Page 61 of Bulletproof Baby

Wails from my baby barely two months old make my breasts leak, and all of this shit is terrifying and annoying at the same time.

"I'm sorry, can you pull over so I can feed her?" I ask Saul, who's in the passenger seat. "I promise it won't take long."

"You can feed her when we get to where we're going," he says as we continue to drive. I try my best to soothe Ava, but she's not going for anything. She wants to be held, and so do I as I let my own tears fall.

28

VALENTINO

Kill.

Maim.

Torture.

Nope. That's not the right order and my head is throbbing as I feel the grip of hands pulling me out of a wrecked car. Gun shots ring out from somewhere in the distance as I stare up at a familiar face.

"Hey Scarface. What are you doing here?" I ask Alessandro as my mind battles delirium.

"Here to stop a war. Come on. You're okay." Alessandro grunts and grimaces as he drags my body away from the wreckage. "Ren! Jinx! I need it. He needs it! Hurry up."

"What do I need?" I barely get the question out before I see Lorenzo, consigliere of the De Luca family pull out a knife. Alessandro grins as he takes it and slices the fabric of my pants. The sharpness of the pinch when he pierces my thigh with a shot of adrenaline opens my eyes wider than they've ever been.

I feel like a new man as the synthetic chemical surges through me.

"Armande!" I shout to him.

Alessandro grips me by the shoulder. "He's not dead, but he's not going anywhere either."

"What are you doing here?" I ask him.

"Damage control. I should have listened to you weeks ago. Ever since we sanctioned the revenge hit, Saul's been pulling out of our joint ventures. From all of La Familia. He's gone rogue and we're here to help in any way you need," Alessandro answers.

I nod and grab the back of my head.

"I need a phone," I tell him, and one is handed to me immediately. I call Lia's phone first. Frankie picks up and I feel sick. "Where is she?"

"Saul has them. He said he wants twenty million in his account by the end of the day and to call Dimitri for his account information," Frankie rambles out. "I'm sorry, Val. I tried to get them to safety."

"Not now Frankie. Look, Armande is hurt bad. I just want him to have a friendly face at the hospital when he wakes up. I'm going to have him airlifted to the private wing at Cedar Bailey. You'll be put on the all-access list, okay? I need you to go there and stay there. I need you safe in case Saul decides to double back and take you for collateral."

"Okay, I'm leaving now."

"Good. Text me at this number when you get there," I command and hang up.

I turn to Alessandro and two others whose faces are blurring as my vision comes in and out of focus.

"He probably has a concussion," Lorenzo says.

"Probably?" the other guy replies. "That shit looks like a crushed tuna can. He probably has eight."

"That's not how concussions work, Jenkins," Lorenzo says.

"Where would Saul take them? Where would he take my family?" I ask no one.

The phone rings, and it's Lia's number calling back. I answer it. "Yeah."

"Val, they took a lot of the baby's stuff, like enough to last a few days. They took the baby monitor too. I don't know if that helps," Frankie says quietly.