Accardi (Genevieve and Matteo) by Allison Franklin novel Chapter 60

Genevieve’s scream pulled Matteo out of his haze for bloodlust. He tucked his gun into his waistband and rushed toward her while she

shuffled backward away from the body of her captor. As she backed herself into another crate he reached for her. Her ice–blue eye, the one

not swollen shut, locked with him and widened. Fear, palpable and real, pulsed out of her like a physical being. She jerked away from him

and started flailing her hands.

“Stop! Don’t touch me! Get away!” she screeched.

Matteo sat back in shock. “Genevieve, it’s okay. It’s me.”

“I don’t know you! Leave me alone!”

Ice froze the blood racing through his body. “Weakness, it’s me. It’s Matteo.”

She shook her head violently. “No… I know Matteo. He wouldn’t…” Her eye went to the body laying a few feet away. She shook her head

again. “Matteo wouldn’t do that.”

He clenched his jaw tightly. “He was going to kill you,” he told her. “I didn’t have a…”

“Stop!” she screamed, covering her ears. “Don’t hurt me. Please, please just let me go!”

“No,” he growled.

His adrenaline pumped in his veins. The operation had taken nearly a day to organize and since the moment Senator Ramirez located his son, Matteo had been waiting for this reunion. In none of his imagined scenarios, though, had she reacted this way. What had they done to her? His eyes perused her body. She was bleeding from her arms where someone had cut her. Her left eye was completely swollen shut. Blood coated a large majority of her skin and the parts it didn’t cover were deep purple from the beatings they’d given her. The way her breathing sounded, he wondered if her ribs were broken and the odd angle in which her arm hung told him it was dislocated. At the very

least they hadn’t kept their word in cutting off her fingers.

“You need to get to the hospital, Genevieve,” he murmured quietly now. “Let me…” Matteo reached out for her again. She pressed herself

further against the crate and shielded her face with her arms.

“Don’t!” she screamed.

Matteo ignored the hurt buried in his stomach at her fear of him. He swiveled on the balls of his feet and glared at Frankie who was

watching with keen eyes. “Get Louis. Now.”

Frankie nodded and walked calmly toward the exit. Matteo turned back to Gen and fell back on his ass. He drew his knees up and hung his hands limply over them while he waited. A few minutes later, he heard someone running toward them. Gen curled further into a ball

as Louis approached.

“Jesus fucking…”

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“She won’t let me touch her,” Matteo interrupted, not even bothering to look up at Louis. “She needs a hospital. Pick her up and let’s go.”

Matteo stood to his full height, drawing Gen’s wide, fearful gaze. Louis stepped forward and her eyes swiveled to him.

“Hey, Gen. It’s going to be okay. We need to get you to…”

Gen backpedaled again as Louis bent toward her. “No… you’re not… What are you doing here?!”

Matteo watched Louis‘ brow pinch. Louis glanced down at his gear and the weapons adorning his body. He started to remove the vest and

everything he had packed for the operation. “It’s okay, Gen. It’s me, Louis. I just came to help, is all.”

Gen shook her head. “You’re not Louis. You can’t be. Just like he isn’t…” Her eyes briefly met Matteo’s before she shivered and looked

away. “Don’t touch me. You’re not Louis, this is a trick.”

Gen’s panicked eyes looked around until they spotted something laying beside her captor’s body. When Matteo realized what it was, their

eyes met. He lurched for the gun but she was much closer. She grabbed the blood–coated pistol and held it up toward the group of men

with a hand that shook violently.

“I want my dad,” she whispered, her voice breaking on the name. “My dad or my sister. I won’t let you touch me.”

Matteo shook his head once. “They won’t get involved in this, Genevieve.”

She whimpered and swiveled the gun to Louis who also shook his head.

“We could call an ambulance. Maybe she’d let paramedics help?” Louis offered.

Matteo glanced around. They’d killed at least six men on their way in as well as blew up half the warehouse. Their connections in the

police were keeping curious people from accessing the area but if an ambulance was called, it would draw even more attention. There

would be records.

“Not unless you want them dead after,” Matteo said matter–of–fact. Gen released a sob, and he found his gaze softening at the scared

little creature in front of him.

Louis stepped closer to Matteo, careful to keep his eyes on the gun Gen was wielding at them. “She needs to get to a hospital, Accardi,” Louis whispered as if Matteo didn’t already realize that. “Have you seen the wounds on her arms? She’s been losing blood for a while

and…”

Matteo cut his eyes to Louis, stopping him from continuing. Matteo sighed and leaned back against the crate opposite Gen. He slowly slid down until he was sitting. He looked around at his men who were either examining their guns or shifting back and forth on their feet as they waited for something to hap

“Genevieve,” Matteo called. Gen’s eye flicked up to look at him. He tried to keep his face impassive at the sight of her broken apart because of him. “You need medical attention. Desperately.” Gen looked around the group of men. “Genevieve,” he called again, wanting her attention on him alone. “We have three options here. One is you let me touch you so that I can carry you out of here and get you to a hospital.” Her answer was immediate: a quick shaking of her head and a visible gulp of fear. He dropped his head back against the crate

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and sighed, trying to remain patient and calm. He took a deep breath and looked back at her. “The second option is you pick one of my men here and he will carry you out and get you to the hospital.”

“And the third option?” she asked, quietly, her eyes tracking around the room at his equally dangerous men.

He pursed his lips. “I carry you out of here by force.”

Gen glanced nervously around the room. The only noise in the room was from the water slapping against the outside of the warehouse. Her finger raised as she pointed to one of his men. Matteo followed the path of her finger. Frankie stood near the back of the group with his arms folded and a bored expression on his face. The part he found fun had long been over and Matteo knew he was itching to release his adrenaline with whatever female he came across at the club first. Frankie turned to look behind himself as if she couldn’t possibly be

pointing at him only to find no one was there.

“Me?” Frankie asked, pointing at himself with his thumb.

Gen nodded. Frankie gave Matteo a questioning look.

“Do it,” Matteo ordered.

Frankie walked toward Gen and her eye held his. Frankie squatted down in front of her. “Hello, Chickadee. I’m going to need you to give

me the gun first,” he cooed, holding his hand out, palm up. She gave Matteo one last lingering look of fear before she gave a small nod and handed over the gun. “Great job. Now I’m going to pick you up under your knees and back. Sound good?” Frankie asked. Gen gave a

few quick nods.

Frankie was very delicate as he picked her up from the ground. Her arms wrapped around his neck, making the knots in Matteo’s stomach

bunch and coil tighter. As if Frankie were her safe harbor, her eyes fluttered and shut. A second later her entire body went limp. Matteo

rushed forward and pressed two fingers to her throat. He let out a gigantic sigh of relief when he found a pulse there.

“Here,” Frankie said, holding her out to him.

Matteo took a step back and shook his head. “No. I don’t want her to wake up and be afraid again. Marco,” Matteo called. A moment later

Marco appeared beside him. Matteo handed over the keys to his bullet–proof SUV. Drive them to the hospital, you know the one.”

“What are you going to do?” Frankie asked.

Matteo looked toward the exit where they had Rooster hog–tied in the trunk of one of the sedans. “Relieve some stress before I join you.”

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