by Cora Reilly
Gianna glared. “I’m not like you, Aria. You’re eager to please him, to do anything he says. I’m not like that. I won’t submit to anyone.”
I flinched. Gianna had never lashed out at me like that.
She jumped up. I tried to catch her arm but she shook me off. “Leave me alone. I can’t talk to you right now.” She whirled around and stormed off toward the beach. I stood, unsure if I should follow her, but I knew she wouldn’t listen to me when she was like that. Umberto stepped outside. I raised a hand. “No, give her a few minutes to herself. She’s upset.”
Umberto nodded, then his eyes darted to Fabi. “I should take him to bed.”
I was about to nod when an ear-splitting alarm broke the silence, but it stopped a few seconds later. Fabi’s eyes were wide as he clung to Lily, both were looking at me as if I knew what was going on. Romero stormed toward us, two guns drawn, when a red dot appeared on Umberto’s forehead. I cried out but it was too late. There was a shot and Umberto’s head flung back, blood splattering everywhere. Lily started screaming, and I still couldn’t move. I stared at the dead eyes of Umberto. A man I’d known all my life.
Romero flung himself at me and we landed on the ground as a second bullet blasted the glass door, sending shards flying.
“What’s going on?” I screamed, hysteria rocking my body.
“The Bratva,” was all Romero said as he dragged me toward the living room. I struggled against him. Lily and Fabi cowered beside a lounge chair, still in shooting range of the sniper. “Get them!”
But Romero ignored my command and he was too strong for me. He shoved me against a wall inside the living room, his grip biting into my skin, his eyes hard and wild. “Stay here. Don’t move.”
“Lily and Fabi,” I gasped.
He nodded, then ducked and rushed back outside. I was shaking all over. Romero returned with my sister and brother, who clung to him desperately. I wrapped my arms around them tightly the moment they were at my side. And then my world tilted.
“Gianna,” I whispered.
Romero didn’t hear me. He was shouting into his phone. “Where? How many?” His face paled. “Fuck.” He turned to me, and his expression made my stomach drop. “The Russians are on the property. Too many for us. I’ll take you to the panic room in the basement where we’ll wait until backup arrives.”
He gripped my arm but I pulled away. “Take Fabi and Lily there. I need to warn Gianna.”
“You are my responsibility,” Romero hissed. Somewhere in the house glass shattered. Shots rang out.
“I don’t care. I won’t come with you. You will do as I say. Take them to the panic room. If something happens to Lily or Fabi, I will kill myself and nothing you or Luca or any other power in this world can do will change that. I want you to protect them. Keep them safe. That’s all that matters to me.”
“You should come with us.”
I shook my head. “I have to find Gianna.”
“Luca will be here soon.”
I knew that wasn’t true. “Go now!”
We stared at each other, then finally he turned to my siblings. “Stay down and follow my orders.”
Male voices screamed something in Russian, then more shots were fired. Cesare wouldn’t be able to keep them at bay for long if the number of voices were any indication.
Romero shoved a gun at me. I grabbed it, then I ducked and ran outside. Umberto’s blood covered the stone tiles but I didn’t look at his body. I hurried down the slope toward the bay when I noticed the vibrating of my phone. I pulled it out and pressed it to my ear as I scanned the beach for Gianna.
“Aria?” Luca’s worried voice sounded. “Are you safe?”
“They killed Umberto,” was the first thing out of my mouth.
“Where are you?”
“Searching for Gianna.”
“Aria, where’s Romero? Why isn’t he taking you to the panic room?”
“I have to find Gianna.”
“Aria,” Luca sounded desperate. “The Bratva wants you. Get into the panic room. I’m taking the helicopter. I’ll be there in twenty minutes. I’m already on the way.”
Luca would need more than twenty minutes even with a helicopter and he wouldn’t be able to take as many of his men with him, so there was no saying how long it would take him to fight his way into the mansion. There was the possibility that he would fail.
Gianna came running toward me, eyes wide.
“I can’t talk anymore,” I whispered.
“Aria—”
“What’s happening?” Gianna asked, as she stumbled against me.
“The Bratva.” I pulled her toward the dock where the boat was anchored. It would be safer to hide there than to go back inside and look for the panic room. The boards of the dock groaned under our weight as we walked toward the boat. But then Lily’s scream pierced the night and I froze. Gianna and I exchanged a glance. Without a word, we turned around and hurried back toward the house.
My heart hammered in my chest when we arrived on the loggia. The living room was deserted. I knelt beside Umberto and took his knives even as I shuddered. I handed one of them to Gianna and put the switchblade into my back pocket.
