My Stepbrother's Dirty Little Secret novel Chapter 596

Chapter 596

Important: Before you read, remember that they’re called The Chicago Outfit for a reason.

This is the mafia. These characters are criminals. They aren’t meant to be soft, moral, or sympathetic toward everyone, and I’m not going to write them that way.

So, read at your own risk… and if they do something morally questionable, just remember, you were warned.

Raphael

The gunshot cracked through the basement.

Gianna jerked so hard against me that I nearly lost my grip on her.

“No!”

She twisted toward the people on the floor, tears spilling down her face faster than she could wipe them away. Her ankles were still bound, making her stumble before she caught herself against my arm.

“Please… please, stop!”

She pushed at my chest with both hands.

I barely moved.

Eyery part of my attention stayed on her.

The bandage around her head was already stained. A thin line of dried blood disappeared beneath her hair. Her breathing was too fast. Her pupils weren’t tracking evenly.

Her freed hands flew to my face, her palms wet with tears and sweat, slapping against my jaw as she tried to force me to look at her, “Raphael! Stop him! Please, God, stop him!” she shrieked.

She tried to throw her weight forward toward Denise, but her ankles were still locked tight in the ropes.

“They’re going to kill her! Raph, please! Look at me! Tell him to stop! She’s going to bleed to death!”

My arms went around her waist, locking her against my chest so she couldn’t move a single inch. I could feel the wet heat of her tears soaking into the collar of my shirt, but it didn’t stir a single thing inside me. Denise’s screaming was just background noise.

A minor distraction.

She was crying so hard she could barely breathe. Her heart was racing, her balance was gone and her judgment was compromised.

I didn’t need anyone to tell me that.

I could see it.

“Look at me,” I told her.

She refused, her eyes stayed fixed on Denise, “Mama D…”

She tried to pull away again.

I caught both of her wrists before she could stumble, “Gianna.”

She finally looked up.

Her cheeks were soaked with tears, “Make them stop.”

“I can’t.”

I slowly pulled her hair away from her face, “So are you.”

“They’re innocent,” she shrieked.

“I don’t know that.”

“I do!” she shrieked and fresh tears spilled down her cheeks, “Don’t you trust me, Raph?”

“I do.”

“Then trust me now.”

I reached up carefully and rested two fingers beneath her chin. Something inside me shifted again. Every instinct I’d spent years mastering kept pushing toward the same conclusion.

Someone had crossed a line they could never uncross.

Gianna clutched my shirt tighter, “Raphael…” her voice had become almost too quiet to hear, “Please.”

I lowered my forehead until it almost touched hers, “I’m going to find out exactly what happened, but…’

She searched my face desperately, “But?”

I looked into her eyes, “But I’m not making decisions because people are crying.”

Another sob escaped her, “I don’t want them to get hurt.”

For a moment, her body sagged against mine, “I believe that you want to save everyone.”

My hand settled gently against the side of her face, careful to avoid the bandage.