The Don's Unwanted Bride

CHAPTER 28

Hayden's POV

I shoved my driver out of the way and slid into the seat, slamming the door shut.

The engine roared to life as I grabbed the steering wheel, my fingers tightening with each beat of my heart.

Without a second thought, I stomped on the accelerator and veered the car into the main road.

My fingers were already on my phone, redialing Donovan. Again.

No answer.

"Damn it!" I growled, throwing the phone onto the passenger seat.

I tried again. Still nothing.

Grinding my teeth, I hit a sharp turn at full speed and pulled up Steve’s number. He picked up on the first ring.

"Update," I barked.

Steve’s voice came through, low and tense. "The two cars are down."

My heart stopped. "Where is my wife?"

There was a pause. A fucking pause.

"Donovan is hit."

The call disconnected before I could scream into the phone.

"Shit!" I cursed, slamming the steering wheel as the tires screeched beneath me. I sped through intersections, ignoring the horns and cursing drivers.

My mind was blank except for one terrifying image, Alyssa, bleeding or worse.

I caught sight of the flames licking into the sky before I reached the roadblock. Smoke, thick and black, curled into the sky like a death omen. I stepped harder on the gas.

My chest tightened when I saw the SUV Donovan had taken. The driver’s side door was flung open. Bullet holes riddled the side. My grip tightened around my Glock as I parked and jumped out.

Gun raised, I moved swiftly but carefully toward the wrecked vehicle. And that’s when I saw him.

Eddie.

His gun was pointed directly at Alyssa’s head.

My entire body froze.

She was trembling, blood streaking down her elbow. Her jaw was set, but fear radiated from her eyes.

I ducked behind a smoking vehicle just in time.

“Love is a crime, Alyssa Martini,” Eddie spat. “That’s what your husband, Hayden, told me and Sarah. And now, you will die for his sins, just like Julie did.”

Julie.

His words sent a thousand knives through my chest.

I rose to shoot him, my gun already aimed at his skull.

But someone else pulled the trigger first.

The bang echoed like thunder, and Eddie dropped like a stone, a neat bullet hole in his forehead.

My eyes shifted. My mouth opened.

Alyssa stood there, arms trembling, smoke still rising from the barrel of the gun she held.

"Alyssa…"

She spun around, her hands instinctively pointing the gun at me.

I didn’t move. Didn’t blink.

Until recognition settled in her gaze.

"Hayden?"

The weapon slipped from her fingers and clattered to the ground. Her knees buckled, and she fell forward into me.

"That bastard killed Julie," she sobbed against my chest. "He killed her."

I wrapped my arms around her tightly, stunned speechless. Her tears soaked into my shirt.

I had only told her about Julie today. And yet she clung to me like Julie was her sister.

"Alyssa..."

But she pulled away from me, wiping her tears aggressively.

"Donovan!" she screamed, turning her head wildly.

Sirens blared in the distance as the backup I called earlier arrived. A convoy of black SUVs screeched to a halt, and my men poured out, weapons drawn.

"Donovan’s hit!" she yelled at them. "Help him!"

Two of the men rushed over to Donovan’s limp body. He was barely conscious, blood soaking through his shirt. They moved fast, stabilizing him and preparing to lift him into one of the vehicles.

Alyssa climbed into the backseat and looked out at me, her face covered in soot and streaked with tears.

I stood still, watching her.

She reached out and grabbed my wrist. "Get in!" she shouted. "Hayden, please!"

But I didn’t move.

Instead, I stared at her, this woman who had just shot a man in the head to protect herself.

Who screamed for Donovan even when her life was on the line. Who cried for Julie like she had been mourning her all her life.

My wife.

My Alyssa.

I pulled her into my arms, slammed her against my chest and held her like she was the only thing that could keep me breathing.

“I love you, Alyssa Martini,” I whispered hoarsely, my voice breaking as a tear rolled down my cheek.

She gasped softly against my neck.