Matteo shook his head. "I'm not so sure he's going to hand over the key."
"Whatever, I can hotwire it," she said, glancing in the driver's side window. "Go get me a screwdriver and some bubble gum. I'll MacGyver this shit in about five minutes."
"Please don't." Dante reached into his pocket and pulled out the key. "Take it for a drive, if you want, but don't defile it."
Genna swung his way so fast she nearly knocked herself off balance. "Seriously?"
"Take it," he said, dangling the key. "Just bring yourself back in one piece."
Genna squealed, snatching the key from him. "You're still not driving my Lincoln."
"I'm not surprised."
She skipped over to the McLaren. "Come on, Matty, let's go for a joyride."
Dante scowled. "I didn't say he—"
Before he could finish, Gabriella swung around in his arms and clamped her hand down over his mouth. Her expression was stern, that 'say another word and I'll cut you' kind of glare that silenced him.
Matteo walked around to the passenger side of the car as Genna unlocked the doors. Dante glanced over at them, still scowling, not saying a word about it, before he looked back at Gabriella.
"Good boy," she whispered, removing her hand from his mouth to kiss him.
"You're lucky I love you," he said, "because I would've bit your hand off if I didn't."
Gabriella laughed, her gaze flickering past him, over his shoulder. There was a glint in her eye as her expression slowly fell. It happened in slow motion, the melting of ice, washing away the elation, the drip-drop of fear settling in, trickling through her. Mere seconds passed, but to Dante, the moment was a lifetime. A lifetime, because he'd seen that look before. He'd seen that look before many times, but he'd only caused it once. The spinning of a film reel, a lifetime of memories playing through someone's mind, a life that could be gone in the blink of an eye.
Terror took over every bit of Gabriella, her mouth dropping open and a lone word slipping out. "Fuck."
Fuck.
Heart hammering hard against his rib cage, Dante turned, every inch of him rigid as fear coated his insides, the blood in his veins ice cold. Ten feet separated him from a gun. It aimed right at his chest, clutched in the unsteady hand of a livid man. Civello. A finger touched the trigger, eager to shoot, as a set of unnerved eyes darted around at the group, like maybe he was thinking twice about doing it, second-guessing this decision. The guy was alone and severely outnumbered. Dante was unarmed, but the guy had to know he wouldn't get far. Tweedle-Whatever wasn't a genius, but he couldn't be that stupid.
Could he?
Don't do it. Dante stared at him. Don't fucking do it.
Seconds passed, strained seconds. Nobody else seemed to notice, and Dante couldn't get his goddamn voice to work to warn anyone. He was a deer frozen in a blinding beam of light until Civello shifted, making his decision. Shit.
The guy frantically bounced from person to person before his gaze settled on Dante's car. Genna opened the driver's side door, oblivious, still laughing. Ding ding. Anger turned to shock before succumbing to intense rage. The man's nostril's flared, the gun aiming past Dante at the noticeably pregnant Genevieve Galante.
Grabbing Gabriella, Dante yanked her out of the line of fire, dragging her away from the curb, hoping she was smart enough to get out of there. "Go!"
Gabriella ran.
"Gun!" someone screamed, chaos ensuing, the neighborhood erupting in mayhem. Dante sprinted for the car, grabbing Genna just as gunfire cut through the air, a stream of bullets raining down on them. Pain and panic; fear and fury. It swarmed him, burning him from the inside, as he dragged his sister to the sidewalk, shielding her body with his own.
Dante watched, his vision blurry, as Gavin pulled out a gun and started unloading on the son of a bitch.
"It's okay," Dante said. "Just stay down."
"Matty," Genna cried, trying to wiggle free. "Where's Matty?"
"Jesus Christ, Genna, stop," Dante growled. "Wait a goddamn second."
A second was all she gave him. The gunfire came to an abrupt stop and Genna shoved against him. Dante loosened his hold, giving her enough room to slip away, hauling herself to her feet. "Matty?"
"I'm fine," Matteo said, standing up from beside the car. Genna threw herself at him, crying, knocking him back down.
Dante climbed to his feet, dazed, trying to assess the situation but everything was a blur. Adrenaline