“You have taken everything from me!” the man yells, pushing Nico’s head with the gun. “Now I plan to take something of yours. That little redhead will be mine, she will fill my bed, look after my needs, just like Angelina did. I may not be part of the head family, but I can steal your women with ease, Dante,” he spits out, talking about me like I am a possession, like I don’t even matter. He disgusts me, and I hope like hell he never has a chance to touch me.

“You fucking touch a hair on her perfect head, and I will rip you apart, limb from limb. I will slice you up with small, but deep cuts, spilling your blood so slowly, so painfully, that you will wish you never mentioned her name,” Dante replies, and if I didn’t know him, I would be so scared of him right now. My breathing slows when I hear him talk about me so protectively. I want to rush into his arms, knowing that is the only place where I feel truly safe.

I look down at the gun in my hand, then flick my eyes back at the man. His anger is evident, but he is so focused on Dante, his hatred for him palpable, that his gun hand has slackened a little and no longer points directly at Nico.

The man’s gun now is aimed slightly away from Nico's head, and is moving around a little as he yells back at Dante, the two of them throwing heated words at each other, about me, about Angelina, their rivalry running deep. But as I look back at Sebastian, I realize that no one else can see that they can shoot him. Nico is moving away ever so slightly, trying not to cause the man to notice, but trying to edge away, and I see a gun on the floor in front of him, but it is too far away for him to reach without being noticed.

I love Dante. I would do anything for him. So, gripping the gun in both hands, I raise it up. My mind now no longer connected to my body as it operates on autopilot, and in a blink of an eye, I no longer think. I just do.

39

Dante

Dominic continues to stare at me, the rage he has for me evident on his face. We have thrown words back and forth, and I know that soon he will get lazy and point the gun at me instead of Nico, and in that split second is when I will shoot. I aim my gun right for his head in wait, as I see Sebastian stiffen a little from the corner of my eye.