“Come on,” I whispered. I wasn’t even sure what Gianna and I were going to do once we got inside. I’d shot a gun once and I had handled a knife only when I’d sparred with Luca, that didn’t bode well in a fight against Russian mobsters. Yet I knew I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I didn’t find Lily and Fabi.
Gianna and I crept inside. It was dark. Someone must have turned the lights off in the entire house. I held my breath but it was terrifyingly quiet. I approached the door that led into the lobby when an arm shot out and wrapped around my waist. I cried out, struggled, tried to angle the gun toward my attacker, but he twisted my wrist. Pain shot through my arm and the gun tumbled from my fingers. Gianna gasped behind me. I kicked out. A deep voice snarled at me in Russian. Oh God. My foot collided with his shin. He pushed me away but before I could catch my balance, his fist collided with my lips. My vision turned black and I dropped to my knees as blood filled my mouth and trickled over my chin, the warm salty taste making bile rise into my throat.
Fingers twisted into my hair and I was wrenched to my feet, crying out from the pain in my scalp. My attacker didn’t care. He dragged me into the lobby by my hair. I could see Gianna in the arms of another tall man. She was unconscious, a bruise already forming on her forehead.
I was thrown to the ground in front of jeans-clad legs and quickly peered up into a pockmarked face and cold blue eyes. “What’s your name, whore?” he asked in heavily accented English. Didn’t he recognize me? I supposed I looked different with blood all over my face. I stared back at him defiantly. He kicked me in the stomach and I toppled over, gasping for breath. “What’s your name?”
My eyes darted to a body to my right. Cesare. He was making gurgling noises, clutching at a bleeding wound in his stomach. I didn’t see Lily, Fabi or Romero anywhere and I hoped they’d made it to the panic room. At least, they would survive.
A hand gripped my chin and wrenched my head up. “Will you tell me your name or do I have to make Igor hurt her?” He nodded toward Gianna who lay on her side on the marble floor, blinking dazedly.
“Aria,” I said quietly.
“As in Aria Vitiello?” The man asked with a cruel smile.
I nodded. There was no use denying it. He said something in Russian and the men guffawed. My skin crawled from the way they were looking at me.
“Where are the others? Your shadow and the children?”
It took me a moment to realize whom he meant with shadow. “I don’t know,” I said.
Igor kicked Gianna. She screamed. Her eyes met mine and I could see she didn’t want me to say anything, but how could I watch them hurt her?
Voices and shooting carried over to us from outside. The leader of the Russians grabbed me and pulled my back flush against his chest before pressing a blade against my
throat.
Fear paralyzed my body as I listened to the sound of fighting. I was dragged backwards closer to the living room. Igor was yanking Gianna by her hair. She didn’t seem capable of standing. Another Russian mobster was flung back as a bullet tore through his throat. “We have your wife Vitiello. If you want to see her in one piece you better stop fighting and drop your weapons.”
Luca walked in, a gun in each hand. Matteo was a step behind him.
“So this is your wife, Vitiello?” the man said, his breath hot against my neck. I squirmed in his hold but he held me in a death grip. The blade sliced into my skin and I became still.
Luca’s face was a mask of fury as he stared at my capturer. Matteo twisted the knives in his hands over and over again, his eyes flickering to Gianna’s trembling form on the ground. Cesare had stopped gurgling. This night could very well end with all of us drowning in our own blood.
“Let her go, Vitali,” Luca snarled.
Vitali grabbed my throat. “I don’t think so.”
I could barely breathe in his hold, but all I could think about was that I could lose everyone I loved tonight. I hoped they’d kill me first. I couldn’t bear the thought of watching everyone die.
“You took something that belongs to us, Vitiello, and now I have something that belongs to you.” Vitali licked my cheek and I almost threw up. “I want to know where it is.”
Luca took a step forward, then froze as Vitali raised the knife to my throat again. “Put your guns down or I’ll cut her throat.”
Vitali was stupid when he thought Luca would do that, but then I watched in horror as Luca dropped his guns on the floor.
“Your wife tastes delicious. I wonder if she tastes this delicious everywhere.” He turned me around so I was facing him. His foul breath hit my face. From the corner of my eye, I could see Luca watching me, but I wished he’d look away. I didn’t want him to see this. Vitali’s lips came closer. I was sure I’d throw up.
I tried to lean back but he laughed nastily and gripped my hip but I barely noticed, because my shifting had made the switchblade dig into my butt. As Vitali trailed his tongue over my chin, I slipped my hand into my back pocket, pulled the knife out, released the blade and rammed it into his thigh.
