Shielded Wrongs (Bellandi Crime Syndicate 4)

"Seems like you have it all figured out," I grumbled, glaring at him.

He grinned in the face of it. "All you have to do is say yes."

"Did you ask me a question?" I returned, shifting my body to face him.

"Nope. Still," he murmured, teasing my lips with his as he taunted me into giving the response he wanted. "Say yes."

I giggled, desire pooling in my stomach. With the kid gloves he'd treated me with since the injury, neither of us had the sexual outlet we’d wanted after all the adrenaline. "Yes," I whispered, grinning against his mouth when he lifted me off the couch and made for his bedroom at the back of the house.

That alone would have been worth the concession of marriage.

Let alone the reward of the rest of our lives.

My shoulder hurt. As much as I appreciated Ivory and her love, the tight grip she had on me was less lovable.

"Ow," I said. She pulled back with a grimace, staring at the sling on my arm as tears filled her eyes.

"I'm sorry. Fuck, I'm sorry," she cursed, dropping her head to lean on top of mine as she pulled me back into her arms with less force. Luna tottered along at her feet, racing around the room while Matteo fretted that she'd fall and hurt herself. Never mind that the kid had been walking since before her first birthday.

Enzo and Scar watched in amusement, but Enzo's eyes filled with something I'd never seen before. We hadn't talked much about kids beyond the desire to wait a bit. But when the day came, I knew he'd be an amazing father. It seemed almost strange, all of us being together while some of us were missing. We tended to all get together in huge groups, but the visit hadn't exactly been planned.

Ryker was busy hunting Murphy. Lino was busy trying to coordinate the initial repairs on both of my warehouse gyms. The poor sap.

"Where's my paperwork? I want to own a damn gym." I laughed, but the truth was my father had already said he'd be signing over the original Fists of Fury. He'd held onto the reins for too long so I'd always know there was help if I needed it, not because he didn't think I was capable. That conversation had been a long time coming for both of us; as it turned out, neither of us knowing how to start it. From zero to two—I'd own a gym with multiple branches damn near overnight. Wasn't it funny how quickly life changed?

Enzo laughed, grabbing the stack of papers off the counter that we'd both sign at my suggestion. Being only mine offered less protection than having Enzo's name and the Bellandi backing on it. While I was excited to rebuild the gyms to my exact desires, I only wanted to do it once.

No more burning buildings for me.

Enzo pointed out all the places we needed to sign, grinning at me as we took turns with an audience. The intercom buzzed from the front gate, and Matteo went to it and pressed the button. "Yeah?" he asked.

"Judge Ryan is here," the front gate guard said.

"Let him in," Matteo responded, though his brow furrowed. I had no clue who Judge Ryan was, but I suspected Matteo didn't often have house calls from judges. Still, Enzo and I kept signing and initialing, making our way through the stack of papers until we'd signed the last dotted line.

"We own a gym," I whispered, watching as Don emerged from the other room to answer the front door when Judge Ryan knocked.

Scar stilled as Judge Ryan stumbled in through the front door. Blood soaked the front of his dress shirt, his salt and pepper hair disheveled as he blinked rapidly and his lips moved slightly like he was mumbling to himself.

"Where's Irina?" Scar asked, his voice deathly quiet. When Judge Ryan didn't answer, he repeated it on a roar. "WHERE'S IRINA?!" The windows shook with the force, and I flinched into Enzo's arms. Feeling like I'd missed something very vital, too wrapped up in my own world, I watched as Judge Ryan turned his attention to Scar.

"Are you hurt?" Ivory asked more gently, stepping up to touch his arm.

He flinched back. "Not mine. Bryan’s. Found him in Irina’s apartment. They—” He paused, swallowing past what I suspected was bile crawling up his throat. “Mutilated him.”

"Where's Irina?" Ivory asked, fear filling her eyes for the woman we'd quickly become friends with after Samara introduced her to us.

"They took her," Judge Ryan said, his eyes finally snapping back to the present. "They took my girl." He held out a piece of paper that Ivory accepted, bringing it over t

o Matteo. He clenched his jaw, handing the note off to Enzo and moving for Scar who stood bone still at the edge of the room. His eyes never left Judge Ryan as his chest heaved.

"We'll find her," Matteo murmured softly. It was the voice I recognized, the rare affection Matteo showed to people when he could feel they were on the verge of their breaking point.

I glanced down at the note in Enzo's hand.

One Bellandi whore.

Scar shoved away from Matteo, reaching for the gun at his waist and making for the door as his face twisted. Enzo moved from my side quickly, stepping into his path and blocking him off. "I know. I know," he said, drawing Scar's rage filled face his way. "We have to find her first. You're no good to her if you're dead before we find her."