Mafia's Final Play (Mafia's Obsession #3) - Summer Cooper Page 0,60

other pocket. “Let’s go.”

Marie stayed quiet about the weapon, she didn’t care right now, she just wanted out of the house. They came down the stairs in a rush, the sound of the fire a raging roar that scared her shitless. She looked around as they came down the stairs and saw that the fire was at the front door too.

“We can’t get out there,” she cried and turned back to Matteo with a mask of fear on her face.

“We can do this, Marie, just stay calm. Here, put this over your face.” She’d started to cough as he spoke.

The sweater he had on yesterday helped to mask some of the fumes, but it was hard to breathe.

“Okay, jump over the banister and head to the kitchen. We’ll go out the window in there.” Tears from the smoke filled his eyes as he spoke close to her ear. “We will be right behind you. You can do this, Marie.”

“I can, I can.” She nodded but then she looked back at the front door. The flames had started to climb to the ceiling and the entire living room was already hidden by nothing but orange and blue flames. Acrid smoke filled the air, filled her lungs, and made her hair stink.

One more deep breath, a final look at Matteo, and then she went over the banister. She dropped down, stayed low, and headed into the kitchen. She couldn’t hear anything now but the roar of the fire as it ate away at the walls, the furniture, everything in the beautiful cabin she’d felt so safe in for so long now.

“You can do it! Keep going, Marie!” She heard Matteo shout over the roar of the fire.

She kept going, almost crawling, but she reached the windows in the kitchen. The flames weren’t in here yet, but the room was full of smoke. She waited for Matteo and Anton but opened the window to breathe fresh air. It was cold air, but she didn’t care, the heat in the house was unbelievable now, and she wanted to go out, wanted to run for the SUV, but couldn’t leave, not until Matteo caught up to her.

She was about to go back and look for him when he and Anton came into the room together. She hugged him quickly as Anton went out of the window first, followed by Matteo, then Marie. Matteo caught her and they headed for the warmth the SUV would offer them as they looked back at the house, the back side, the side where all the bedrooms were, was completely in flames. Marie stopped and gasped as she saw the flames climb onto the roof and begin to move swiftly.

“Come on, Marie. Get in the car, honey,” Matteo urged, just as a shot rang out from the trees in the distance. “Fuck.”

“Get down!” he called and all three of them dropped. He hit the button on the SUV, which gave away where they were headed, but it didn’t matter, it was their only way off this mountain.

“Stay down but move fast. We can do this Marie, we can. Don’t get up until we’re at the car, okay?” His face was easy to see in the moonlight, and the assurance in his eyes helped her to ignore the cold, wet snow that was soaking into her pajamas and left her shivering. She hadn’t even put a coat on before they left the house, just her robe.

“Yes, I understand.” There was terror in her voice and her face but she didn’t care. She was too terrified to try to hide it. “We can do this.”

“We can, baby, with each other. Come on now, let’s move. It’s going to be dangerous, baby, but it’s our only way out.”

Another shot rang out of the darkness, but they made it to the car before any more shots were fired.

Matteo stood up with Marie and she damned the idiot that thought turning lights on in cars when you opened the door was a good idea. It wasn’t now. It gave them away completely. Anton went around the other side, climbed in, and closed the door. Matteo was just about to shut the door on Marie’s side when another burst of shots rang out, over and over again, until she thought it would go on forever. “Matteo!”

She screamed his name, but he only closed the door as he grunted and pulled away. She saw him fall in the snow, but he got up and crawled to the