Ruthless Prince (The Mancini Mafia #2)

Chapter 17

Chapter

Seventeen

ELLIE

“ F ather, what are you doing?” I ask.

“You’re mine, Ellie. No other man will take you from me. Including him.”

Nico stands up straighter. “Your daughter is a married woman, Mr. Moore. She’s married to my son. I’m going to take her to my home where my wife is. She will be safe. You don’t need to do this.”

“He was supposed to kill you,” Father hisses.

“Vincent?” Nico asks. “He told me. He did try. Right now, he’s currently locked up for failing at his job.”

I gasp. Vincent locked up by his own father? That’s something familiar to me. It makes me feel even more connected to him. The urge to save him and be with him is stronger.

“Get in the house,” my father snaps.

“Why? So you can kill me? I don’t think so. You’ll have to shoot me in cold blood on your front porch where anyone could see.”

“I’ll do it for him,” another man says.

Looking over Nico’s shoulder, I see … the assassin.

“Who are you?” Nico demands.

The assassin smiles. “Just a nobody hired by a someday who wants you dead.” Then he whips out a gun and shoots Nico in the arm.

Nico jerks back inside the house as my father tries to shut the front door, but the assassin kicks it down and barges in.

“Where’s Vincent?” the assassin demands.

“Locked up in one of my cells,” Nico says.

“How fitting. I was hired to kill Vincent so he could never meet you.”

Nico frowns, holding his bleeding arm. “Why?”

“Because I work for Dimitri, Igor’s brother. He never wanted son and father to reunite. It was payback for you killing Igor.”

Nico bares his teeth at the assassin. “Because Igor kidnapped my son. I thought he was dead all these years!”

I’m frozen solid, watching this confrontation go down.

“And now, you’re going to die,” the assassin says. “I don’t think Dimitri cares if I kill son or father.”

My own father steps out of the way. “Kill him. I want him dead, too.”

I can’t believe how cold-hearted my father is. He would just let another man die because … why? It’s like I don’t even know him.

But one thing I do know is I’ll never be free of him. Vincent tried to save me, but he failed. Now, it’s up to me to escape and get back to my husband.

I think I love him.

No.

I know I do.

And I want us to spend more time getting to know one another. But I can’t do that if I’m trapped … or dead.

The assassin lifts his gun to shoot Nico, and all I can think about is how tragic it would be for Vincent to lose his real father just after he got him. I heard the pain in Nico’s voice when he said he thought Vincent was dead. It was pure and utter anguish.

He deserves to get to know his son, and Vincent deserves to know his father.

I act.

Running forward, I push my father toward the assassin, and he barrels into him, knocking the assassin back. The gun goes off, but the bullet lands in the ceiling.

Nico looks at me for just a heartbeat before grabbing my hand and pulling me toward the front door. Even with his bloody arm, he still manages to be strong.

“Run to the car,” he tells me, stopping in the driveway to pull out his gun.

“What about you?”

“Do you want to see Vincent again?”

“Yes.”

“Then go, Ellie.”

I stumble away as Nico turns back to the front door. The assassin runs out and ducks behind a bush as Nico begins firing at him. I spy the assassin sneaking out around the bush to attack Nico from behind, and I call out a warning.

Nico spins and spots the assassin. He fires his gun.

The assassin jerks back and falls to the ground. There’s a bullet in his head.

“Come on,” Nico says, pulling me toward the car. “We have to leave, right now.”

We get in the car as my father comes running out of the house. He screams expletives at me as we drive away.

Never before have I seen my father look so angry with me.

Nico takes me to his mansion, neither of us saying a word on the drive. I think I’m partially in shock.

When we step foot through the front door, I come face to face with a beautiful middle-aged woman.

Instantly, I know she’s Vincent’s mother. It’s clear in her eyes—she has Vincent’s eyes.

“You must be Ellie. I’m Aurora.”

For some reason, I gasp and begin to cry. Aurora’s eyes soften, and she pulls me into a hug. I lost my own mother years ago and haven’t felt the comforting touch of one in a long time.

Something inside me feels healed.

After a moment, Aurora lets me go and turns to Nico. “Why are you bleeding?”

“I got shot.”

“Is it lethal?”

“No.”

“Good. So, now, go let your own son out of the damn basement. His wife is here, safe and sound. He has no reason to kill you . I want a proper family reunion, Nico. Make it happen.”

He sighs. “Fine. I’ll talk to Vincent. But if he tries to kill me again …”

“He won’t,” I blurt out. “He was never close with … the man who he thought was his father. He wants to get to know you, I believe it. Please, Mr. Mancini.”

“Mr. Mancini. You make me sound old. Besides, now that you’re married to my son, you can call me Dad.”

I pause and think it over. “I’ll stick with Nico for now.”

He laughs more to himself. “Understood.” He sets his eyes on his wife. “I’ll let Vincent out. But he better behave.”

“I want to get to know our son, Nico. So, yes, release him from that damn cell so we can do exactly that.” She puts her arm around my shoulders. “Ellie and I will be in the living room, chatting.”

Nico walks away as Aurora and I take a seat on the couch.

“So, Ellie, you’re my daughter-in-law.”

“I am.”

“How are you feeling?”

“An assassin just tried to kill us. My father is still out there, and I know he wants me back. So, to say that I feel surprisingly calm despite that is kind of weird.”

“It’s not weird. Everything is chaotic. It can make a person feel many things.”

“You’re nice,” I comment.

“I try to be. Where’s your mom?”

“Dead.”

“So is mine. For years now. But you have me.”

“You’ll accept me … just like that?”

Aurora’s smile is kind. “Just like that.”

Footsteps make me turn in my seat to see Vincent standing in the doorway. Nico sighs and walks away, still clutching at his bleeding arm.

Vincent and I lock eyes.

And before I know it, I’m across the room and in his arms. It’s where I belong.