Arranged love

BONES

WE PULL UP to the pizzeria just as Matteo walks in.

“You think she’s here?” Tristan asks.

“She has to be.” After we got the call from Nite, we turned around and were headed back to our cars to go to the hotel and look for her when we decided our best bet was to wait on Matteo and see what he did. Sure enough, it wasn’t ten minutes later, and he was in his car and driving into town.

Mia left for a reason. And I’m praying he takes us right to her.

The door to the pizzeria opens, and two guards step outside. Both cross their arms over their chest and look around. They’ve got blood on their hands, and it’s obvious it’s not theirs. Tristan looks over at me. “Ready?”

“Let’s go.” I open the door and get out of the car. They raise their guns when they spot us, but we’re faster. I’ve already got a shot off to one of them in the head. Tristan gets the other with a shot to the chest. Both of them drop dead.

“Cross?” I call out, walking toward the front door.

“Got ’em,” he answers, coming up with Grave and Titan behind us.

We enter the pizzeria, and the three of them drag the two guards into the building, immediately going to work. I wanted to make Matteo and Richard suffer, but that won’t be happening. This is a rescue mission now. Get in, save Mia, and get the fuck out. Kill anyone who stands in my way as quick as possible.

Tristan and I make our way to the closed door with our guns ready. I step back and look at him. He nods and then kicks the door open.

I enter with my gun raised and kill a guard. Another one jumps in front of me, and I shoot him too. Aiming my gun, I go to shoot again but realize who’s in front of it. Mia.

She stands in front of a desk with Matteo’s arm wrapped around her throat, while he hides behind her small frame. A quick look around shows me her father and mother are dead. And I understand why we’re here-she killed them.

Good for her.

I lift the gun, aiming it right at his face, but he moves her to where it’s on her. “Let her go,” I demand.

She’s shaking, covered in blood, and her arms are behind her back. I want to be pissed and yell at her, but it has to wait. I need her alive in order to do that.

“Di-llan.” She chokes out my name. “I’m sorry.”

I ignore her, refusing to even take my eyes off her brother. He removes his arm from around her throat and instead places his hand over her mouth, muffling her cries. “Where’s Richard?” I ask him instead. We’re not sure where the fuck he’s at.

Matteo laughs. “Luca showed you the video of her, right?”

I tighten the hold on my gun.

Matteo licks up the side of her face, making her scream out and close her eyes. “I bet he didn’t send you the one where he played with her unconscious body.”

I tense.

“Of course, he didn’t fuck her.” He laughs. “A used-up whore is worth much less.”

“Let. Her. Go,” I demand, the gun now shaking in my hands. I could take the shot, but I’d chance hitting her.

I hear a gunshot coming from inside the pizzeria, meaning the Kings took out another guard. I wonder how many there are.

Stepping to my left, Tristan goes to his right. Both of us try to get a better shot. If we can slowly move to stand on either side of him, one of us could get one.

He steps back, yanking her with him. Letting go of her mouth, he grips her hair, pulling her head back. Forcing her to look up at the ceiling, he places a knife to her neck. I watch her swallow and glance at Tristan. He nods once.

“Why are you here, Bones?” he asks, laughing maniacally. “Because of her?” Another laugh. “Don’t tell me that you fell in love with her?” Matteo doesn’t let me answer. “Did your father teach you nothing about pussy?”

Titan, Cross, and Grave all enter the room, guns raised and pointed at Matteo and Mia. Matteo looks from the three of them to me and smiles.This belongs © NôvelDra/ma.Org.

“Last chance, Matteo,” I add. “You’re outnumbered and have nowhere to go.” He knows it. The question is, will he take her down with him?

I get my answer when he starts pushing the knife into her neck, making her scream out into the room. Blood drips down her neck and shirt, the material soaking it up.

“Tristan, now!” I shout.

A gun goes off, hitting Matteo in the shoulder.

He shoves her away from him to the floor, and we all start shooting. His body shakes as bullets fill it. The shooting stops, and silence follows. The sound of ringing fills my ears as his lifeless body falls into the chair behind the desk.

I lower my gun and run to where she lies on the floor. Cross cuts the zip tie, and I apply pressure to her neck. She’s unconscious but breathing. Wrapping her neck the best I can, I pick her up in my arms. “She needs a doctor.”

“I’ve got one.” Tristan helps me apply pressure to the wound while I get to my feet and carry her out.

MIA

I OPEN MY eyes to another unfamiliar room. I’m in a large bed with cool white sheets that smell like lavender. The walls are a light gray and the carpet is white. Looking around, I see sheer curtains hanging in front of floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking a balcony.

I stretch, and a pain shoots up my back. I place my hand on my neck to feel some kind of bandage. Getting out of the bed, I look down and notice I’m still dressed in bloodstained clothes.

I killed my parents. But what happened to Matteo? Dillan? The Kings? Who won that fight? I remember seeing my brother enter the office and knowing it was over. But then Dillan was there. Saving me.

Hearing something on the other side of the bedroom door, I make my way over to it on shaky legs. I open it up and step out into a hall. Nothing about this house is familiar. It makes me wonder if it’s another one of Dillan’s houses.

I make my way down the hall to an open living room. My breath catches in my lungs when I see him standing with his back to me, looking up at the TV that hangs on the wall. Titan and Grave sit on a couch, also facing away from me. Tristan and Cross are midconversation, but it pauses when they spot me.

“Bones.” Tristan gets his attention and then nods to me.

I want to walk over to him, but the TV has my feet planted where I’m at. It’s the pizzeria. The one that my parents own. It’s up in flames, well, what’s left of it, which isn’t much. Everything looks melted while firefighters try to put it out, but it’s lighting up the midnight sky. “What-what happened?” I manage to ask.

My eyes meet Dillan’s, and he walks over to me. Reaching out, he cups my cheek gently. His pretty blue eyes soften before he speaks. “We had to make sure no evidence was left behind.”

“So you burned it?” I ask, making sure I understand. As I watch Cross flip a Zippo open and closed, something tells me he was the one to light it all up.

“How do you feel?” Dillan asks, his eyes falling to my neck.

I take a step back, and his hand falls. “But why?” I ask, my eyes going back to the TV.

“Even though your family has the police in their pocket, we didn’t want to chance anyone finding your prints or blood at the scene. It was the only way to guarantee everything was destroyed.” Grave is the one who answers.

Dillan steps back into me, gently cupping both of my cheeks and forcing me to look at him. “How do you feel?”