Chapter 19

Chapter Nineteen

I t took twenty-five minutes and fifteen seconds to narrow down Frank's location. It wasn't hard. The old prick ran his mouth all over the city, bragging about what he was planning.

"Come on, Pops, this car goes faster," I tell my father, who insisted on driving. He says I'm not in my right mind. He doesn't get it. My mind has never been clearer in my life.

I'm going to find Frank. I'm going to kill the old bastard, and then I'm going to charm the fuck outta Kayleigh and convince her that the fine line that separates the good guys from the bad guys has a shit-ton of gray between it.

And my family and me? We're as gray as they come.

Do we have our fingers in illegal trade? Yes, we also have just as many legitimate businesses, and we also have morals. I don't just go around shooting people for the fun of it. I'm not a fucking serial killer. And the people I have had to take down? Well, let's just say society is much better off without them.

"When we get there, I don't want you running in guns blazing, Enzo. Follow my lead," Pops tells me.

"Sure," I agree, even though I have no intention of doing that. I'm not waiting for an invitation to storm that house.

The moment we pull up, I spot the two Valentino SUVs parked across the street. Watching as my uncles and cousins pile out.

"Guess it's a family affair," I mutter under my breath.

"She's your wife, remember? We would never stand for someone coming after one of our wives." Pops smirks at me.

I know he thinks the word wife is going to make me cringe. And usually, any other time with any other girl, it would have. But I don't hate the idea of being tied down to Kayleigh for the rest of my life.

"Here's the plan. There are ten in there. Eight on the ground floor and two in the basement. Alessandro and Romeo are going in through the back. Luca and Orlando through the side," Zio Theo says before pointing to my pops, me, and then himself. "We're going straight through the front door."

I nod. "How do you know how many are in there?" I ask him.

Just as he's about to answer me, I hear a scream. And not just a scream, the sound of a woman crying out in pain. Without another thought, I run towards the front of the house. My foot comes up before slamming into the door. I have a pistol in each hand. The screams only get louder when I slink through the entryway.

I fire off four rapid shots, getting the first two guys to take aim at me. Gunshots ring out through the air. I duck behind a door right before a bullet whizzes past my head. Fucker.

"Stay the fuck down," my dad yells at me.

I can't though. I can still hear her. Even over the gunshots, I can hear her screaming. The need to get to her overrides my natural instinct of survival. "You guys deal with these assholes. I'm going to find her," I tell Pops and then I'm running through the hall. A burning pain rips through my shoulder. I don't stop to look at who the fuck just shot me. I need to get to her.

Following the screams, I find the door to the basement. It opens and some fat fucker stops short in front of me. He takes one look at my face and his eyes widen right before I put a bullet through them. I step over his body, run down the stairs, and freeze.

Kayleigh is tied up, and that old fucker Frank is hacking away at her jeans. It's not until I step right up behind him that I see he isn't just slicing at her clothing. He's fucking slicing away at her skin. She's got gashes all over her body.

The barrel of my gun hits the side of his head. The fucker was so engrossed in what he was doing he didn't hear me come down. I wait for him to look at me. "You fucked up, Frank."

"Fuck off, Valentino. She's not your wife. She's a fucking filthy pig," he sneers.

"I happen to love pigs—just ask my cousin. And you're wrong. She is my wife." I slam the butt of my nine down on his skull and the sick fuck collapses.

"Close your eyes," I tell Kayleigh.

"What? Why?"

"Because if you don't see what I'm about to do, it didn't happen," I tell her. "Plausible deniability and all that bullshit."

"That's not really how it works," she says.

"Okay, well, close them anyway. I don't want you to see me be the person you think I am."

"And who's that?"

"A criminal? A killer? A monster?" I suggest.

Kayleigh shakes her head. "I don't…" Then she slams her mouth shut and closes her eyes.

I turn back to Frank and quickly put two bullets into his brain. I should have kept him alive longer. There's a time and a place to play with your victims, though, and this isn't either of those.

I pivot towards Kayleigh again and find her staring at me. "You were supposed to keep your eyes closed," I tell her, swiping up the knife and crouching down in front of her. I let my eyes travel over every inch of her body. "You know, if you really were into knife play, you could have just told me."

"Enzo?"

"Yeah?"

"I… Untie me. Please," she says.

I slice through the zip ties on her ankles, then cut her wrists free. Kayleigh's entire body slumps forward. I catch her before scooping her up bridal-style. "It's okay. I've got you. I won't let anything happen to you."

"I have to tell you something," she says.

"It can wait. Come on, I need to get you out of here."