Page 88 of The Don's Secret Heir

A split second later, he curses and shoves me down on the ground, behind a crate. Bullets whiz by us and my heart threatens to gallop out of my chest.

Dario draws his gun, shooting back and the cry of someone in pain fills my ears. Good. He got one of them.

Why would he bring me here? Why would he put me in danger?

I peek around the crate to see Dario tackling one of the gunmen. Some of the others scramble to their feet, running away. There’s only one man on the ground, presumably dead, and the one that Dario is grappling with.

“Who sent you?” Dario hisses, hitting the man again and again. He’s absolutely pummeling him, towering over the smaller man.

Something cold snaps in my lower abdomen and it starts to heat up, instead. I’m utterly terrified, but I’m aroused, too, watching him handle it.

Growing up in this lifestyle has clearly warped me.

“Don’t kill me,” the man babbles. Dario stops hitting him, breathing hard and looking down at him.

“I’ll take your pinky first,” Dario says, like a madman, but it’s calculated and his low tone sends another thrill through my body. “Then your thumb?—”

“No, no, I’ll talk. Whatever you want to know, boss.”

“Who sent you here?”

He hesitates and Dario hits him again, making the smaller man spit out blood onto the floor.

"Beth,” he finally rasps out. “She sent me to kill you.”

Dario stops hitting him and stands up, pulling his gun from the back of his pants.

“No, wait—” The man’s pleas are cut short by two gunshots muffled by a silencer.

I clap my hand over my mouth to keep from screaming.

Beth? What was he talking about? Beth didn’t do this. She wouldn’t send someone to kill Dario. He’s her cousin.

Just because they don’t get along doesn’t mean she’d....

Would she?

My breath catches in my throat. She knows Dario is Sonny’s father. She knows how I used to feel about him...

She wouldn’t.

Wouldn’t.

I stand up shakily and Dario turns toward me, panic evident on his face.

“Are you hurt? Hit?”

His hands hover over my sides, not quite touching.

I shake my head. “I’m okay. I’m not hurt, but... what is this, Dario? What are you trying to prove?”

“That you can’t trust Beth!” he blurts out, running a hand through his hair. “That you need to stay with me. You’ll be safe with me, Li.”

Safe?

“I just watched you kill two men right in front of me,” I say flatly. “And you think that makes me feel safe?”

“I had to! They were after me?—”