Chapter 10: The Target
1680 Words
Alessia’s POV
BANG!
The sound tears through the chapel.
For a second, I can’t move.
Then Dante grabs me.
He pulls me down just as another shot echoes through the room.
I hit the floor behind the pew.
People scream.
Chairs scrape across the floor as guests rush for cover. Someone knocks over a table, sending glasses crashing onto the ground.
I press a hand against my chest.
My heart is pounding so hard it hurts.
Dante stays in front of me, shielding me from the rest of the chapel.
“Stay down.”
His voice is calm.
Too calm.
“Dante…”
“Are you hurt?”
I shake my head.
“No.”
His eyes move quickly over me.
Then he looks at his sleeve.
There is blood on it.
My breath catches.
“You’re bleeding.”
“It’s not mine.”
Before I can ask anything else, Matteo rushes toward us.
“Boss!”
Dante looks up.
“Lock the doors.”
“Already done, Boss.”
“Then make sure nobody gets through.”
Matteo nods and runs off.
Dante turns back to me.
“Stay here.”
He starts to move.
I grab his arm.
“Where are you going?”
“To find the shooter.”
“You can’t leave me.”
His eyes meet mine.
For a moment, the noise around us seems to disappear.
“You’re not alone.”
He looks toward his men.
“Stay with her.”
Two guards immediately move closer.
Dante pulls his arm from my grip.
“Dante…”
He pauses.
I don’t know what I want to say.
Be careful?
Don’t leave me?
I’m scared?
None of the words come out.
He gives me one last look.
Then he disappears into the crowd.
I watch him go.
And for the first time since I met him, I realize something.
I’m not afraid of Dante.
I’m afraid of what might happen if something happens to him.
***
Dante’s POV
The chapel is chaos.
My men move quickly, pushing the guests away from the windows and doors.
“Check every entrance,” I order.
“Yes, Boss.”
Matteo reaches me.
“We’ve locked the chapel.”
“Good.”
“What about the shooter?”
“Nothing yet.”
I look toward the back of the chapel.
The shooter had a clear view of Alessia.
That wasn’t random.
He knew exactly where she would be standing.
He knew the ceremony.
He knew the time.
He knew the layout.
Someone gave him information.
“Check the guest list.”
Matteo frowns.
“You think one of the guests is involved?”
“I think someone helped him.”
Matteo nods and walks away.
I turn toward the west entrance.
A guard is kneeling near the wall.
He looks up when he sees me.
“Boss.”
“What did you find?”
He holds up a small weapon.
“This was behind the last row of seats.”
I take it from him.
My jaw tightens.
“Was it fired?”
“No.”
I look at him.
“So there were two weapons.”
“Yes.”
That changes everything.
The first shooter may have been a distraction.
The second weapon could mean there was another person inside.
I look across the chapel.
My eyes find Alessia immediately.
She is still behind the pew.
Sofia is beside her.
Two guards stand in front of them.
She’s safe.
For now.
I turn back to Matteo.
“Get everyone out.”
“Everyone?”
“Except my men.”
He nods.
“And the bride?”
I look at Alessia.
“She stays with me.”
***
Alessia’s POV
The chapel slowly becomes quieter.
Guests are escorted outside.
The guards check every corner.
No one explains anything.
I hate it.
I hate the silence.
I hate the fear on everyone’s faces.
Most of all, I hate not knowing why this is happening.
Dante returns.
His suit is still perfect, but something about him has changed.
His eyes are harder.
More focused.
I stand.
“What happened?”
“We’re leaving.”
I stare at him.
“That’s all you’re going to say?”
“For now.”
I step closer.
“You knew this could happen.”
His expression doesn’t change.
“No.”
“You knew someone was looking for me.”
He doesn’t answer.
My anger rises.
“My father told me you were the only way to keep me alive.”
Dante’s eyes narrow slightly.
I notice.
“So you do know something.”
“Alessia…”
“What did my father do?”
He looks away.
I follow him.
“What did he do?”
“I don’t have every answer.”
“But you have some.”
“Yes.”
My heart beats faster.
“Then tell me.”
Dante looks at me.
“Your father was trying to protect you.”
“By giving me to you?”
“Yes.”
I laugh bitterly.
“That doesn’t make sense.”
