Top Dog

I saw the darkness creeping from the corners of my eyes. I was choking on blood as my hands began to shake. Nausea was rolling my stomach. I tried to get up, but ever

y move I made sent painful jolts of fire surging down to my toes.

“What should we do with him?” one man said.

“We should kill him,” the other man slurred.

“But that wasn’t our command. The boss doesn’t want him dead yet.”

“Fuck the boss. If this little bitch is out of our way, he’ll give us a fucking medal.”

“We follow orders. Until boss wants him dead. Then, maybe we have a bit of fun.”

“Well, we got what we came for. We need to get out before someone finds us.”

The masked men were standing over me, and I was helpless to rip their heads off. The darkness was all-consuming. I could feel my body shaking with pain. Blood was dribbling down the side of my cheek. My head felt like it was splitting in two. I could feel blood drying on the back of my neck as the two men left.

I drew in one last breath as I watched them leave before the darkness took me under, relieving me of the pain I felt and thrusting me into another world.

A world where Julia was in my arms, pregnant with my child, while Matteo cuddled into my chest.

CHAPTER 14

JULIA

I sat at the table and ate my cereal as I stared out into the backyard. Getting out into town with Matteo the other day had done me a lot of good. We went shopping for the next book he wanted to read and got dinner in town. Pizza was his favorite, and I smiled as he stuffed himself full of it. The innocent glow in his eyes and the unabashed love he had for the food reminded me of why I was doing all this. Matteo deserved a family. He didn’t deserve to be cooped up in an estate in the middle of nowhere up north. Enrico was the only sort of father-figure he knew, and even then it wasn’t enough. I wanted Matteo to know his father. His uncle. His cousins. I wanted them to all be a part of his life. It was what my father would’ve wanted.

But peace had to happen first.

And whatever I could do to make that happen for my son was what I would do.

I took another bite of my cereal before my phone buzzed. I had a text message from my uncle. I furrowed my brow and unlocked my phone when I saw the “urgent” signal in the right-hand corner of the message.

The cereal spoon fell from my hands as my eyes scanned the text.

I know things are rocky with you and Romeo right now, but he was attacked in his home last night. I thought you’d want to know.

Attacked? Was Romeo okay? My fingers flew across the screen as I responded, my feet carrying me toward the staircase. It didn’t matter how upset I was with him, he was the father of my child. He was still a man I cared for greatly. And I didn’t want him to be hurt.

I ran into my room and began throwing on clothes. I twisted my hair and clipped it up, then slipped into some flats and ran to Matteo’s room. He was awake and looking at his new book, and I rushed around to find some decent clothes to put on him. I was in no condition to drive, and Stefano wasn’t here to take me anywhere.

So Enrico was my only option.

“What’s wrong, Mommy?”

“We have to go somewhere, sweetheart. It’s an emergency. Can you be a big boy for me?” I asked.

“Okay,” he said. “Can I wear my hat?”

“Of course, you can. I’ll get it for you. Run downstairs. I’ll be there in a second.”

I slipped Matteo’s shoes on his feet before he dashed out the door. I rummaged around in his closet, cursing the fact that I couldn't find his damn hat. “Something wrong?”

“Aha!”

I held up the hat in triumph as I turned around and took stock of Enrico.

“I need a favor,” I said.