Chapter 56

MATTEO

“Don!” I screamed in horror.

Luca’s lifeless body slumped in the snow.

He wasn’t dead yet—I would have felt it if he were—but he was close. Very, very close.

I could feel the life leaving his body as if it were my own.

Minnie, who was holding onto my shoulder, nodded.

“Go.”

She dropped the gun.

I wasted no time sprinting to Luca.

“We need to get him into surgery!” I yelled.

I tried to pick him up, but he was too heavy. I couldn’t carry him on my own.

I looked at Zefiro.

“Help me!” I pleaded.

I didn’t care that I was trying to give orders to a man much more powerful than me.

If he killed my Don over some family dispute, I would not hesitate to show him hell, even if it meant I would die doing it.

Zefiro nodded once. “Francesco.”

Another Rossi, one I hadn’t noticed until that moment, stepped forward.

He looked just like Minnie and Zefiro—same black hair and dark features.

~Must be another child of Zefiro’s. A ~Rossi~ prince.~

Francesco nodded, then, in one quick movement, helped me hoist Luca up.

Zefiro approached Luca slowly, his eyes on me.

“May I?” he asked, motioning to Luca.

At first, I tensed up defensively. The Rossis were the reason we were in this mess in the first place.

But Zefiro Rossi hadn’t done anything untrustworthy yet.

~In fact, he might be the reason my family is alive and intact come tomorrow.~

I nodded slowly, giving Zefiro permission to come near.

Even in his unconscious state, Luca groaned in pain, his face contorting. I winced at the bullet-sized hole in his chest, blood spilling onto the white snow.

It would be a miracle if the Don made it through this.

Zefiro didn’t waste a second. “Minnie, can you operate on him?”

“Yes,” she said.

“Let’s take him inside then,” Zefiro said.

While I didn’t want to just hand him over to the Rossis, it’s not like we had much else of a choice. He was going to be dead any second.

We carried him inside, blood dripping in our path.

“Lay him out on the dining table,” Minnie instructed us as she laid out her instruments.

“It’s going to take a little while,” she said, putting on her most comforting smile. “His wounds are extensive. Can we clear the room so I can concentrate?”

I didn’t want to leave him. I wanted to know if we were going to have to live without our Don.

“I’m not going anywhere,” I gritted my teeth, holding my ground.

Minnie looked up at me with a concerned expression on her face.

“Please trust me,” she said sincerely. “I want to save his life.”

I had no idea why, but the way she looked at me softened me. I was starting to trust her. She didn’t have to do all this if she meant for him to die.

“Fine,” I said. “But I’ll be just outside.”

Outside the dining room I interrupted Zefiro and Francesco mid-conversation.

“Where is Angelina?” Zefiro asked his son.

My gaze snapped up to look at them. ~They’re looking for Angelina?~

Francesco shook his head.

“I searched everywhere for her. She’s nowhere near the house. She couldn’t have left more than an hour before we arrived.”

Zefiro sighed. “A coward like her grandfather, I see.”

I spoke up. “Is it possible she’s just past the border in the woods? My ~destino~ is out there with the Donna. I can ask them to search for her on their way back.”

“Don Luca’s ~destino~ is still nearby?” Zefiro asked.

“We…were trying to get her out before Antonio hurt her,” I said, cringing at the memory of the tears on Freya’s bruised cheeks. “It won’t take them long to get back after I explain what’s going on. The Donna will be beyond relieved.”

Zefiro shook his head. “No. The Don’s ~destino~ cannot come back. It will only distract him from the fight.”

I stood, not liking what he was saying. There was no way I could let the Donna go on thinking the way she was, thinking Luca hated her.

She needed to be with him as himself, not Antonio’s mind-controlled version of him. And the Don needed her by his side.

“With all due respect, sir, you don’t know the situation. ~Destinos~ are stronger when they are together. The Don needs her by his side to succeed in battle.”

~If he lives through the night, that is.~

“Not in this case,” Zefiro said. “She would be too much of a distraction. He’ll be disoriented to start with after the mind control serum wears off. His instinct will be to protect her, not the battle.”

