as he instructed, I had just gathered her in my arms again, when the ladder to my brother’s plane descended. Several of my cousins and Giovanni appeared. Seeing me, they all stood waiting.
“Here,” the stranger said, handing me a large manila envelope. “Everything your brother will need is in there. I will contact your family soon. In the meantime, stay hidden and keep Donatella safe. One scratch Lorenzo and I will be pissed and you do not want to see me pissed. Now go.”
“Who are you?” I asked, again for the umpteenth time and like all the times before, the stranger smiled and said nothing before he jumped back into his car and drove off into the dark night.
The second the car disappeared, my brother and cousins ran towards me.
Fifteen
Lorenzo
The plane had just taken off when I heard Giovanni say, “Lorenzo? Let me take her.”
I growled, holding her tighter to me. She was mine and no one was ever going to touch her again. She had been through too much and after the events of the night, I didn’t know who to trust or what to believe. If the stranger was right, Donatella was in more danger than any of us realized.
I just needed a minute. Some time to get everything straight in my head. It was a lot to take in. What should have been a simple birthday party turned out to be a blood bath. Oh God, I actually killed people. With a bat. Who the fuck does that? Not me. Blood didn’t make me squeamish, not one bit. I’d seen my fair share of blood when I worked with the fire department. It was part of the job.
But what I did tonight was intentional.
I meant to hurt them.
I wanted to see them bleed.
I wanted them dead and I knew just where to hit them to ensure that outcome.
“Lo, it’s okay. She’s safe now.”
“She isn’t,” I muttered, then added. “He said so.”
“Who?” Giovanni asked, kneeling before me. “Who said she wasn’t safe?”
“The stranger. He was there. He helped us get away. He knew Donatella and he knew me. He knows everyone. He said she is in danger.”
“Okay,” Giovanni whispered, reaching his hand towards me. I flinched, sinking deeper into the soft leather seat.
“He’s in shock, Gio,” Marko stated. “You need to step back and give him some room.”
“My brother would never hurt me Marko.”
“True but he’s not your brother right now. He’s someone else and whatever he did tonight is really fucking with his head. You need to step back and let him get his head straight.”
“What about Donnie? She needs to be looked at.”
“She is the only one safe from him right now. Look at the way he is holding her. I am betting he will kill anyone who touches her. Just give him a few minutes, Gio.”