THE MAFIA'S MISTAKEN BRIDE

CHAPTER 42

Xavier's POV 
 
For the very first time in my life, fear kicks in as my gaze sweeps over the familiar man pointing a gun at Jasmine and another pointing a gun towards the car window at the driver and the guard I tagged along with her.
 
It is just five minutes. Just five minutes of being away and this is happening.
 
When I already thought she would be back in the villa while I attended to a business.
 
The anger from earlier simmers through me as my jaws tighten. Grabbing the gun from Ethan, he stops the car instinctively and I get down.
 
I pull the trigger and the man dodges it, almost grabbing Jasmine who kicks him in the groin and runs to the other side of the car. She opens the back door and enters.
 
The familiar man shoots at me but misses and I approach as he begins to flee, shooting at him repeatedly.
 
As soon as the two men are away from the car, the car engine is ignited and off they go.
 
"Good girl", I say, dropping the gun as I watch the two men enter a black van before speeding away.
 
Ethan drives towards me and the second car. I point towards the black van and instruct the second car filled with guards. "Follow them!"
 
I don't want to take another risk. They might want to trace her to the villa so I have to follow her car to be sure she is back safely in there.
 
Ethan opens the car door for me from inside and I get in as he drives off, speedily towards the villa.
 
During the silence, I can't contain my anger nor can I say how I actually feel about this. I know that face but I don't know where I know him from. 
 
What I don't know right now is why he attacked her. I barely have such encounters in Italy but I guess things have changed.
 
As soon as Ethan drives in, I tell him to go after them while I rush inside to see a trembling Jasmine being comforted by Grandma. The moment she turns to see me, she rushes into my arms and I embrace her, my anger dissipating immediately at the feel of her body on mine.
 
I was mad. I wanted to ask what she was doing outside the car. I wanted to blame her for what happened.
 
But the fear evident in her eyes and how she is still reacting after being brave enough to kick him in the groin before running to get into the car, makes me want to cover her with my shelter of protection.
 
Seeing how Grandma is watching us, I wrap my hands around her as she whimpers. "Xavier."
 
The sound of my name on her lips does something to me. How it rolls out and how easy she finds calling me that.
 
Slowly, my hand moves down her back in a comforting manner. "It's ok."
 
She must have been scared to death. 
 
Instantly, she moves out of my hold, still shivering. She opens her mouth and asks. "Where is Vicenzo?"
 
The fact that we are here in Italy and the last time she saw him was back in our home in New York must have prompted this question. Or perhaps she thinks he is behind this but that is out of the question because Vicenzo is a goner.
 
"Xavier", she holds my hand tenderly while I watch her face. "Where is Vicenzo?"
 
I don't reject blowing that bastard's brains out. But I don't know how to tell her that I killed him just to protect her. I killed him just to ensure that she would be safe and free from his grip when she eventually leaves the mansion as soon as Andre is caught.
 
"Xavier, you need to tell me. Did you let him out? Where the hell is he?" she begins to sob again, taking a step backwards and making me raise a brow at the action. 
 
I just want her to remain in my arms, relying on me to protect her from everything. As long as I am here, she has nothing to worry about or fear. I will protect her with my life.
 
I find myself taking a step forward too before holding her back in place. "Calm down, will you?"
 
I didn't mean for that to come out harsh but it did anyway. I might love how timid she is but sometimes, I want that fiery part of her, just like how she did a while ago when she kicked his groin.
 
She looks unsure, on whether to truly be calm or not. I know what she is scared of. She is still scared of him. She doesn't need to.
 
"Vicenzo can't do anything to you again…"
 
"Of course he can", she interrupts me sharply with an angry short laugh. "He can and he will."
 
"What do you mean by that?!" I furrow my brows at her. "Don't you trust me? I told you to trust me to deal with the jerk, didn't I?"
 
"No, you didn't and even if you did, then you didn't deal with him because he is still out there, waiting for an opportunity to get back at me for what happened…" Her eyes are filled with panic.
 
"What the hell do you mean by that?" I snap at her with a sense of urgency. 
 
Vicenzo is dead.
 
What the hell does she mean by he is out there waiting for an opportunity to get back at her?
 
I saw the guy who pointed a gun at her forehead. He isn't Vicenzo. I find him familiar but I am so sure he isn't Vicenzo. Vicenzo is someone I can recognize even in my sleep.
 
She places a hand on her forehead and turns around while I grab her so she can face me.
 
"What do you mean?" I demand from her as a tear rolls down my eyes.
 
"I saw them", she only said, almost breaking down into tears.
 
"Who?"
 
I am as confused as hell. She just talked about Vicenzo and now she is saying she saw them. Who?
 
"I saw his men. I saw Sebastian. That jerk still wants me…." she trails off, making my jaws tighten at the sound of that.
 
"Who the hell is Sebastian?" I growl, my eyes firing red as I hold her again, waiting patiently for her to tell me who he is.
 
She continues to sob, tempting me to forgo knowing who this man is so I can embrace her to myself tightly, to assure her that my presence here is enough.
 
"They are Vicenzo's men. I'm sure he sent them. Sebastian is his right-hand man, the same one I told you was interested in me before Vicenzo got into the picture", she explains as my finger unconsciously wipes her tears.
 
Now I get it.
 
Now I know why I find him familiar. He was amongst the men from that night at the party. He was amongst the men who wanted to harass her that night.
 
He must have been one of the men who fled with Vicenzo that night. I know my men killed two of his men.
 
At first, I thought this was coming from somewhere else but now that I know who is responsible, I know what to do.
 
Dropping my hand from her face, I whirl around to leave when she holds me back. "Xavier."
 
That sound. It makes me want to do the unthinkable. And I want to kill them all. Every one of Vicenzo's men. They must have gotten the information about Vicenzo's death. They are back for vengeance on their boss's death.
 
Jasmine comes to face me squarely, the tears no longer flowing. "Do you still have him?" she asks immediately and I know who she is talking about. She is asking if I still have Vicenzo.
 
The fact that she is this scared of me irks me.
 
"Did you let him go?" she demands from me again, horrified at the thought of him being out here.
 
I shake my head slowly.
 
"You didn't?" she asks again, peering at me intensely.
 
"No."
 
Relief wash through her before she questions again. "Where is he?"
 
This is it. I don't plan to tell her about him being a goner or the fact that I had to kill him with my own hands. I planned to tell her to go live her life freely without the fear of Vicenzo after Andre had been found.
 
I never thought she would be so interested in knowing what exactly happened to him. My thinking was that she would be too glad to be away from me to even bother about knowing what happened to Vicenzo and why I am so confident that he would never bother her again.
 
"Xavier?" she calls to me again, tapping my shoulder to jerk me back to reality. 
 
I stare up at her and answer. "Vicenzo is dead. I killed him."
 
Her face goes pale immediately and I watch her scoot backwards, fear crawling back to her expression.
 
The same expression of fear she had on her face the day she saw Vicenzo in that torture room tied to the chair and beaten to a pulp.
 
Suddenly, she gasps and walks past me with tears streaming down her eyes.

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