The Mafia’s Forbidden Desire

ANTONIO.

“Antonio.” Rosalinda whispered in fear as she clung to my side, seeking a sense of protection.

“I’ll not let anything happen to you, Rosalinda. Or your son. I promise.” I assured. “Just follow me until we get to the car.”

We continued walking in the direction of the car while I consciously noted the number of men following us. I have counted five so far, but there could be more. Hopefully, they won’t attempt to attack in public; that would give us the chance to get Rosalinda and Carlo to safety before they strike.

Once we reached the car, I promptly got Rosalinda and Carlo inside first, before rushing to the driver’s side of the car and jumping in.

Without hesitation, I turned the ignition on and slammed my foot on the gas, powering up the road.

“You and Carlo should stay down.” I urged Rosalinda as I continued driving.

I couldn’t spot them following us yet, but I knew it was only a matter of time.

“Who are they?” Rosalinda asked, her voice filled with fear and horror.

Sighing, I muttered. “If my guess is right, it’s Diego.”

“Why would-” Her words were cut off, replaced by a scream, when the sound of a gunshot erupted and a bullet pierced through the glass immediately.

Suddenly, another car came between ours and the attackers. Within a millisecond, they started exchanging gunfire, distracting them from my own car and giving me the time to escape with Rosalinda and Carlo.

“Are you okay? Is Carlo hurt?” I asked Rosalinda, and her voice was barely audible as she replied with trembling lips.

“We are fine.”

Carlo was terrified and wouldn’t stop crying at the top of his lungs. He was just a child and didn’t have to experience this. Regret weight heavy on my chest at the thought of exposing him to danger. Knowing my cover had been blown, I shouldn’t have taken him out. But wanting to please my son, I stupidly did.

I drove so fast until I was out of the attack’s reach, and that was with the help of Vito, Marco, and Luca, who distracted them.

“I’m taking you to my place.” I informed her once the sound of the gunfire battle faded out. “I’ll take you both home once it’s safe.”

The Moretti mansion was a bit far, and I needed to get them both to safety as soon as possible.

“Why would Diego come after you? Does he know about what happened?” She asked curiously as she peeked up to look at me.

She and Carlo were still curled under the car, fearing that the attackers might appear from nowhere.

“Yes.” I sighed regretfully.

I was still perplexed at how he retrieved the footage from the area around the explosion after I deleted them, but I planned to find out.

Another wave of fear hit her, as evidenced by the way her facial muscles tightened.

“This is because of me.” She said to herself as she began to shake her head vigorously, tears rapidly streaming down her face.

Upon seeing the tears rolling down his mother’s face, Carlo’s cries also intensified.

Shit!

“Rosalinda, you aren’t at fault. Trust me.” I tried to reassure her, but she wouldn’t listen.

She kept shaking her head, wallowing in self-loathing as she blamed herself for everything that was happening. All attempts to get her to understand that none of it was her fault and that I was the one who wasn’t careful enough failed.

By the time we reached my place and took them to my room, she had finally stopped crying, but the guilt she carried was written all over her.

Carlo, on the other hand, still looked very scared and was still crying. No matter what his mother did to try to calm him, he wouldn’t stop crying. She rocked him in her arms and patted his back to comfort him, but it was to no avail, and she was starting to get frustrated. Coupled with the guilt she carried with her, she looked to be going through emotional turmoil.

I knew I needed to do something about Carlo before leaving to join my men in the combat with the attackers.

“Be a good boy and stop crying.” I told Carlo as I prompted Rosalinda to put him in my hands.

Cradling him on my waist and using my thumb to wipe the tears off his cute face, I continued. “You’re safe. I promise you.”

Surprisingly, he suddenly stopped crying and looked at me with teary eyes.

“Are you sure?” He asked, and I nodded assuringly.

“You’re safe, Carlo. I’ll never let you get harmed.” I assured him again.

Rosalinda narrowed her eyes as her gaze darted between Carlo and me.

“I have been trying to get him to shut up. How did you do it?” She asked, perplexed.

“Maybe he just needed some sense of protection.” I told her as I placed him back in her arms.

As much as I would’ve loved to stay with them, I had to go back and help my men.

Leaning in, I placed a gentle kiss on Rosalinda’s forehead.

“It’s not your fault.” I reassured her again, and she gave me the fakest smile I had ever seen.

Exhaling sharply, I turned around and walked out of the room, intending to go help my men out. But I hadn’t even reached my car when their car drove in.

It looked like a total mess. All the glasses were broken, and every single part of the car was designed with bullet holes. Repairing the car would take a lot of time.

“What happened?” I asked impatiently, my gaze darting between the three of them as they got out of the car and started approaching me.

“They are all dead. We tried to keep at least one of them alive, but we couldn’t.” Marco told me.

I exhaled sharply, relieved that my men were at least fine.

“Find out who those people were. Check the security cameras in that area.” I instructed them before swiftly turning around and starting to walk back inside the house. “I’ll call Diego to ask if they were his men.”

“Boss, there’s another issue.” Marco told me, but I didn’t bother to stop.

“Whatever it is, I’m sure it can wait. It can’t be bigger than the issue at hand.” I said.

“It’s bigger, even worse.” He said with urgency, prompting me to finally stop in my tracks and pay attention to him.

Turning to look at him, I asked. “What is it?”

“It’s Camilla.” He said, blowing out a sharp breath.

“What happened to Camilla?” I asked.

When he hesitated to answer, a sickening possibility began to churn within me.

“What happened to Camilla?” I growled as I began to take long strides towards him.

“She, Uhm…” He took his hand to his temple and scratched it. “She called me, asking for help. But before I could ask what happened, she began to muffle, as if she were struggling. It seems she was abducted, boss.”

“Fuck, Diego!” My voice thundered as I stomped my foot hard on the floor.

Uncontrollable rage began to travel through my veins, boiling every drop of my blood. I would so fucking kill him!

Without hesitation, I pulled my phone out of my pocket and dialled Diego’s number, pacing impatiently as I waited for him to pick up.

“Don Antonio.” He said so casually from the other end of the phone when he picked it up. As if he didn’t just send men after my life and kidnapped my sister.

“Look here; whatever you think you have against me, let it remain between me and you. Do not involve my sister.” I growled into the phone.

“What are you talking about?” Diego asked, feigning ignorance.

“Where is she?” I asked, not willing to play his game of ignorance. “You sent your men after me and even kidnapped my sister over false allegations. Diego If you so much as hurt a single hair on her head, I swear to God, I would kill you.”

“Unlike you, I own up to whatever I do. And believe me when I say I don’t know what you are talking about. I didn’t send men after you. I didn’t kidnap your sister.” He blatantly denied, and I drew my brows closely together in confusion.

“And don’t get me wrong; I have plans to attack you, but I want to get my facts 100 percent right first. I want to be sure you were the one who blew up my car.” He continued.

“If it wasn’t you, then who?” I asked, more to myself.

“I don’t know. I’m sure you have lots of enemies. Figure out who wants you gone the most.” He said and ended the call immediately, leaving me to wonder who actually wanted me dead.