He went to pull away.
“Please don’t leave.” She didn’t know if she’d be able to cope if he left.
“Honey, they need to come in and deal with the body. You’re naked.”
She sobbed against his chest, and then he picked her up in his arms. She wrapped her legs around his waist.
“I’ve got you.” He settled her down on the bed and covered her up. When she heard the men come in, she shook in her husband’s arms.
Klaus had been wrong.
The hit hadn’t been put on him, but on her.
Chapter Eight
Klaus picked up a spent casing and examined the crimped end. “Another blank.”
“Why would they fire blanks at you?” asked Renzo.
He shrugged.
That assassination team had been well-trained. They rushed the house, took out his men, and would have killed his wife if he hadn’t gotten to the bedroom in time. He didn’t even have time to think. He just pulled the trigger.
Klaus had taken them all out, one by one, but they’d had plenty of opportunities to shoot him. He wasn’t bullet-proof. They’d distracted him, toyed with him as he hunted them around the main floor. It was his wife they were after.
Isabella was still asleep in the guest bedroom. Last night had taken a lot out of her. That asshole had come too close to ending her life.
The cleaning crew began filing out of his home, dragging their supplies with them in rolling buckets. “It’s as good as new, Klaus. You can eat off that floor.”
At least they’d be able to sleep in their own bedroom tonight. His crew was the best money could buy. Crime scenes were their specialty.
“They wanted Isabella dead,” said Renzo. “You know what this means.”
Yes, he fucking knew the hit had been on his wife, not him. His informant said the contract was for an Accardi, and Klaus had assumed Isabella’s father wanted him dead. He’d disrespected the man, gave him a quick beat down. It didn’t make sense for him to snuff out his own daughter.
“I’ve known since last night. They were trying to distract me. She was their target all along. I came way too close to losing her.”
“Pretty cold to put a hit on your only daughter.”
“That piece of shit can’t call himself a father.” Klaus paced the living room. “He’s going to pay for this.”
His security had been breached, three of his guards assassinated. It was important for him to provide a home for Isabella. A safe haven. It had been way too easy for his enemies to get through his front doors. He’d make sure to have a fucking arsenal in his bedroom and he’d beef up his security. But that wasn’t the answer. Unless he ended Carmello Lastra, Isabella would never be safe. They’d never be able to have the simple life they both craved.
“Should I get Father to order a hit?” asked Renzo.
“I don’t want him involved. This is my problem, not his.”
“Let me do it.”
He chuckled, clapping his younger brother on the shoulder. “Nice sentiment, but not going to happen.”
“I’ve been training my whole life. How many men can claim to be a better shot than I am?” asked Renzo.
“Me. If anyone’s going to put that fucker in the ground, it’s going to be me.”
“Isabella won’t hold that against you?”
He exhaled and walked to the kitchen. “The man tried to kill her. If she has any love left for him, I’ll have to get her therapy.” Klaus poured them both a coffee, then sat on a stool at the large island. The morning sun sent rays across the granite.
“It doesn’t make sense. Her father was so adamant about peace. He offered his daughter to join our families,” Renzo said. “If he wanted bloodshed, why bother with the wedding at all?”
“Last night, she would have died if I hadn’t gotten to our room in time. That’s the only thing replaying in my head.”
“I’ll keep my ears open. See what’s being said in the underground.”
His brother was thirty-two and climbing the ranks in the family. There was just part of Klaus that wanted to shelter his brothers, especially the younger Carlo. Imagining them dead was too much to even contemplate. Their world was blood and death, and although Klaus had always been fine with that, he wanted more for them.
This threat was his problem.
Lastra’s days were numbered.
Klaus knew it wouldn’t be as simple as killing the man. It could start a war between their families, blood flooding the streets once again. He’d have to be smart, handle it so it wouldn’t come back to him or the Accardi house.
After his brother left, he headed down to his gym. He had a lot of negative energy to burn. Working out helped him focus and he needed answers.
After running for an hour on the treadmill, he completed his punishing regime with the free weights. He was busy with the punching bag when he heard someone come into the gym.
It was Isabella. She wore one of his t-shirts and nothing more. Her long black hair fell loose over one shoulder.
“What are you doing down here, Klaus? I woke up and you were gone. I was worried.”
“I didn’t mean to scare you, baby.” He used his hand towel to wipe the sweat from his forehead.
He’d fucked up. Allowed one of his enemies to get his hands on his own wife. Klaus felt like a failure as a husband, as a man.
“Everything looks so normal upstairs. Like nothing happened.”
“The cleaning crew left a few hours ago,” he said. “Did you get a good rest?”
She nodded, walking into the room. “It’s like it was all a bad dream. You’d never know our room was covered in blood yesterday.”
“Don’t think about it, Bella.”
He hated that she had to deal with any of this bullshit. Her father was going to suffer for this.
“I’m not a civilian, Klaus. I’ve seen blood. I’ve seen death.”
Something wasn’t right. She was too in control, too relaxed for what she’d just been through. They may not have been married for
