Page 75 of By Blade, I Love
My heart dropped like a bag of grenades and exploded.
I didn’t have time to panic or lose my mind.
Every second counted, and I had to make them work for me while Francesca was alive. “Icarus?—”
“I really am sorry about this, Wolfe.”
“Icarus—”
“Better get here quick. Because if she panics, she has enough air for minutes ormaybean hour…if she’s lucky.”Click.
21
FRANCESCA
I sat alone at the table on the terrace, forgetting about the food in front of me. It was a warm day, so the food was probably still warm but unappetizing. There was no way I’d be able to work for the rest of the day now. All I’d do would be to sit around and wait for Wolfe’s call to come through.
Leo dropped into the chair Wolfe had recently vacated. “What’s going on?”
I was so distraught I momentarily forgot about my hatred toward my brother. “Cosa Nostra says Icarus is coming for them, so Wolfe went to join them.”
“Oh…”
“Yeah.” I had no choice but to wait here for word. I crossed my arms over my chest like I was cold, and the bumps on my skin were definitely real even in the Mediterranean heat.
Leo continued to stare at me like he wanted to say something…but never did.
We sat there in silence for minutes, and I told myself to stay calm despite the endless pit of anxiety in my stomach. What a travesty it would be to lose him the second he was officially mine. To die a widow after a marriage that lasted a mere couple of days.
“He’ll be okay,” Leo said. “Nothing can kill that guy.”
“Let’s not say the word kill until he gets back.”
“Yeah, sure, of course.”
I’d barely taken a breath when my whole world changed. “Frankie! A line of SUVs is coming our way.”
I heard Roman’s voice from around the corner of the house, and all my despair was quickly replaced by a new wave of terror. I jumped to my feet and felt slightly disoriented from the head rush and the adrenaline combined together.
Leo took off down the steps. “Who the hell is it?”
It took me less than a second to deduce the answer. “Icarus. It’s a trap.” He’d had one of his cronies lure Wolfe away from the vineyard, and the only reason he would do that was if he wanted me.
Well, that ain’t gonna happen.
I dashed inside and went straight for the armory, but by the time I reached the guns, gunfire erupted outside.
Leo came to my side and grabbed a rifle. “I can’t believe we’re going to have to fix up the house—again.”
“Let’s focus on surviving first.” I grabbed the magazines and shoved them into my pockets.
Instead of more gunfire, it was just quiet.
Really quiet.
So quiet that even Leo stilled after he cocked his gun, like he knew something wasn’t quite right. He looked down the hallway, at me, and then back down the hallway as he readied his gun to shoot people to bits and pieces.
“Lady Wolfe, come on out!” a man shouted from outside the villa. “Let’s have a little chat.”