“It will.”
“When?”
“When you’re ready to hear the whole truth.”
I shake my head.
“No. I’m done waiting.”
He says nothing.
“I’ve been lied to by everyone.”
My voice cracks.
“My father won’t tell me anything. You won’t tell me anything. And now someone is trying to kill me!”
Dante steps closer.
His voice drops.
“No one is going to kill you.”
“How do you know?”
“Because I won’t let them.”
The certainty in his voice catches me off guard.
For a second, I don’t know what to say.
Then Matteo appears.
“Boss.”
Dante turns.
“What?”
“We found something.”
He holds up a photograph.
My stomach drops.
I know that photograph.
It’s the one Dante had in his study.
The one of me outside my family’s bakery.
“That’s mine.”
Dante takes it from Matteo.
He turns it over.
There are words written across the back.
His expression changes.
“What does it say?” I ask.
He doesn’t answer.
“Dante?”
He folds the photograph.
“Get the cars ready.”
I step in front of him.
“No.”
His eyes meet mine.
“I want to know.”
“Alessia.”
“You keep telling me to trust you. Then stop hiding things from me.”
Silence.
Finally, he hands me the photograph.
I turn it over.
Three words are written across the back.
Next time, we won’t miss.
My fingers go cold.
I stare at the message.
“They’re coming for me.”
Dante’s voice is quiet.
“Yes.”
I look up at him.
“Who are they?”
“I don’t know.”
“You’re the mafia boss. You must know someone who wants you dead.”
“This isn’t about me.”
My stomach twists.
“Then it’s about my family.”
Dante doesn’t answer.
That is answer enough.
Matteo suddenly looks toward the chapel doors.
“Boss.”
Dante turns.
“What?”
Matteo’s face is tense.
“We have another problem.”
“What now?”
“One of the guards is missing.”
Dante goes still.
“How long?”
“We don’t know.”
“Find him.”
“We’re already searching.”
Dante’s eyes move toward the doors.
“Lock the gates.”
“They are locked.”
“Then keep them locked.”
Matteo nods.
Dante reaches for my hand.
This time, I don’t pull away.
“Stay beside me.”
We walk toward the side entrance.
The guards surround us.
Every few seconds, Dante looks behind him.
Like he’s expecting someone to appear.
I don’t know what frightens me more.
The thought that someone is inside the estate…
Or the fact that Dante seems to know exactly how dangerous this is.
We reach the doors.
Before anyone can open them, a loud sound comes from outside.
An engine.
Then another.
The guards immediately raise their weapons.
Dante steps in front of me.
“What is it?” I whisper.
He doesn’t answer.
The engines grow louder.
Headlights appear through the chapel windows.
Several black vehicles stop outside the gates.
My heart starts racing.
Dante’s grip tightens around my hand.
“Stay behind me.”
The chapel doors suddenly shake.
Someone is trying to get inside.
Everyone freezes.
Another violent hit lands against the doors.
BANG!
I jump.
Dante pulls me closer.
“Get her out through the back.”
Matteo nods.
He reaches for me.
But before he can take my hand…
The lights in the chapel go out.
Darkness swallows the room.
Someone screams.
I feel Dante’s hand tighten around mine.
Then a voice comes from somewhere inside the darkness.
“Alessia.”
My blood turns cold.
Dante immediately pulls me behind him.
“Who are you?” he demands.
The voice laughs softly.
“You really don’t know?”
A second voice comes from behind us.
“Boss…”
Dante turns.
A guard is standing at the end of the aisle.
His face is pale.
His hands are raised.
And behind him stands a man I have never seen before.
The stranger looks directly at me.
Then he smiles.
“You’ve been looking for the wrong person, Alessia.”
Dante’s entire body goes still.
The stranger takes one step forward.
“Your father wasn’t the one who put you in danger.”
He looks at Dante.
“Dante was.”
My heart stops.
Dante’s eyes harden.
“Get away from her.”
The stranger smiles.
“You still haven’t told her, have you?”
Dante says nothing.
The man looks at me.
“He knows why they want you.”
My voice shakes.
“Why?”
The stranger’s smile disappears.
“Because your father left something behind.”
I stare at him.
“What?”
He looks toward Dante.
“Ask your husband.”
Then the chapel doors burst open.
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