“But the Don will never allow it,” I pushed back. “You don’t understand how he feels about the Donna—he’s crazy about her. He won’t even talk to you until he has her by his side. Even if it means leaving now, in the worst time possible to go find her. We should bring her back now.”

Zefiro apparently wasn’t going to back down.

“Don Luca ~will~ allow it because he knows this war will only put his ~destino~ in danger. He knows she’s better off somewhere far away, where Antonio cannot use her to bait him. If Antonio gets his hands on her tomorrow, it will all be over. She will die and we will lose.”

He sighed.

“I know you want to protect your Donna. The best way to do that is to keep her away. And if you don’t believe me, wait until the Don wakes up. Let him decide. I assure you he will say the same as I have. He is smart, and he knows good leadership is all about sacrifices.”

As much as I hated to admit it, Zefiro was right.

Luca probably would make that decision if he were conscious, even if it broke his heart.

Putting the Donna in danger was the last thing he would want.

I nodded solemnly.

“Fine. We’ll wait. I will update my ~destino~ without telling him to bring the Donna back. We will let the Don decide when he wakes up.”

“No,” Zefiro said yet again.

I raised an eyebrow.

~This ~Rossi~ really thinks he knows everything, doesn’t he?~

“You will tell your ~destino~ to return to the house and leave the Donna.”

I gaped at him. Was he insane? I wasn’t going to tell Elio to leave Freya alone in her most vulnerable hour.

“I’m sorry, there’s no way in hell. The Donna needs someone right now. He is staying with her.”

Zefiro shook his head again. “The Don will not be able to resist the temptation to go to his ~destino~ if he can easily track the family members with her. And the Donna will not be able to resist the temptation to come back to the Don if she sees that your ~destino~ knows something. You will tell your ~destino~ to return to the house. You will use rank if you have to. And he will leave the Donna behind where she is safe.”

The familiar weight of a Rossi’s mind control encased my body. He wasn’t suggesting that I do this—he was ordering me to.

I thought the mind control serum would have moved through my system by now.

“You’re commanding me to manipulate my own ~destino~ with my status as Atesso? To leave the Donna alone just when she needs someone the most?” I said, cold fury edging my voice.

Zefiro’s eyes narrowed as he recognized the threat in my voice.

“It seems you give me no choice,” he said.

I didn’t like the fact that a bunch of Rossis kept telling me what to do and exercising their mind control power over me.

“Do it now,” said Zefiro, “before the Don wakes up.”

I tried to fight the command and failed. I had to do what he told me.

Glaring once more, I called Elio. The phone rang a few times before he answered.

“Elio?” I said.

“Matteo?”

My ~destino~’s immediate response rang through my mind. Just the sound of his voice calmed my nerves.

“Are you okay?” he asked. “What happened?”

“I’m fine. Everything is okay,” I replied quickly. “I don’t have much time. You have to come back. But you can’t bring the Donna back.”

“What?” Elio snarled. “No way!”

“You have to.”

“Nope,” he snapped back. “Not doing that.”

I wasn’t being very convincing, mostly because I wasn’t entirely convinced by this plan myself.

“Please Elio,” I pleaded. “Don’t argue with me.”

My eyes met Zefiro’s glare.

“I have the right to argue with you,” Elio said.

“I don’t want to do this,” I sighed. “But Elio, I’m your Destro now. I outrank you. You have to follow my command.”

“Aren’t you the Atteso?”

“Not anymore,” I answered. “I’ll explain when you get here.”

“Matteo,” Elio said. “I can’t leave her. She won’t make it. She needs me.”

My hand shot to my head.”

“Don’t make me do this. Please. The Donna needs Elio right now—” I said to Zefiro.

“Whose making you do this?” Elio asked on the phone.

“Not now,” I replied. “Just come back. Leave the Donna. This isn’t a request, it’s a demand from your Destro.

There was silence on the other end of the line.

“Listen to me, Elio. The Donna is in danger. There’s a war coming, and she can’t be here for it. Please trust me. This is for the best. Come back.”

After a few more seconds of silence, Elio spoke.

“Yes, Destro,” he said plainly. “I’ll be there soon.”