Page 165 of Mafia Billionaire's Surprise Baby

The lack of noise echoes around me, pressing against my eardrums.

The silence on this godforsaken stretch of land is so pervasive that I can literally hear people in the village a half mile away. I can’t make out their words, of course, but the tone and the cadence are familiar.

So when there’s an unfamiliar voice in the mix, it’s really, really clear.

Mostly because everyone is making excited noises. Or nervous ones. Either way, the tone of the little village has changed.

Nervously, I wander outside.

From the porch, I can see the road that comes from the village. There’s a couple of people walking up it. I see a flash of platinum-blonde hair that seems familiar.

And a shape that makes my heart clench.

No.

I sit down on the kitchen chair that I left on the porch last night.

I blink.

That man has to be Sal.

There’s no way it’s not. I can practically sense the way he walks. He prowls like a jungle cat, and he’s got his eyes locked on one thing.

Me.

The blonde comes to me now. There’s only one person I know who has a shock of hair like that and is that tall.

Stassi.

My heart sinks. If Sal brought Stassi in to find me, then this is about to be really, really bad.

The Russians don’t know that Sal and I are alive. In order to bring Stassi in to find me, Sal would have had to get permission from her father.

And if her father knows…

My eyes widen. Of course her father knows. Liam told me that he reached out to Elio. Which means that Elio knows.

Which means that Sal had to bring in anything he could, because Elio is about to freak the fuck out.

And if Elio freaks out…

My heart feels like it’s going to explode. If Elio freaks out, this is going to hell in a handbasket so fast, because he’s going to start a war.

Which means that everyone is at risk.

Elio. Caterina. Luna. Dino. Marco.

Sal.

Elio would take care of them, I know. But even though he’s good at what he does, that doesn’t guarantee anyone’s safety.

If he goes to war, it’s going to be a fucking blood bath.

I have to tell them to go back. Before Liam comes back. I gather myself and I start marching down the road.

I make it about ten feet before the gunshots ring out.

Sal and Stassi drop down, and I can’t help but cry out. I’m reasonably sure that whoever’s shooting won’t be shooting at me.