Page 140 of Secrets of the Brother
I gave Bianca a sympathetic look. I knew she wasn’t close to her family, but this wasn’t how I'd wanted her to find out. I took a deep breath. “Bruno Moretti is dead. Longo’s men killed him when they were firing at us.”
Bianca frowned and lowered her head. She didn’t look that surprised or upset. I didn’t blame her. By all accounts her father was a cruel and cold man.
Claudia started screaming all over again. My father grabbed her and dragged her out of the church.
Nevio lowered his gun. “Well, I guess that changes things. A dead man can’t sign a land permit or bank transfer.”
He released Bianca.
She hiked up her dress and ran into my arms.
I grabbed her around the waist with one arm, still keeping my gun hand free, and hugged her to me.
The tightness in my chest eased.
Fuck, that had been close.
Nevio smirked. “So we’re good?”
I looked up at him. “Us? Yeah, we’re square. There’s just one problem.”
“Yeah, what’s that?”
Cesare, who had used my conversation with Nevio as a distraction to circle around and approach him on the right, stood within an arm’s length.
Cesare pressed the barrel tip of his gun to Nevio’s temple. “Me.”
Nevio stilled. “What the fuck?”
Cesare ground out, “This is for Milana,” and pulled the trigger.
* * *
I graspedBianca’s head and turned her into my shoulder to shield her from the sight.
I tucked my gun into the back of my waistband and hugged her tight.
She tilted her head back and looked up at me.
I braced myself for her sobs, her trauma, her fear and horror. I would be there for her. I would be strong. I would be her rock.
Her brow furrowed. “It took you long enough.”
My mouth dropped open. “Took me…? We got here as soon as we could. You know we were taking on gunfire when you left, right?”
“Did you figure out it was Liliana who drugged me?”
“Matteo went to her place, but it was cleared out. We’ll find her.”
I cupped her jaw with my hands and searched her face. “Did he hurt you?”
She raised her eyebrows. “Besides the whole gun to my head and trying to make me marry him thing?”
I nodded. “Besides that.”
“No.”
I leaned in and kissed her forehead gently. “Good. It would have been messy to try and kill him twice.”
