Lissy Romano

66| Please no.

Santino Romano

When Vincenzo called to tell me Lissy had run away, my heart sank. She wasn't answering any of our calls, and she'd turned off her phone—smart move for anyone else, but not for her. What she didn't know was that I had placed a tracker in her backpack, something no one else, not even my brothers, knew about.

I immediately checked the tracker on the tablet, watching her move further and further from home. What could have possibly driven her to leave? My sweet, innocent sister—running away from us? My grip tightened on the steering wheel as I drove out of one of our places and jumped into my car. I started driving toward her location.

Just as I reached for my phone to call Vincenzo and let him know I'd found her, he beat me to it.

"Yeah?" I answered, already maneuvering through the streets.

"Santino, it's bad. Xander Greco isn't who we thought he was. He's Alexander Orlov, one of them. Dante was in his house—he found pictures of Lissy, naked pictures from that party when she was drugged. He wrote in a damn diary about what he wants to do to her. He's obsessed with her. A sick bastard. We need to find her before he does."

My heart dropped. Xander Orlov. One of the Orlovs. My grip on the steering wheel tightened so much I thought it might snap in half.

"Tell me you're joking," I growled through clenched teeth, though I already knew Vincenzo wasn't.

"I'm not. And, Santino... she knows. About us. About what we do. I think that's why she ran."

"She knows? She's going to hate us, Vincenzo."

"I don't care if she hates us. As long as she's safe, I can live with that. We'll find a way to get through to her later, but right now, she needs to come home. She deserves to know the truth."

He was right, as always, but the thought of her looking at me with betrayal in her eyes? It felt like a knife in my chest.

"I'm close. Give me five minutes. I'll get her," I promised, and hung up.

The tracker led me to a small, narrow street. Tiny houses lined either side, and my car barely fit through. Then I saw her—sitting on the stairs of a white house, holding Jax close to her chest. My heart twisted.

As soon as she saw my car, she stood up, fear flashing across her face. For a split second, I thought she was afraid of me, and it shattered me inside.

But then she ran to me, throwing her arms around me, leaving just enough space between us for Jax.

"Santino," she whispered, clinging to me like I was her lifeline.

She wasn't afraid of me. Thank God.

I wrapped my arms around her small, trembling frame and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. She was too fragile for this world, too good to be ours.

"I promise I wanted to come back home," she said quickly, her words tumbling over each other. "My battery died, and I got scared. Please don't be mad at me. I'm so stupid. Did you know our brothers are... killing people?"

Her words hit like a gut punch. Of all the questions she could ask, she had to go straight for that one. How could I tell her the truth without breaking her?

"Lissy, we'll talk about this later. Get in the car, sweetheart," I said gently, trying to keep my voice calm.

But her expression shifted—her eyes filled with fear and questions.

"How did you find me? You're one of them, aren't you? You're a killer. I thought... I thought you were better than them."

I reached out to reassure her, but she stepped back. The fear in her eyes tore me apart.

"D-don't kill me," she stammered, her voice trembling.

I froze. She thought I'd hurt her? My own sister?

"Lissy, listen to me. I would never hurt you. None of us would. I know this is overwhelming, but you don't have to be scared of me or anyone else. Please, just come with me. Let me take you home, and we'll explain everything."

For a moment, I thought she might run again. But then she nodded and climbed into the car, holding Jax close.

She was silent for most of the ride, her breaths shaky. She kept her eyes on Jax, occasionally glancing at me. I could feel her trying to piece everything together, trying to decide whether to trust me.

And then I saw it—a black jeep following us. My gut clenched. I made a few sharp turns to lose them, but they stayed on us.

"Santino, what's happening?" she whispered, her voice trembling.

I didn't answer. My focus was on keeping her safe. The shots came before I could react. Bullets hit the car, and I slammed my hand over her head, forcing her down.

"Stay down, sweetheart. I love you," I said, my voice firm but soft.

"Santino, no! Don't leave me!" she cried, tears streaming down her face.

I grabbed my gun and got out of the car. The world became a blur of gunfire and shouting. I took down two of them, but when I turned back, I saw one of them dragging Lissy from the car. She was fighting, kicking, screaming my name, but the guy was twice her size.

"Santino!" she screamed, her voice breaking.

I pointed my gun at him, but before I could pull the trigger, a shot rang out.

Not mine.

The pain hit me before I registered it, and I collapsed onto the asphalt, blood pooling beneath me.

"Santino! No! Don't kill him! Please, no!" Lissy's screams echoed in my ears as I lay there, helpless.

I saw her being dragged into another car, still fighting, still screaming. And then, everything went dark.

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