Maddox pushed me back when another biker jumped at us and rammed a knife into the man, killing another one of his MC brothers to save me. Behind the couch on the right, I spotted Gray. Maddox would be devastated when he realized his brother hadn’t fled but stayed for the fight.
More Famiglia men pushed into the house until Earl and a few other bikers made a dash for the stairs to seek safety on the second floor.
Maddox grabbed my arm and helped me to my feet, dragging me across the room and shielding me with his body. “Go to your family.” He pushed me forward, away from his warmth and I stumbled a few steps, disoriented. Matteo caught me in his arms but I gasped in pain when he touched my back. He briefly looked at my exposed back, and his expression twisted with disbelief then fury. “I’ll have a blast killing them.”
“Take Marci to safety,” Dad growled. Marci, the name no longer seemed fitting for the girl I had become.
Matteo began to drag me away from the scene but I turned in his hold to address Dad. “Don’t kill him!” I pointed at Maddox, but I couldn’t say more because Matteo tightened his hold on me and dragged me away. My gaze brushed over Maddox and his parting smile as he stood covered in blood amid his dead club brothers. He had made peace with death. The last thing I saw was how he jumped behind the sofa beside his brother Gray to fight at his side.
“No!” I screamed.
“Come on, Marcella. Let’s get you to a doctor.”
I peered up at my uncle. “Tell Dad he can’t kill Maddox.”
“Let your dad and me handle those assholes. And don’t worry, your dad wants to keep as many of them as possible alive for questioning and thorough payback.”
I glanced back at the clubhouse as I stumbled along with my uncle. Two armed guards were by our sides and didn’t leave even when we got into a black van. Inside, the Famiglia doc was already waiting. Dad had thought of everything.
“Why didn’t Amo take me to safety?” I asked, surprised Dad had allowed him to stay.
Matteo twisted his knife in his hand, obviously eager to use it on someone. “Your brother insisted he was allowed to fight and your dad prefers to keep an eye on him so he doesn’t do something stupid. But I’ll keep you safe.” His mouth pulled into a smile that looked completely wrong. Matteo was easy going for a mobster but today his darker side had come out to play.
His expression twisted again when he regarded my back. I could only imagine what it looked like. I faced him. “Can’t you go to Dad and tell him not to kill Maddox? I won’t let the doc treat me otherwise.”
Matteo scanned my face curiously. “The plan is to keep Earl, Maddox, and Gray White as well as the sergeant at arms alive so we can deal with them thoroughly in the next few days.” Excitement swung in his voice, reminding me of the stories about Matteo’s penchant for torture that I’d heard. It was always difficult to imagine considering how funny he often was.
“Is everyone else safe? Mom? Valerio? What about Isabella and Gianna? Lily and the kids?” I was rambling but my lips moved on their own accord.
“Romero and Growl are responsible for their safety. Don’t worry. Soon everything will be over, and the men who hurt you will be dog food.”
Maddox.
I knew what my family had planned, but it gave me time to figure out what to do with Maddox and how to convince Dad not to slice him into bite-sized pieces. I could only pray that Maddox didn’t get himself killed today.
“Do you have any injuries?” the doc asked calmly as he sat down on the bench beside me.
I gingerly touched my ear, which Maddox had covered with a fresh bandage yesterday. “My ear and my back.”
“Let’s start with your back, shall we?”
I nodded numbly. The doc had free access to my back due to my ripped-apart shirt. After a few minutes of careful prodding, he said, “I’m going to disinfect everything and refresh your tetanus shot. And just to cover all our bases, I’ll get some bloodwork done to check for possible infections the needle might have carried.” What he didn’t dare to say: possible diseases through intercourse.
My heart skipped a beat and I stared at him in horror.
“What kind of infections?” Matteo asked before I could utter a word.
“Hepatitis, HIV to name a few.”
I could feel the blood slowly leave my face. I hadn’t even considered that the needle might be contaminated. The ugliness of the tattoo had been my only concern so far.
Matteo squatted before me, giving me a reassuring look. “You’ll be fine, Marcella.”