“What do you mean, time was running out?” Valentino’s voice was pitched very low. Never a good sign with him. His fingers tightened in her hair.
“I told you, Val. We marry by a certain age in our family. We have certain expectations placed on us. The men and women. If we don’t find the person we want to marry, one is found for us. Arranged marriages are very common. I was very clear.”
“Actually, Princess, you never said one word on this subject. Had you, we would have already been married and your entire family could go to hell. You’re not marrying some stranger. Or Elie Archambault. You need to get married, you can damn well marry me.”
“Such a lovely proposal. You’re so romantic.”
Her phone vibrated alarmingly, and she immediately pulled it from her back pocket and glanced down at the screen. “They’re here. Your uncle’s men. An entire army and then some.” She looked over her shoulder as Val’s fingers eased in her hair. “Dario, you’ve got this?”
He nodded.
She leaned forward and brushed a kiss on Val’s forehead. “Be safe.” She turned and hurried out of the room.
CHAPTER FIVE
How many?” Taviano asked as he peered at the screen over Raimondo Abatangelo’s shoulder. The screen was lit up with what looked like green dots everywhere.
Raimondo grinned at him. “I’d say just about everyone. This guy must be a billionaire. He’s got them coming in by boat and air as well as land.”
Enzo spun around in his chair. “Stefano, Miceli isn’t kidding around. He’s determined to kill his brother and Valentino. This strike is to take them out permanently. Rigina just sent in a report on Miceli’s personal financials, the ones Giuseppi has no knowledge of, and he is definitely a billionaire. Human trafficking has made him a fortune. He isn’t about to give it up. Giuseppi, Valentino and Dario are really the only three standing in his way.”
“That’s not really true,” Stefano said. “Miceli forgot the Ferraro famiglia. We stand with Valentino this time. Ricco, you and Mariko take those dropping onto the rooftops. You’ll have to be very fast and efficient. We can’t spare other riders. Nicoletta, Taviano and Giovanni, I’ll need you to stop the ones coming in off the boats. Again, don’t use finesse. Just get the job done. Be fast. Take them down any way you can. Enzo, get your best snipers to pick off as many as possible. Set them up to protect us as we’re moving in and out of the shadows. Remind them to keep their line of fire off the shadows.”
“Will do.”
“Vittorio, you gave a lot of blood. Are you feeling up to working, or do you need more time?”
“I’m good.”
Stefano took him at his word. “You and I will be the outside floaters, filling in wherever needed. Emmanuelle, you and Elie are going to be our land defense. You’ll have Vittorio and me to back you up as well as our snipers. Henry and Eloisa are with Giuseppi, and Dario is with Valentino. If, for any reason, you have to go into their rooms, give a shout-out first or they will shoot to kill.
“Above all, be safe. Let’s not lose anyone.” That was a command.
Emmanuelle managed to keep a smile off her face. Stefano could always sound so gruff, even when he was so amazingly caring. She blew him a kiss and stepped into a shadow, letting it take her, letting the familiar feeling of being torn apart bring a kind of solace to her. Did she need to seek the physical pain as penance for putting her family in danger? She didn’t know.
She stepped out of one shadow and into another that would take her to the driveway, right at the very curve where the tall, heavy gates were. They were locked, and she knew the trucks coming would have to stop in order to get those gates open. It wouldn’t take them long, but they wouldn’t want to make too much noise, so she doubted they would blow them. She could wreak a lot of havoc in a short period of time. No doubt Elie would be doing the exact same thing, and he was extremely fast.
As she was hurtling through the second shadow tube, it occurred to her that she’d rarely killed anyone other than as a justice seeker. She was sent out for one purpose—to administer justice to someone who had managed to escape it. She did so completely impartially. To kill to protect others was unusual in her family. It had been done to protect the ones they loved when called for, but it was extremely rare.
She was at the very mouth of the shadow, and she waited, allowing her body to catch up with itself, letting the feeling of being disoriented fade until she was once more wholly confident in her own skin. Across from her, looking out of another shadow, was Elie, a handsome devil, a heartbreaker, his dark eyes flashing a wicked promise of sheer fun, as if they were going into a fun house, not an actual war where people, including them, might die. He pretended to crack his knuckles. Emmanuelle couldn’t help an answering smile. He was outrageous.