tree meant nothing to him. The ornament I gave him meant nothing to him. The bracelet I wore on my wrist that very moment didn’t mean a damn thing. “You’ll regret this, Cato. My memory will haunt you every day for the rest of your life. You won’t be able to look at her without thinking of me. When she grows into a beautiful woman, you’ll see my face every fucking day—and you’ll hate yourself for what you did.”
He continued to point the gun at me. “Tell me you’re sorry.”
“Sorry?” I hissed. “I’m about to be shot, and you want me to apologize to you? Asshole, I’m not sorry. I’m not sorry that I lied to you to save my father. I’m not sorry I ran away to save my life. You call me a traitor, but I’m a survivor. And I would do it all over again in a heartbeat. So fucking shoot me. Just fucking do it.”
He held the gun steady with his finger on the trigger. His expression was relaxed but angry. There didn’t seem to be any conflict in his gaze, no pain over the decision he had to make. There was no remorse for what he was about to do.
How did I fall in love with someone so evil?
Then Cato lowered the gun. “You’ve served your punishment. You can get up now.”
I stayed on my knees because the fear hadn’t passed just yet. A second ago, a gun had been pointed at me, and I thought my life would end. I would never see my daughter grow up, never attend her wedding. And then it turned out to be some sick punishment for the things I’d done. “You fucking—”
Bates drew his pistol, aimed at my head, and pulled the trigger.
Everything went black.
9
Cato
The gunshot rang in the air.
Siena collapsed to the ground. Blood seeped from her wound.
She didn’t move.
I’d seen everything that happened, but I couldn’t process the violence that had just occurred right in front of me. I’d executed hundreds of people in this very spot, and not once had I been so deeply disturbed. But now all the air left my lungs, and I couldn’t move a single inch.
Bates shot her.
So much rage. It was explosive, violent. I’d had my brother’s back until the end of time, but that loyalty had been severed in a single second. He tricked me into doing this, tricked me into this ruse so he could kill her himself.
My instinct was to draw my weapon and kill him right then and there.
But Siena was all that mattered.
I sprinted to her in front of the fountain. “Siena!” I cupped her face and checked her pulse.
She was still alive.
Blood matted her hair and hid the wound from view. I pulled it back and tried to examine the damage. “Baby, come on!” There was too much blood for me to see what happened, how deep the bullet went. “Get the car! Now! Someone tell Giovanni to watch the baby!”
My men worked to pull the car around so I could get to the hospital, and one ran inside to alert Giovanni.
“She’ll be fine,” Bates said. “I just grazed her scalp.”
I lifted Siena from the ground and carried her to the car. My arms were shaking from the fury deep inside my veins. It didn’t matter how mild the wound was. He’d fucking shot her. I slid her into the back seat then gave him a look full of threat. “When I get back, I will kill you. And I mean that literally.”
His face took on the color of fresh snow.
I didn’t have time to make good on my word, so I got into the back seat and told the driver to drive as fast as possible. “Siena, wake up.” I ripped a piece of my shirt and tied it around her head to stop the bleeding. The bullet injured her scalp just above her ear. Her blood dripped everywhere, getting on the leather and the carpeted floors.
She was losing a lot of blood for just a graze.
“Fuck.” I kept up the pressure and stared at her face, seeing her cheeks turn to milk. “Baby…stay with me.”
I got her to the hospital and into a room instantly. The doctor arrived just seconds after we did and examined the wound in her skull. The hair in the area had to be shaved so the doctor could figure out what to do.
I stood off to the side, never so scared in my entire life. I rubbed