Page 147 of The Mafia King's Reign
He pulls the trigger again.
Click.
And again.
Click.
Like he’s trying to kill him twice. Three times. A hundred times.
Like it will never be enough.
“Salvatore.” My voice comes out small, broken.
For a moment, no one moves.
No one speaks.
Then he’s in front of me, hands everywhere. My face, my arms, my ribs, searching for wounds with frantic, trembling fingers.
“Salvatore, you… they…” My voice breaks apart. “My father is dead.”
I feel my legs give out, but he catches me before I fall, lifting me against his chest.
“Daddy,” I sob into his neck, the word tearing out of me like something I’ve been holding back my entire life.
“Valentina.” His voice is rough, urgent. “That is not your father. Your dad is fine. I told you I had him. Fuck.” He pulls back just enough to look at me. “Why did you come here? Are you out of your fucking mind? They could’ve killed you.”
Relief crashes through me so violently it nearly brings me to my knees. “What?”
I scramble out of his arms and rush to the body. My hands shake as I reach for him, as I turn the man’s face toward the light.
Not him.
The relief is so violent it nearly brings me to my knees.
Then I see the face.
“Vladimir.”
My heart cracks anyway. A tear slips off my jaw and lands on the dead man’s jacket, darkening the fabric in a small, perfect circle.
“What happened to him?” I whisper.
Salvatore paces like a caged animal, the length of the room and back again, boots striking the concrete in sharp, controlled beats. His fists are clenched so tight the tendons stand out, his jaw locked so tight I can see the muscle ticking beneath his skin.
He doesn’t answer me.
He doesn’t even look at me.
“He ran out of time,” Nico says flatly from the doorway.
Salvatore stops pacing. For a second, everything goes still. Then he’s in front of me.
“Valentina, that’s enough.” His voice is controlled. “We have to get you to the hospital. Now.”
“No.” I shake my head, the movement sending a sharp pulse of pain through my face. I wince but push through it. “I’m okay. I just want to go home.”
His eyes flick over me, assessing. Rage flashes so fast I almost miss it.
