CHAPTER SEVENTEEN – ALESSANDRO
Lights are coming on in my yard, alerting me to the positions of intruders. I hear a hail of gunfire, and my dogs are released. I pull up an app on my watch and type out a message to Knuckles, Bones, and Enforcer.
Me: Where are the gate guards?
Bones: I just pulled up, and there’s been a hit. The men are down.
Me: Where are the others?
Bones: ??
“Shit!”
“What’s going on, Ales? What do you mean we’ve got company!” she demands.
Looking at her minuscule nightie, I order, “No time to explain, let’s go!” I shout, grabbing her hand and pulling her behind me.
“Go get dressed and meet me back at the weapons room. Now!” I order.
Knowing all I know about her now, I only want to protect her, but I also know that she can hold her own. I won’t leave her defenseless while we’re under attack.
I press my palm against the keypad for the weapons room. Once that door is open, I enter the code on the security panel at the second door and rush into the room.
I select a couple of handguns for myself, tucking one in the back of my pants and securing the other one on the holster at my side. I grab a knife and sheath it at my ankle before taking another handgun and a couple of explosives.
“What’s going on, Ales?” Mila asks, stepping into the room.
Outfitted in all black, she’s wearing a pair of leggings and a tank top with what appears to be ballerina slippers on her feet.
“We’re being attacked. Somehow, people have gotten past my armed guards, and they’re on the property,” I say, grabbing another handgun to hand to her.
But when I turn to face her, she’s already grabbing two guns from the shelf.
“Babe.”
“I’ve got this, Ales. You said you needed a woman who understood and had your back.”
I don’t have time to contemplate that statement and where we currently stand. My watch buzzes against my wrist. I tap the blinking icon, and it switches to the camera view.
I’ve counted fifteen men running toward the house, which doesn’t include my six soldiers stationed on the roof.
I know they’ll start taking them out.
“Well, it’s showtime now. Take this and keep it with you,” I say, pointing to the panel so she can see what I see.
Mila looks into my eyes once, grabs the watch, and presses a hand against my cheek. She kisses my lips, quickly but passionately.
“We’ll talk about us once this is over.” With that, she puts the watch on and moves to the door.
Once we’re outside of the room and it’s locked, I point towards the bedroom. “Take the stairs in my bedroom down to the den. I’m going straight in.”
She nods her understanding and moves stealthily down the hall as I take the main stairwell two at a time. I haven’t told her who the intruder is, not because I want her to be caught off guard but because I don’t want her to be too caught up in her head.
Mila needs to approach this situation like she would any other. I know who her father was, and she’s grown up in a loving environment, but she’s been taught to be ruthless.
When I took Bianca in as my child, I did an extensive background check on her biological parents and grandparents. I just didn’t expect her mother to return from the dead.
If Mila knew that Frederico Colombo was inside my house, I’m scared she would become too emotional to think clearly.