Page 121 of Ruled By Wizard

Expecting to see Cory, who had texted that he was on his way, she was stunned to find Marco standing there.

“Mama!” Marco’s distraught expression had her dropping her purse. “There’s been a fire at the restaurant!”

“What happened?”

“Someone moved the dumpster in front of the kitchen door then set it on fire,” Marco explained before rushing on. “I was making a delivery near here and thought I should swing by to get you. Was I wrong? Do you want to wait here, or should I call you after I assess the damage?”

His hands twisted together as if he doubted his decision to come to her house.

“No! I’m coming with you!” Forgetting her purse, Natalia stepped out of the house and took Marco by the sleeve of his jacket. “You did the right thing.” Hastily shutting the door, she rushed with him toward the pizza van he had left running.

Before she could get into the driver’s seat, Marco held the passenger door open for her. Holding up her dress, she climbed inside, glad he had taken the initiative to drive. Her hands were shaking so badly that she could barely fasten her seat belt.

Her stomach churned with fear for her employees as she turned sideways to face him. “Was anyone hurt?”

“No.” In the dim light, his expression looked grim.

“Thank God.”

Searching for her cell phone so she could call Cory to cancel, Natalia thought she might have dropped it onto the floorboards in her hurry to get inside the van. Then she remembered it was still in the purse she had left behind.

Raising her eyes, she saw that Marco had taken the wrong exit. “You missed the exit,” she said gently. He was as flustered as she was in their rush to reach the restaurant. “You can take the next turn—” Marco’s head swung in her direction as she tried to tell him how to correct his mistake.

“Shut the fuck up!”

Before she could react to the way he had spoken to her, his hand left the steering wheel and curled into a fist. The punch that landed on her jaw had more power than she had thought Marco capable of.

Black dots filled her vision as the force of the blow flung her sideways, smashing her cheek into the window.

Dazed, she slumped in her seat, unable to lift a hand to investigate the damage to her face.

“I don’t … understand … why,” she whimpered.

Still dazed, she was incapable of dodging or defending herself when Marco grabbed her by the hair and slammed her head into the dashboard.

All the fighting skills she had acquired while defending herself against her cousins were useless against Marco’s brutal assault. She had never prepared to protect herself from someone she trusted completely. Even as she fought against losing consciousness, her mind struggled to make sense of why Marco had struck her so viciously.

Her survival instinct took over. Her fingers went to the seat belt release, intending to press the button and throw herself out of the van.

An excruciating burst of pain thrust her into oblivion before she could. She welcomed the escape from a betrayal that cut so deeply she still couldn’t comprehend that the attack had happened.

As she sank into the welcoming darkness, she wondered sadly whether the man she had considered a close friend would leave her body somewhere for Rocco to find and bury.

CHAPTER 50

KOOKY AS A CUCKOO BIRD

“Are you sure about this?” Doom asked before knocking on the door.

Wizard raised an eyebrow at him. “You wait until we get here to voice your doubts?”

“I’m not doubting you,” Doom clarified. “I’m asking if you’re sure this is how you want to handle her. Shouldn’t we at least get some proof before confronting her?”

“Fuck proof,” Wizard snarled, knocking on the door himself. “We wasted time chasing our own asses, thinking The Last Riders were the ones being set up, when Natalia was the target all along.”

When the door remained closed, he knocked again. Both men exchanged looks when they heard movement inside.

“She’s running …”