Page 87 of Gorgeous Prince
Sirens wail around us, and I’m sure someone called the cops, alerting them of a road-rage situation.
My heart beats so fast that I can feel it in my throat as I open the glove box. I grab and grip the gun tightly, precisely how my father taught me. Benny continues to steer with one hand and returns gunfire with the car.
I shut one eye and aim my gun out the window.
“There are two men in front,” I shout, only able to make out their figures. “The passenger is the only one shooting.”
My breathing is ragged as I focus on my target, and just as the man aims to fire again, I pull the trigger. It’s like time stands still as I wait. The man’s body jerks back against the seat. The driver suddenly veers to the right and then corrects himself.
When we pass a streetlight, I catch a peek at him attempting to grab what I assume is the passenger’s gun. I don’t give him a chance to find it. I aim the gun at his head and pull the trigger.
I’m too frustrated to realize I killed two men. These assholes have ruined the night I finally decided to sleep with my husband.
The man’s head snaps forward, and Benny swerves to the side of the back alley we entered. The other car darts ahead, plows straight into a dumpster, and immediately catches fire.
Benny shifts the Range Rover into park, jumps out, and sprints toward the car.
“Benny!” I shriek, dropping the gun on the center console. “Get away from there!”
It could blow up.
I could lose him.
No. No. No.
Panic surges through me, and I roll out of the Range Rover, not caring about my bare feet. I dash toward him as Benny peers into the car like he’s searching for something. He dips low, snagging something from the driver, and shoves it into his pocket while returning to me.
When he reaches me, he circles his arm around my waist and holds me at a distance to check me for any harm.
Sweat cakes his forehead, and there are glass cuts on his face from the shattered window. I attempt to brush them off his skin, but he catches my hand and presses a kiss to my palm.
My lower lip trembles. “Are you hurt?”
He shakes his head and tugs me into his chest. “I’m good.”
I shove my face into his shirt while he runs a hand down my hair. As my shoulders relax and my heartbeat tames, I push at his chest.
I point at him sternly. “Don’t you dare run toward a burning car again. Do you hear me? You could’ve died!”
More fear swarmed me when he ran toward that car than when a man held a gun to my head at our wedding.
Benny’s mouth twitches into a smirk.
I smack his chest. “You’re not untouchable, Benny!” My voice catches in my throat. “You can be killed. And I don’t think I can lose you!”
When I go to shove his chest again, he stops me and drags me back into it instead.
“You’re right. I’m not untouchable.” He brushes his fingers along my back to soothe me. “I told you I don’t make promises I can’t keep. Here’s one I can: I won’t leave you alone in this insufferable world, my dear wife. I’ll always come back to you.”
* * *
Benny holdsmy hand on the ride home as he talks to his father on the phone. Cristian’s voice flows through the Range Rover’s Bluetooth speakers and turns angrier the longer Benny explains what happened.
I declined Benny’s offer to call one of his guys to take me home. He didn’t think it’d be comfortable for me to ride in a shot-up SUV with no rear window on a chilly night. I don’t care about those things and said no. I want to return to the safe space of my home, and I need to be sure Benny is with me.
So many emotions are running through my mind that I can’t clutch a single one and focus on it. It took this for me to understand that even though I thought I had Mafia life figured out, I hadn’t scratched the surface. It’s more dangerous than I ever thought it could be.
“Come to the mansion,” Cristian instructs. “We’ll switch your vehicles, and you and Neomi can sleep here for the night.”