Lucien - Silvia Violet Page 0,48
scared since the night my parents died, and this time I couldn’t run. I couldn’t do anything but pray Lucien could find a way to save me. In that moment, I didn’t care what Lucien had done. I didn’t care that I’d seen firsthand how cruel he could be. I knew he cared about me, and I knew he would do anything he could to save me.
Lucien moved closer, his gun out and pointed at the man who slowly moved backward, still determined to drag me away.
“Come any closer and I’ll kill him,” the man said.
Lucien shook his head. “No, you won’t. Your boss wants him for collateral. He doesn’t want him dead.” How did Lucien know that?
“I can hurt him, though. I can hurt him real bad.”
“And you’ll be dead before he even feels it. I’m giving you until three to let him go.”
What was Lucien going to do? If he shot the man, he could easily squeeze the trigger and kill me before he died. And if Lucien’s shot was even a little bit off target, he would hit me.
“Please. Be careful, Lucien.”
“You should listen to your boy.”
Lucien looked at me as if trying to communicate something, but I wasn’t sure what it was. He focused back on my attacker. “One. Two.” A sound came from behind us. The man turned, aiming his gun at whoever was there.
“Head down,” Lucien yelled. I barely comprehended the words before my attacker fell backward. Lucien had shot him. I pulled myself away, tripping and falling to my knees then crawling, wanting to put as much distance between me and the man as I could. Then Lucien was there, pulling me into his arms.
“It’s okay, baby. He’s dead.”
The world wavered in front of me. The last thing I remembered was Lucien’s fingers stroking my cheek.
When I woke, I was lying in the backseat of a car, a blanket over me. I panicked for a moment until I saw Angelo sitting beside me. “Are you all right?”
“I’ve got the worst fucking headache I’ve ever had, but otherwise, I’m fine. Physically, anyway. I’m not fine that I let that guy surprise me. If he’d hurt you, I don’t know what Lucien would’ve done.”
“I’m sure he’d have found someone else. There are plenty of men prettier than me, and surely some of them have stronger stomachs.”
Angelo huffed. “It’s only because of what I’ve seen that it didn’t bother me. I would worry if you were okay with it.”
“We all could’ve died tonight.”
“True. But we didn’t, so we count it as a success.”
How could he sound so nonchalant? “Does the money and power really make this worth it?”
“Most of the time.”
“Are you all right, really?”
“I am.” He was silent for a moment, then he added. “Don’t hate Lucien for what he did tonight. Those men were pieces of shit, and they knew the score.”
Were Lucien and his family any better? They were all criminals who were willing to do whatever it took to stay on top. How did they justify that?
“Yeah, we’re bad guys too,” Angelo said as if he’d read my thoughts. “But Lucien cares about you.”
“He told you that?” I couldn’t quite imagine it.
Angelo snorted. “He didn’t have to.”
“But you don’t trust me.”
“I didn’t, but I do now. You gave us information that helped us tonight. We wouldn’t have been as prepared if we hadn’t gotten that tip, and even when that man had his arm around your neck, you tried to protect my brother. Loyalty like that can’t be bought. That’s the real deal.”
He was right. Even after what I’d seen, I’d still wanted to protect Lucien. When I thought the man who’d tried to take me away was going to kill Lucien, I felt like my whole world was ending. But how could I love someone who could do the things Lucien did?
When we reached the house, Angelo followed me upstairs. “I really just need to be alone in my room.”
He frowned. “I’m supposed to stay with you.”
“Don’t you need to rest?”
He shook his head, then winced. “Since I’ve got a head injury, I’m supposed to stay awake for a while.”
With anyone else, I would’ve questioned how effective a guard he could be when he was injured, but I knew that nothing would stop him from doing what Lucien wanted.
He checked out my room, making sure no one was hiding there. I would have thought that was overkill before tonight, but neither of us had noticed that man hiding just outside the