47. Ambrose

Chapter forty-seven

Ambrose

" W hat was that?" I whisper as soon as he turns to leave.

"I-I don't know," she stutters out. She looks like she's seen a ghost and is ready to faint any second.

"Are you okay?"

"I don't feel well," she shrugs and starts walking towards the patio.

My eyes meet both Antonio's and Adriano's, their glances equally suspicious. We all make our way outside and take our allocated seats and sure enough, he's seated directly opposite Valerie.

When I sit down I immediately drape my arm over her chair and gently trace lines on her shoulder. I don't care if Antonio has an aneurysm right now, I can tell something is wrong and it has something to do with this guy.

"Gentlemen, please meet Pierre and Francisco, two more of my closest business partners and equal parts of the genius that is éclat Financier .

I give them both a clipped smile before leaning down to Val. "What's going on Val," I whisper but she just stares down at her plate.

"Nothing, I told you I'm not feeling well."

The starters come out all too quickly and I'm almost suspicious to eat but when I notice everyone eating I surmise maybe I'm being overly paranoid .

"Valerie, Horatio was telling me how much you love art. Who's your favourite artist?" Marcelino asks, sipping on his glass.

She simply nods. "I'm a fan of the classics, Leonardo da Vinci."

"Mines Jackson Pollock, have you seen any of his work?" Both Valerie and I drop our forks simultaneously.

I clear my throat and reach for my drink while she stares at him completely dumbfounded. "I have, yes."

"You know you remind me of my ex-wife," he starts and suddenly my hand draped over Valerie's chair clenches into a fist. "Well wife I haven't exactly signed the divorce papers yet, she has a bit of a habit of running away," he chuckles. His men chuckle along but my brothers are all staring at the scene, figuring it out as it unfolds.

"I mean you two even look similar, except she had dark brown hair and this horrible scar that ran along her jaw," he continues. "I've heard she ran away to be a rich man's whore."

With the swift scrap of my chair, I'm on my feet with my gun pointed at him.

"Keep talking Mattheo."

Managing to sneak our weapons in seemed like the stroke of luck we needed due to a tip-off, but right now I'd be willing to stab this asshole with a butter knife. Unfortunately, when I look around, I notice us in a peculiar situation that proves our tip-off right.

A few weeks ago we received information that Horatio and his company may be involved in some illicit affairs, especially with the Sicilian side of my family that aren't very fond of us.

Guns are out, ready for war., I have one on Mattheo, Adriano has his pointed at Pierre, and Pierre has one on me. Francisco has locked onto Adriano and our security has theirs pointed at the three men. Antonio sits still in his seat, the remaining gun still concealed and I'm thankful he wasn't too rash to pull it out. Gus looks as if he might shit himself and Valerie looks like her nightmares have come to life .

Mattheo starts a slow clap as he rises to his feet and leans forward. "I'll admit when my men first told me how in love the two of you looked, I was convinced it was all for show but now here we are. You're ready to kill for her. Willing to kill a hundred million euro deal for her. Is she worth it Ambrose? Or is she just a good fuck?"

I cock the gun before pointing it at him again.

Next thing I know, Valerie is in front of the weapon. "What are you doing?" My eyes widen. "You can't jump in front of a loaded gun!"

My hand shakes as I contemplate lowering it, each time I move it she steps in front of it again.

"Valerie," I warn.

"Don't throw this all away over me, the company needs this deal," she pleads.

"Wha-what the fuck are you talking about, Valerie? I would rather lose the entire company and rebuild it from the ground up than do business with a man who put you through hell." I frown. How could she possibly think that even for a second I'd consider still going through with this deal?

My eyes flash between her, the gun and Mattheo. His amused grin grows larger as he watches the scene unfold.

"Just-" she sighs, her hands gently moving to lower the gun. "Just don't waste your time or energy on someone like him."

I pull her into my chest, inhaling her scent deeply whilst still having a clear shot of him.

A shot rips through the air and my eyes widen, my arms wrap around her even tighter holding both her and her head in place. Rushing backwards, four more shots go off, and Mattheo and his men all fall.

"No!" I echo still holding her close to me. Only once I realise where the fourth shot went, do I drop my hands from around her and stare at the scene.