I’m not afraid of dying. I welcome it. I’m certain that when I meet my maker, he’ll see that all the blood I’ve shed over the years was done with good intentions. I’m not evil; I won’t just take a life to take one. No, each life I’ve taken has been in the name of protection.

I tell myself this over and over again as I prepare to pull the trigger. I woke to the sound of breaking glass. The difference between the mob and a hired killer is that mob soldiers don’t give a shit who knows they are there. They’re willing to give up their life for the end goal, their target’s death. A trained killer moves without being noticed. The end goal for a hired gun is to get in an out without anyone knowing they were there. That’s how I know this son of a bitch works for the mob.

Without hesitation, I pull the trigger. The only sound that fills the room is the sound of the body hitting the floor. Thanks to my little Sparrow 22, I’m the best of both worlds. 9mm with a silencer makes me as stealthy as a hired gun but twice as deadly because I’m a mob soldier willing to die for what I believe in.

I cross the room, bending down to get a good look at my enemy’s face. I’m not prepared for the face I see. Why the fuck is Matteo Esposito breaking into Bethany’s house?

I hear my phone vibrating in the room down the hall. I sprint down the hall. The caller ID says ‘Dad.’ “Sir,” I say when I answer the phone.

“Angelo,” my father speaks, “you need to be on the watch for Vincent and Matteo Esposito. It’s not the Westies causing all these problems. It’s the Espositos.”

“What the fuck, sir? How is that possible?”

I call my father sir out of respect for him. He may be my father, but he is also the head of the family now, which makes him my boss.

My father begins to fill me in. The Westies refusing to sit at the table had nothing to do with any vendetta against the Vicci family. No, it had everything to do with their decision to pull out of New York and focus the majority of their time on New Jersey. As far as they were concerned, enough blood had been shed between the McGrath and the Vicci families. With Francesco’s death, they were willing to move on. Unfortunately, Matteo Esposito wasn’t going to let that happen. When Lillian went off to college instead of marrying his son, Vincent, the merger of two families never happened. That means that Matteo was slighted at the opportunity to become the next mob boss. The position that my father filled by being Francesco Vicci’s best friend.

Matteo Esposito has been making it look like it has been the Westies all along, when in fact his men and a few traitors from inside the Westies who didn’t like the idea that New York was no longer going to be their stomping grounds joined forces. That’s the problem with mob families; there is always someone looking to get ahead by lying, cheating, and backstabbing.

“Well, Matteo Esposito is no longer an issue, sir. He’s lying here dead on my floor. I just shot him.”

“There will be more. They are coming after you, Angelo. It is not the Vicci women who are in danger. It is you and anyone around you.”

“Understood,” I tell my father

“I’m sending Gabrielle and Lorenzo to help you,” my father informs me. “There will be bloodshed like no other now that you have killed Matteo. I will check in with you tomorrow. They should arrive any minute. I sent them when all this started unfolding. I knew you’d need assistance. If Matteo is there, then I assure you so are Vincent and his men.”

Immediately, my thoughts go to Bethany and Peanut. They are no longer as safe as I thought they were. All this time, I had been preparing for the enemy to be coming for Lillian and Isabella, not me. I toss my phone on the ground and sprint to Bethany’s room. Quietly, I reach for the handle and push the door open. The room is dark except for the light on the bedside table. I look around the room. Her bed is empty, and there is no sign of her anywhere. I immediately know something is wrong; I can feel it in my gut. Peanut. She’s got to be with him. Without hesitation, I move quickly to his room. I’m not quiet this time. No, this time, I’ve got my gun drawn, and I’m ready to kill if need be.

I push the door open to Peanut’s room. The sight of Bethany and Peanut bound and gagged has me stopping in my tracks. Vincent Esposito stands beside them. His gun is drawn as if he is ready to shoot both of them, but my movement has him immediately turning his gun on me.

“Angelo,” he snarls. “Glad you could join the group. I’ll give you two seconds to drop your gun, or I won’t hesitate to end either of their lives.”

I look at Bethany and Peanut. They are scared and crying. Bethany’s eyes are pleading with me not to let anything happen to Peanut. “Fine, Vincent, you win. I’ll put my gun down if you let them go.”

Vincent’s evil laugh echoes in the night. “The tough Angelo Rizzuto isn’t so tough when his piece of ass and her boy are in trouble. You’re pathetic, you know that, right? You’re letting a piece of pussy make you weak.”

My blood boils at his words. Not because he’s calling me weak, but because he referred to Bethany as a piece of pussy. But I can’t let my emotions show, so I stand there with no expression on my face. “It has nothing to do with her being a piece of pussy.” Just saying the words makes me sick. “This beef is between you and me.” My gun is still drawn and pointing at Vincent. “They are merely a job for me and nothing more.”

“Oh, is that so?” Vincent looks pleased with himself as he steps closer to Bethany, placing the butt of his barrel against her head. “So, if I ended her life, it would not break yours?”

Deep down, Vincent knows that he’s right. If anything happens to Bethany, it will destroy me, but I continue to lie. “I couldn’t care less. As I said, she is just a job, but you would hurt Lillian.” I toss her name out there like it’s his lifeline. At one time he loved her, and I’m desperate enough to hope that he still cares.

“I couldn’t care less about Lillian. That bitch became dead to me the day she let you fuck her.”

Vincent must notice the surprise in my eyes. “Yeah, that’s right. I know all about your sick and twisted love life. The minute you thought you were away from the family, you fucked her. I’ve been watching you since the day you stole my opportunity to become the head of this family. You took away what rightfully belonged to me and my father. We should be the ones running the family, not you, and sure as hell not your father.”

Vincent is so preoccupied with his anger for me that he doesn’t notice the two men who pass by the window. But I see them. Gabrielle and Lorenzo are here. All I need to do is buy some time, and I know that Bethany and Peanut will be just fine.

“You’d have never had the opportunity to run this family. Both you and your father are too weak to rule an empire. Besides, your father will never have the opportunity now that he is dead in the other room.” I see the shift in Vincent immediately. “That’s right, you piece of shit. I killed your father, and now I will kill you.”

Vincent moves his gun from Bethany’s head and points it directly at me. “I gave you an opportunity to let them go, and you chose not to. Now I will kill you.”

Vincent laughs. “Not if I kill you first.”

I see the movement of his finger and pull my trigger first, but not fast enough. Vincent gets a shot off before he falls to the ground from my bullet. I feel the sting of his bullet hit my chest. Pain like I’ve never felt before crashes through my body. I see the fear in Bethany’s eyes as she watches me fall to the ground, but it’s Peanut’s eyes that gut me. I want to speak, but I can’t. Everything around me is fuzzy. All I can see is the darkness coming for me and winning. My eyes close, and my world goes black.

I know, I know. This book can’t end this way, right? Angelo can’t die. Well, you’re right. I won’t leave you hanging like this. No, Angelo doesn’t die, but I can’t tell you the rest of his story. Stay tuned for Book 4 coming in 2019. This will be the final novella in the Love At Last Series and rightfully, the story will come full circle with Angelo and Bethany.

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