My heart pounds. My chest fills up with the warmth of his words. I can feel it from his gaze, too.
Leo does love me.
At that realization, the cloud hanging over me vanishes. The hatred Sergio planted in me melts. I throw my gun away and run to Leo as he runs to me. I crash against his chest and he wraps his arms around me. His lips press against the top of my head.
“I love you, Jodie,” he whispers.
I lift my head and look into his blue eyes. “I love you, too.”
I’m about to close my eyes and kiss him, but suddenly, Cain shouts.
“Get down!”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Leo
As soon as I hear Cain shouting, I push Jodie down on the ground and shield her body with mine. A second later, a bullet crashes into the grass less than a foot away from my shoulder. Grains of soil explode.
Fuck.
I glance over my shoulder and spot the shooter reloading. I grab Jodie’s arm, get up and run.
We have to run for cover. Now.
A second gunshot rings out. I brace myself for it, thinking it might hit my back or my arm. Instead, I feel nothing. Jodie doesn’t seem hurt, either. Worried that Cain might have been hit instead, I turn my head, but he’s standing right there with his gun in his hand, all calm. He looks up as he talks into a phone.
Did he get the sniper already? Damn.
“Get Jodie out of here,” he tells me when he notices me staring. “We’ll get Bianchi.”
He throws me a gun and I catch it.
“Go!”
I don’t like taking orders, especially from him, but right now, I do as he says. I lead Jodie to the entrance, intent on making it to the car just outside so I can take her somewhere safe.
Finally, I see the arched wooden gates. Relief washes over me. I see something else too, – Sergio disappearing behind a building. A curse escapes my lips.
I know it’s him. Cain showed me a picture.
That son of a bitch is trying to escape, isn’t he? I want to go after him, make sure that doesn’t happen, but I can’t just leave Jodie.
“Go,” Jodie tells me as if reading my mind. “I’ll wait for you in the car.”
Still, I hesitate. One voice in my head tells me my priority should be keeping Jodie safe right now. Another tells me I may never get another chance to confront the man who killed my mother.
“Go!” Jodie urges.
This time, I nod. I hand her the car keys and run after Sergio. I don’t see him at first, which makes me think I’ve missed him, but as I turn the corner of another building, I finally spot him.
“Stop!” I fire a warning shot.
He pauses but then continues. I run after him.
“Stop!” I shout again.
I fire another shot, no longer a warning this time. I almost get his leg.
Fuck.
I chase after him and shoot again. The third time, the bullet hits Sergio’s leg. He screams. I grin.
“You thought you could get away after the mess you made?” I ask as I walk over to him. “I don’t think so.”
“Stop!” He draws his gun and holds the barrel against his temple. “If you come any closer, I’ll shoot.”
I touch my chin. “Fine by me. You’ll be saving me a bullet.”
“I know who killed your mother.”
At the words, I freeze in my tracks. I feel my heart stop beating for a moment as well.
What did he say?
“I didn’t kill your mother,” Sergio tells me. “But I know who did. If I die, you’ll never know.”
Ah. So that’s his ploy, isn’t it? The question is: Do I buy it?
I don’t trust him. Definitely not. Still, I can’t ignore the voice in my head screaming that I have to know what happened to my mother, that I have to get justice for her death.
“Who?” I ask him.
He gives me a sickening grin. “Walk away, young Ursini, or I take my secrets to my grave.”
I frown but don’t move. What is this? A stalemate? Maybe I should just shoot him again, give him another non-fatal wound just to make him lose consciousness so I can carry him on my back, tie him up and interrogate him later. But what if he loses too much blood and dies? He’s already losing blood from that leg as it is.
Fuck.
I point my gun at him once more. “Tell me who killed my mother or I’ll shoot.”
“Even if you don’t shoot and you just stand there, I’ll die anyway and you’ll never know.”
I clench my jaw. Isn’t there any way to get the upper hand?
Suddenly, a woman’s scream tears through the air. I turn my head.
Jodie?
Again, I’m torn. I want to stay here and try harder to get the answer I need from Sergio. At the same time, I know that if I do that, Jodie could die. Which is more important? Jodie’s life or knowing the truth about my mother’s death?