He Made Me Bark, I Grabbed His Gun

Chapter 1

The gunshot exploded through the mansion.

I didn't shoot anyone.

I shot the marble tile beside Cassian Wolfe's foot.

The stone shattered, sending razor-sharp fragments flying into his polished Oxford shoes.

His whole body locked up.

Not from fear.

It was the kind of paralysis that happens when the brain is racing at full speed while the body refuses to obey a single command.

It took him a full three seconds to stumble backward and crash into one of the bodyguards behind him.

"You—"

He pointed at me.

His finger was shaking.

I ignored him.

Slowly, deliberately, I lifted the barrel from the floor and turned it to the right.

Isabella was still clutching Mama's hair, forcing her forehead against broken glass.

Blood trickled down Mama's temple.

"Isabella."

She looked up.

In that instant, I saw exactly what was in her eyes.

Not fear.

Calculation.

She was gambling.

Betting on whether I'd actually pull the trigger.

Whether I'd miss.

Whether I'd accidentally hit her.

"Let her go."

She released Mama faster than I expected.

Mama collapsed to the floor, one hand pressed against the back of her head as she struggled for breath.

"Mom, don't move yet."

"Mama, let me help—"

Santino tried to stand.

His right arm bent at an angle arms were never supposed to bend.

Every movement drew a sharp breath through his teeth.

"Don't move either, big brother."

I stepped around the coffee table and walked toward Cassian.

His two bodyguards immediately moved to block me.

"Put the gun down."

The one on the left raised a steel pipe and aimed it straight at me.

I studied his stance.

Weight forward.

Clean footwork.

Disciplined movement.

"You've trained in CQC."

His expression changed.

"You're not a regular bodyguard."

The pipe came down from above.

Faster than I'd expected.

I didn't dodge.

I shifted sideways.

The butt of my pistol smashed into the outside of his wrist.

A quiet c***k.

A muffled grunt.

The pipe hit the floor.

I drove my knee into his stomach.

He folded and collapsed.

The second man lunged in with a grappling hold.

I leaned back, slipped his choke attempt, trapped his wrist with my left hand, and used his own momentum against him.

His face slammed into the edge of the coffee table.

His nose shattered.

Blood poured through his fingers.

Less than ten seconds.

Both men were on the ground.

I crouched beside the one with the broken wrist and pulled a backup knife from his jacket.

Not because I needed it.

Because I preferred having options.

Then I spun Cassian's pistol in my hand and offered it back to him, grip first.

"A minute ago, you wanted proof I had guts."

I tilted my head.

"You got your proof."

"Now it's your turn."

"You said a lunatic ought to act like one, right?"

"Go ahead."

"Show me."

Isabella peeked out from behind the couch.

"Vivian, please calm down. Everything I've done was for the good of this family."

"You broke my brother's arm."

"You dragged Mama by the hair."

"You shoved her face into broken glass."

"You ordered her to bark like a dog."

I stared at her.

"You were raised in this house as a daughter for twenty years."

"Mama never denied you a single meal."

"Don't call me your sister."

"You haven't earned that right."

Her face went pale.

Her lips moved.

No words came out.

I turned away and crouched beside Santino.

Pressing the swollen wrist gently with the heel of my hand, I felt him flinch.

"Hang in there."

Then I looked across the destroyed living room.

"Isabella. Call an ambulance."

"My brother's fracture is displaced. Wait any longer and he'll end up in surgery."

She froze.

Looked at Cassian.

Then at the old leather armchair in the corner.

Papa sat there.

Blood stained the corner of his mouth.

Yet he hadn't moved an inch.

He was only watching me.

"Call."

His voice was rough but steady.

Twenty years as a Don.

One word was enough to silence an entire room.

Isabella trembled and reached for her phone.

Cassian finally found his voice.

"The Wolfe family controls every major shipping route on the East Coast."

"You touch me today, and tomorrow every shipment you own will rot in the Port of Naples."

"Lay one finger on me and I'll bury your entire family."

I glanced at my watch.

"I'm giving you ten seconds."

"Within ten seconds, you're going to kneel."

"Not to me."

"To Papa."

"To Mama."

"To my brother."

"You broke his hand."

"You pulled her hair."

"You made Papa cough up blood."

"Nine."

"Eight."

"Seven—"

Cassian's face shifted between green and white.

No one had ever counted him down before.

"Four."

"Three."

"Two—"

He dropped.

His knees slammed into the marble floor with a dull c***k.

I crouched beside Santino again and took hold of his wrist.

"Tonight, I'm letting you walk."

"Not because I can't kill you."

"Because Papa doesn't want blood on the floor tonight."

"Tomorrow, somebody else will settle your debt."

Santino grabbed my sleeve weakly.

"Vivi..."

"How do you know how to use a gun?"

Before I could answer—

Engines roared outside.

Not one vehicle.

Many.

Heavy SUVs rolling over gravel, the low vibration rattling the wineglasses on the coffee table.

Cassian's head snapped up.

The relief he'd been clinging to vanished instantly.

He recognized the sound too.

A second later—

Something slammed into the estate's iron gate.

Hard.