This wasn’t about my secret that was in danger of getting exposed. There were thousands of ways to keep Leo in the dark. It was this look in her eyes that I’d never thought I’d see.
The distance didn’t take him off her mind. It only made her care for him more than she’d ever have if he’d been here.
“Please, Tino. He can’t get hurt because of me. I need him safe,” she pleaded.
I closed my eyes and nodded. “I’ll think about it. I’ll let you know when I have a plan.”
“Thank you. Thank you so much.” She gave me a small hug and left.
My Angel was slipping away from me.
I already had a plan to bring her back, though. One I didn’t want to execute until later. Until Leo was fucking married so he wouldn’t put her under his spell again.
I had no choice but to expedite things and go ahead with it. Now.
Chapter 34
Tino
A scapegoat.
A man my height with a beard, who spoke Italian but had no accent. Pepper his place with Angel’s pictures and stalking gear. Pay his greedy ass double to kidnap Angel when I set the trap. Go kill him and be her hero.
I found him already. Marciano Andretti. A bastard that earned his button a couple of years after me. Used to be in my crew but split twelve years ago. Still ran for me sometimes, but mostly he worked solo. I kept him on my payroll so he wouldn’t sell me out. Most of my men didn’t know him, and importantly, Leo never met him.
I gave Andretti the job. As far as he was concerned, it was a real kidnap. Some girl to take to teach someone a lesson. He didn’t have to know anything else.
Angel agreed to all my instructions without question. Nicole and she went back to their apartment. I loosened the security around them at home and at the academy, pretending they were no longer under my protection, but kept Michele on their duty. I’d agreed with Angel to stay late at practice every day all week until he showed up. I resided at the penthouse for a few days while I waited for Andretti to make his move as planned. I couldn’t rush it or it’d look too suspicious.
All these days I did nothing but watch and paint her. Not having her in my house where I talked to her every day and stayed in her room every night was driving me out of my fucking mind.
Friday was the day it all ended, and I’d have her back in my arms.
Andretti was all set to take her from school. I lurked in the dark backstage, where I used to listen to her beautiful music without her knowing, where I watched for years without being seen, where I waited and daydreamed.
Angel wasn’t going to take the shortcut backstage. It’d be too convenient and suspicious if the situation was real. I even told her music teacher to stay with her in the theatre until she finished. The teacher would get hurt a little in the way when Andretti arrived, but she’d be heavily compensated. Andretti would drag Angel backstage, and that was when I did my part. He wouldn’t even see it coming.
The music stopped just in time for his arrival. I had my gun ready. Time to be her savior. She was a sucker for that. She’d fall for me and never look back.
“Excuse me, the theatre is closed,” the teacher said.
Thud.
Scream.
Heels coming…not my way. The sound was rolling away, fading. Che cazzo?
I strode to the stage, careful not to blow my cover in case—
Another man’s voice shouted, and curses flew.
Bang!
More screams. Angel’s.
I ran to the theatre, my heart roaring in my temples. What the fuck was going on? I’d torture the son of a bitch if he hurt her. Bang!
I leapt off the stage, the teacher passed out in the middle of it, and reached Angel in two strides. She was standing her back to the wall, blood on her face and clothes, her mouth hanging open but she wasn’t breathing, two men bleeding on the floor one by each foot of hers.
I put a bullet in Andretti’s head when I saw his face. Then I pointed the gun at the other bleeding body balled next to her left foot, kicking the gun beside him out of reach. “One move and you’re dead.”
As he groaned and turned his head toward me, all the blood in my body rushed out and then was pumped back in all at once.
“Don’t shoot. It’s Leo,” Angel sobbed.
“Hey, Dad,” he mumbled in pain.
I put my gun down and squatted next to him, applying pressure on his wound. “You motherfucker.”
Chapter 35
Lina
This couldn’t be him.
I barely saw his face as he came from backstage and knocked down my teacher. He held me from behind as always, but it didn’t feel the same. It was rough, violent, fast. He had a gun pressed to my head for God’s sake, and he didn’t utter a single word.
This couldn’t be him.
When he dragged me to the entrance unlike where Tino and I had anticipated he would, I kicked and screamed, almost yelling Tino’s name. Something was wrong. This couldn’t be him.
Then someone slammed the entrance door and swore. He swiveled us, and I saw Leo’s face, a gun in his hand. His gun left my head and pointed at Leo. What the hell was going on? Why was Leo here? Tino promised me he’d take care of it, not Leo. Leo had to stay away. To be safe.
They yelled at each other in Italian, like they’d known each other. This couldn’t be him. This wasn’t the voice that rendered me speechless and wreaked havoc on my body. Something was wrong. Leo shouldn’t be here.
Bang!
Leo dropped on the floor. His blood had splattered on my face and streamed out of his stomach, pooling out fast and reaching my shoes. This couldn’t be happening. It was a bad dream. I’d just close my eyes, and it’d be all gone.
Bang!
Something else dropped on the floor, and no hands were on my body, no cold metal pressed to my skull. More thick, wet splatter on me. My back slammed against the wall so I wouldn’t collapse. As I opened my eyes, Tino was running my way, a bleeding body on either side of my legs. He was gonna die. Leo was gonna die.
Bang!
He was dead. This couldn’t be him.
I was still shaking, the taste of blood, his or Leo’s I didn’t know, sickening in my mouth. More blood trickled down his face and stained his beard. He looked so…dead. This couldn’t be him.
“Don’t shoot. It’s Leo,” I sobbed.
“Hey, Dad,” Leo mumbled in pain.
Tino put his gun down and squatted next to Leo, applying pressure on his wound. “You motherfucker.” He glanced up at me, getting his phone out. “Are you hurt?”
I didn’t know. I wasn’t feeling anything, so I just shook my head.
Tino’s men streamed in and took Leo. Strong hands carried me up, cradled me gently. I stared into the dark blue eyes and held on to Tino like my life depended on it. “He is dead.”
“Yes,” he said as he walked us out of the theatre.
That couldn’t be him. “He looked nothing like I imagined.”
“It doesn’t matter. What matters is that he’s gone.”
“What if it’s not him?”
He gave me one of his intense, piercing looks. “It is him. You’re just in shock. Your mind is playing you like it always has when it comes to him. You don’t want to believe he was finally gone. But he is. Long gone.”