Page 92 of Righteous Enforcer
I startle when a car door slams and voices pass by.
Terrible scenarios run through my mind.
Will they torture or simply kill me?
Will the Bratva sell Mirabella?
Will Adriano bad-mouth me to her?
The walls of our tiny apartment press in, making it hard to breathe. I should have gone further.
Mexico. Canada. Maybe even Europe.
Somewhere Adriano's influence can't reach.
When Mirabella whimpers in her sleep, I nearly scream.
This is what my life has become again.
Jumping at shadows, seeing threats in mundane noises, dragging my child through an existence defined by fear.
My eyelids grow heavy despite my vigilance. Minimal sleep has taken its toll. But when sleep finally claims me, it offers no peace.
I'm back in our family home, my father's panicked gaze finding mine across the dining room table as the door splinters open.
"Run, Eva!" he shouts, but my feet won't move. Maksim steps through the doorway, his smile cruel.
Then suddenly, it's not my father but Don Lorenzo. I’m in his study, his expression filled with suspicion and accusation.
"I know what you are," he hisses. But when I look again, it's Alessandro staring back at me, reaching for his gun. "I told you I'd destroy you when I found out the truth."
I turn to run, and there’s Adriano, fire in his eyes. “You lied to me. I’ve killed for less.”
Next I’m running through endless corridors that morph into alleyways. Footsteps gain ground.
When I turn, Ivan's face leers at me. "Did you think you could escape your debt to us?"
I try to scream, but a hand covers my mouth.
I jolt awake and discover it’s not a dream. I can’t scream because a firm hand is clamped over my mouth. My body freezes in terror, eyes flying open to darkness.
"Don't move," a voice whispers, low and menacing.
My heart hammers. Mirabella, where is Mirabella? My eyes dart frantically to the side, searching for her.
The weight of someone looming over me pins me to the bed. My right hand inches toward the pillow where I’ve stashed my knife.
"I wouldn't," the voice warns, catching my wrist in a grip that threatens to snap bone.
Rage cuts through my fear. I twist violently.
"Stop fighting," the voice hisses. I feel the heat of him as he leans over me, his breath hot on my ear. "Did you really think I wouldn't find you? Did you think I'd let you take my daughter again?"
23
ADRIANO
Blood pulses hot behind my eyes as Eva stares up at me, caught between defiance and fear.
