“Christ, Hailey. I could have lost you.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
TREY
Hailey’s arms dropped back to her sides. I vaguely registered the screams or clink of silverware hitting plates as people rushed to leave. My guards had Guido Amato flung over a shoulder and were heading out. Silence hung in the restaurant as patrons openly stared. It happened so quickly that I knew not all of them had seen Guido’s gun. The ones that did were pale, and some even fled toward the front. What a fucking disaster.
The hostess and staff would deal with the diners. They were well versed in how to handle those types of situations. I took Hailey’s hand in mine and led her to the exit. Our coats were passed to us, and after helping her, I guided us outside and into the waiting car.
“Are you—”
“Wait until we’re inside.” I could barely form the words. The red haze hadn’t dissipated from my vision. She didn’t even appear frightened. The incident shook me more than I’d thought it would. Once we were seated in the car and pulling into traffic, the nightmare of what could have happened exploded to the surface. “This is a bad idea. You shouldn’t be with me.”
“What are you talking about?” Hailey swiveled in her seat so that her green eyes bored into the side of my face.
“After I deal with Guido, I’m going to take you back to your place.” From my peripheral vision, I tracked how she crossed her arms over her chest and the fierceness of her expression. I knew I was in for an argument, but my decision was for the best.
“Whatever’s going on in your head needs to stop. I’m not scared. You and the guards were on him before anything could have happened.”
“You should be scared!” I roared. Fear for her life was making me crazy. “Have I told you about Teresa?” I took a turn too quickly, the tires squealing in protest.
“No.” She tilted her head, her voice no less sure.
“She was my girlfriend. An innocent. She was a barista at the goddamned coffee shop and went to college.”
Hailey pursed her lips but remained silent.
“I never should have dated her. She was sweet and kind and not from my world. It was an escape for me. I realize that now. My selfishness came at the cost of her life.” I pulled into the driveway of my family’s home then slammed on the brakes and threw the car into park in front of the door. After untangling myself from the seat belt and shoving my way out of the car, I went around to her side. She’d opened her door, and I shielded her as I ushered her inside. There weren’t any threats. My guards’ SUV came to a stop behind us before they roughly extracted Guido from the back. They’d gagged him, so he wasn’t spewing stupidity. A hood prevented him from seeing where he was as they brought him into the house.
I didn’t need to tell them where to take him. I pulled Hailey through the entryway and into the living room. We remained silent as the guards passed us and headed for the basement. Once the door was shut and I was confident they couldn’t hear us, I turned her to face me. “You could have died.”
Her palm rested flat over my heart, and she took a small step forward, her green eyes softening. “But I didn’t. I’m fine.” A familiar spark of stubbornness showed in the narrowing of her gaze. “And we both know I’m not innocent.”
“You are.” I couldn’t shake the haze of fear and anger as I backed her up to the wall. “If you stay with me, you’ll end up dying by a bullet meant for me—just like she did,” I said through clenched teeth. I couldn’t get the image out of my head of Teresa lying in the street in a pool of blood. I had to let Hailey go. If I didn’t, she would suffer the same fate as Teresa. And if that happened, I didn’t think I would survive.
Doors slammed, interrupting our private moment. Voices filtered through the house. The guys were coming, and I could also hear their wives. I released my hold on Hailey’s arms and took a step back. Her gaze stayed locked on me as I put more distance between us. I didn’t like the high tilt of her chin or how she pressed her lips together. Whenever my sister did that, we knew there was no stopping her from getting what she wanted and that she would make our lives hell until she got her way. I’d seen flashes of stubbornness from Hailey, but a full-on war like what Sofia rolled out was a concern, especially since my sister had just walked into the room.
Sof’s head tilted, and I pointed a finger at her. “Stay out of it.” But that was a stupid move. It was like waving a red flag in front of a bull. I needed to get control of my temper or leave the room before I made things worse for myself.
I stole another look at Hailey. Her narrowed, glittering gaze followed me as I moved past Sofia to meet the guys. I didn’t need to check that my sister had caught the exchange and would undoubtedly lend her unwanted advice. Emiliana, Lil, and El were right behind her, and I grunted in lieu of a greeting as I exited the room.
Stefano said nothing, just opened the basement door and disappeared down the stairwell. Marco and Nico followed then Max. I could tell they were pissed that Guido was still a problem. I was too. Enzo grinned, slapping me on the shoulder. “Stefano called Dante. He’s on his way.” Dark intent flashed across his features. “Let’s go have some fun.”
I could get on board with that. Dante being there was a long time coming, and I looked forward to meeting the Verretti boss.
Enzo and I maneuvered down the stairs then through the large open space in the basement with its oversized flat-screen TV, leather sectional, fireplace, and pool table. There were other things down there we used to play for hours on end when we were growing up, like air hockey, foosball, and a dartboard. Weaving through the furniture, we went to the back wall where there was an obscured door leading to a soundproofed room. After pushing the door open, Enzo and I spilled into the space with the other guys.
Guido’s hood had been removed but not the gag. His back was to the door, so he couldn’t see behind it when it was opened. I closed the distance between us and ripped the duct tape from his mouth. He yelped from the layer of skin I removed then fixed hate-filled eyes on me.
“You’re lucky you’re alive,” Guido ranted. “You, Luc, and that bitch, Summer, ruined everything.” He whipped his head back then spat. It missed his target. Instead, it landed on his shoe, lacking the power to hit me. A thin line of saliva trailed from his lower lip and down his chin, but he didn’t seem to notice. “This isn’t over. After I kill you and them, I’ll find Mia. Things will be as they should.”
My brows furrowed. “Mia Tucci? What do you want from her?” She was a Mafia princess belonging to one of the New York families and the ally who had warned Summer she was in danger. For that alone, we would intervene on Mia’s behalf regarding Guido.
I made a point to drop my gaze to his restraints. Both feet were zip-tied to the metal chair, his arms secured behind his back. “What makes you think you can accomplish any of those things? I’m right here.” I flashed a malicious grin. “And you haven’t managed to harm a hair on my head.”
“I won’t be here for long. Besides”—his grin was full of entitlement—“you can’t do anything to me.”
One of the guys snickered behind me. I knew they were enjoying it too. “Because you’re the underboss for the Amato family?” I laughed. Damn, he was amusing. “You’re not untouchable.” I stepped forward, my body angled toward him, then slammed my elbow into his face to make my point. Cartilage crunched under the impact, and his head whipped back from the force of the strike.