Claimed By The Mafia Don (Ariella and Asher) novel Chapter 319

ASHER

God was on my side. Yes, I believe in God, in case you were wondering....

And I say God was on our side because, through the haze, I thought I saw Mikey move, and I saw him moving faster than I had ever seen him move before. The young guard, the young soldier, tackled and curled his body around my son as shards of glass and debris rained across the courtyard.

The shockwave slammed into us. Minutes later but what felt like hours, as dust filled the air, thick and choking, the ringing in my ears nearly drowned out everything except the frantic pounding of my own heart and Ariella’s warm, trembling body beneath me. There seemed to be a high, endless ringing all around us, and it took a moment for it to fade before I could breathe and finally check on her.

“Ariella, are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?” I demanded, my hands moving over her shoulders, her arms, searching, needing confirmation that she was fine… that she was okay… that she wasn’t hurt.

After what felt longer than I wanted, she finally answered.

“I’m fine,” she coughed, blinking through the smoke and dust. “Leon… Asher, Leon!”

She practically screamed, trying to push me off her so she could run toward her son, and for a second, it made me smirk to realise she wasn’t even asking if I was okay. The only thing she was concerned about was her son.

I would deal with that later.

I twisted around, already pushing myself to my feet and away from her despite the burning pain along my forearm where something sharp had grazed me.

“Leon! Mikey!” I shouted, unable to locate where they were in all the mess..

A shape moved through the settling dust, and Mikey rose slowly, still shielding Leon as he lifted his head.

“I’ve got him, sir!” he yelled back, his voice hoarse and strained with pain.

I walked forward, and Leon’s small face peeked out from under Mikey’s arm, wide-eyed, stunned, but alive. I quickly moved toward him and checked him over. There was no blood, no visible injuries, and I was filled with so much relief that my knees nearly gave out.

Ariella was fine.

My son was fine.

We were all fine.

“Inside. Now,” I ordered, my voice dropping into a tone that didn’t allow for any argument.

Ariella didn’t need to be told twice. She wasn’t even listening to me. She ran toward Leon the moment I released him and pulled him tightly against her chest, kissing him everywhere, checking for herself that he was okay.

Hals and Mikey were already beside Ariella and Leon, scanning the surroundings, positioning themselves between Ariella and the smoking wreckage.

Leon clung to Ariella's neck, his small hands fisting into her clothes, his earlier excitement completely gone.

“Mom…” he whispered, his voice trembling.

For the first time since I had known the little guy, my son looked scared. Truly scared. Confused. This wasn’t supposed to happen, not when he had finally gotten his dad.

“I’ve got you, baby,” Ariella murmured, pressing kisses into his hair as she hurried toward the entrance, with Half and Mikey shadowing her every step as they escorted her inside.

My men flooded the courtyard within seconds, weapons drawn, voices sharp and controlled as they secured the perimeter.

I stayed behind.

I was the don. Of course I did.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify