Ortensia was already crying inside, she squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to see what was happening... three men against Vito. Then, the car door swung open and she screamed, "Please! Please don't take me!"
"Doll… it's okay. It's me," Vito said softly, his voice grounding her like an anchor in a storm. She lifted her tear-streaked face, and he gently wiped her cheeks with his thumb.
"Hey, it's okay," he whispered, steady and calm, though his eyes still burned with violence.
Her hands trembled as she clutched his. "You killed them?" she asked, her voice breaking.
"It was either them or us," he replied quietly, holstering his gun. He didn't want to tell her the truth that those men were after her. She didn't need that fear sitting in her chest.
He turned toward the bodies,
