I Knew She Was Going To Be A Problem

STEFANO

The moment I fired the first shot, Isabella burst out of the car along with her sister without looking back. They sprinted into the street and disappeared in seconds, slipping around the nearest corner they found. Seeing how she moved with precision and focus told me this wasn’t her first time encountering such a situation. Any woman would have panicked herself into doing something stupid, but she didn’t waver one bit.

A flurry of bullets was fired at me, snapping me out of my momentary distraction, causing me to duck my head back into the armored vehicle. My attackers were relentless, but I remained unfazed about the situation. Truth was, they couldn’t do shit to me as long as I stayed inside, and they knew it.

So, they started to advance.

I fired a couple of shots to slow their movement before slamming the door shut. Shifting into reverse, I pressed the accelerator with my foot, one hand braced against the headrest beside me as the car lurched backward across the asphalt. More bullets hit the windshield, but it didn’t break, so I drove away from their line of fire.

Once the car entered the street once again, I reached for my phone.

The number I called was on my second speed dial. It connected after two rings, like it always did.

“Piero,” I said calmly, my eyes flicking to the side view mirror to make sure no one was still following me. “I need backup. ASAP.”

There was a pause. “Where are you?”

I told him my location, and then he hung up. Since the situation was already being taken care of, I no longer bothered about the people chasing us and focused on finding Isabella and her sister. My instincts told me they hadn’t gone very far, probably in one of the dark alleys down the other side of the street.

Personally, I didn’t give a fuck about them.

From the moment I saw that lady, I knew she’d be trouble. She kept bowing her head and didn’t speak to others unless spoken to. If she had married one of those old men on the East Coast, she would have been the perfect, submissive wife, but things were quite different here. Our men liked our women more rebellious and opinionated, but that was not my problem.

The problem was that her presence right now put me in danger. It also meant that she and her sister needed to disappear before my uncle discovered the truth about one of the biggest mistakes I have ever made in my life. If I did not take care of this problem on time, I would surely lose my life.

My grip on the steering wheel tightened the more I thought about it. As much as I wanted to take advantage of the present situation, now was not the appropriate time to get rid of her. It would be difficult to explain to my uncle if his wife died on her wedding day. And Don Salvatore was not a man who tolerated mistakes.

So, I parked the car somewhere discreet before searching for them on foot. There was no way Isabella could have gone far with the heavy wedding dress she wore and a child trailing behind her, but I refused to be careless about the situation.

After searching for a few more minutes, I grew irritated when I didn’t find her. If she were smart, she should have hidden in a fire escape or behind some dumpster nearby, but the lady and her little sister seemed to have vanished completely without a trace. Just when I was contemplating reaching out to my uncle to inform him of the situation, my steps slowed just when I was about to walk past the back entrance of a building.

My eyes narrowed at the door that swayed slightly open. I gripped my gun tight as I edged towards the door.

Had she gone in there?

I pushed open the door with one hand while holding my weapon in the other, letting sunlight illuminate the entire place. It looked like the back kitchen of a restaurant, but there was no sign of activity in the place. I scanned the area one more time before turning around to leave.

That’s when I heard it.

A faint whimper from my right.

I quickly changed directions to track down the sound, but I barely took three steps before I felt something cold and sharp nestled against my throat. My mafia instincts immediately kicked into full gear as I shot out to grab the wrist holding the knife. With a sharp twist, I disarmed my attacker with the knife in less than five seconds, but then a feminine cry pierced through my ears afterward.

Then, I realized it was Isabella.

I quickly released her wrist and shoved her away from me. Her little sister came out of her hiding place behind a stainless-steel counter, her tiny hands still clamped firmly over her mouth.

The sight made me frown. “Seriously? This was the place you decided to hide?”

Isabella didn’t respond, but instead, glared at me while rubbing her aching wrist. Her black, luscious hair was no longer in a low bun, but instead fell across her bare shoulders in waves. Her honey-brown eyes and light freckles scattered across her cheeks gave her a soft glow despite the defiant aura she radiated.

Interesting.

I pushed back my thoughts before saying to her, “We need to leave right now.”

“Yeah, no shit,” she mumbled under her breath.

 My eyebrows shot up after hearing her cuss, but what really shocked me was when she picked the knife from the floor and cut through the dirty layers of the skirt, revealing her silver heels in one clean motion. Once she was done, she let go of the knife and reached for her sister’s hand.

Then she walked past me without another word.

I watched her for a second longer than necessary, watching her curvy body sway with those smooth, long legs.

Yeah, she was definitely going to be a problem.