Even though her face is still gripped by fear, her body tells me she is slowly calming down. That is, until she realized I had been shot. It is just a graze, but it fucking kills. I’m pushing out the pain with every shallow exhale, before I take a long, deep breath in. But that’s the wrong move, because I become overwhelmed by her scent almost immediately. Citrus fills my lungs, the kind that reminds me of warm summer days in Italy, while playing with my son Leo in the Mediterranean. The one and only scent that makes me feel at ease, in my bliss, the scent of the life I want to have someday.

She is beautiful. I don’t think I have ever seen a woman so breathtaking. And young. Probably much too young for me. I am not entirely sure she is even of legal age, and I feel like a dirty old man keeping her secured to my lap.

I can’t stop taking her in, though. I try to avert my eyes, but they keep coming back to rest on her. Her flaming red hair is long and tied up, her ponytail tickling my fingers as she looks around out the windows, wondering where she’s going. My grip on her hips remains, not only because Tony is driving like an absolute maniac, but because if she continues to move and wriggle around on my lap, I think she might find something solid underneath her that she may not necessarily appreciate. Not in a moment like this, at least.

Thinking back to my meeting, I can’t believe Dominic pulled that stunt. He knew what he was going to do the minute he saw me in his club. He has no fucking respect and now all five of his men lay dead on the sidewalk.

He won't like that. Both him and his brother Federico will seek revenge, and I have no doubt they will come after me and my team in time.

I didn’t miss the opportunity to pull my gun on him, though. I couldn’t kill him, not yet. But I will kill him. I will take great pleasure in doing so as well. We have a long history with each other, and I want him gone. And now, that desire is only amplified.

I’m only injured because a stray bullet skimmed my shoulder before I slammed Little Red into the pavement. As Carter disarmed Dominic, I didn’t miss his eyes as they honed in on the beauty in my arms, my hand under her cute little ass as I brought her with me to safety. She clung to me like I was her last breath, and I nearly was.