He cried out, stumbling back and then all hell broke loose. Luca practically flew through the room and pulled me against him as he sliced Vitali’s throat open from one ear to the other. The man’s head tilted back, blood spurting out, then he toppled over. Bullets tore through the air, and there was screaming. The ground was slippery with blood and only Luca’s firm grasp on my arm kept me upright. He must have dropped the knife at some point because he was shooting bullet after bullet out of a sleek black gun with a silencer. I picked up a gun lying in a pool of blood. It was slippery in my hand but its weight felt good. Suddenly Romero was there too. My eyes tried to find Gianna but she was gone from her spot on the floor.
Luca shot another enemy and reached down for the gun of the dead guy as his own was out of bullets, when one of the Russian mobsters to our right pointed his gun at Luca. I cried out in warning and at the same time stumbled forward and aimed my gun at the guy and fired. I didn’t even think about it. I’d sworn to myself I wouldn’t watch anyone I loved die tonight even if meant I had to die first.
The bullet hit my shoulder and my world exploded with pain. My shot hit the guy in the head and he dropped to the ground dead. Luca ripped me to the side, but my vision turned black.
When I came to my senses again, Luca was cradling me in his arms. It was silent around us except for someone’s whimpers. It took me a moment to realize they were my own and then the pain sliced through me and I wished I’d stayed unconscious but I needed to know if everyone was alright. “You okay?” I croaked.
Luca trembled against me. “Yes,” he gritted out. “But you aren’t.” He was pressing down on my shoulder. That probably explained the pain. The back and front of my shirt were slick with a warm liquid.
“What about Gianna, Lily and Fabi?” I whispered even as darkness wanted to claim me again.
“Fine,” Gianna called from somewhere. She sounded far away, or maybe that was my imagination. Luca slid his hands under me and stood. I cried out in pain, tears leaking out of my eyes. The lobby was crowded with our men.
“I’ll take you to the hospital,” Luca said.
“Luca,” Matteo said in warning. “Let the Doc handle it. He’s been taking care of our business for years.”
“No,” Luca snarled. “Aria needs proper care. She’s lost too much blood.” I could see a few of Luca’s men glancing our way before pretending they were busy again. He was their Capo. He couldn’t show weakness, not even for me.
“I can do a blood transfusion,” came a deep, soothing voice. The Doc. He was over sixty with snow-white hair and a kind face.
Luca’s grip on me tightened. I clutched at his arm. “It’s okay, Luca. Let him take care of me. I don’t want you to take me to a hospital. It’s too dangerous.”
Luca’s eyes showed hesitation, then slowly he nodded. “Follow me!” He carried me toward the staircase but I lost consciousness again.
***
I woke in a soft bed, feeling battered and foggy. My eyes peeled open. Gianna lay beside me, sleeping. It was light outside, so several hours must have passed. There was a huge bruise on her forehead, but I supposed I looked worse. We were alone and disappointment filled me. I tried to sit up and was rewarded with a fierce throbbing in my shoulder. Glancing down, I found my upper arm and shoulder wrapped with bandages.
Gianna stirred, then she gave me a relieved smile. “You’re awake.”
“Yeah,” I whispered. My mouth felt as if it was filled with cotton.
“Luca has been guarding your bed almost all night, but Matteo forced him to come out and help him with the Russian mobsters they caught.”
“They caught some?”
“Yeah, they’re trying to extract information from them.”
My lips twisted, but I couldn’t bring myself to feel sorry for them. “How are you?”
“Better than you,” Gianna said, then she closed her eyes. “I’m sorry I lashed out at you yesterday. I would have hated myself forever if that had been the last thing I said to you.”
I shook my head. “It’s okay.”
She hopped off the bed. “I better tell Luca you’re awake, or he’ll rip my head off.”
She disappeared and a couple of minutes later, Luca stepped in. He stood in the doorway, his expression unreadable as he let his gaze wander over me. Then he stepped up to the bed and pressed a kiss against my forehead. “Do you need morphine?”
My shoulder felt like it was on fire. “Yeah.”
Luca turned toward the nightstand and picked up a syringe. He took my arm and slid the needle into the crook of my arm. When he was done, he threw the syringe into the trash but didn’t let go of my hand. I linked our fingers. “Did we lose someone?”
“A few. Cesare and a couple soldiers,” he said, then he paused. “And Umberto.”
“I know. I saw him get shot.” My stomach churned violently. It still felt surreal. I’d have to write Umberto’s wife a letter, but I needed a clear head for that.
“What did that guy Vitali mean when he said you had something that belonged to him?”
Luca’s lips thinned. “We intercepted one of their drug deliveries. But that’s not important now.”
“What is important then?”
“That I almost lost you. That I saw you get shot,” Luca said in an odd voice, but his expression gave nothing away. “You are lucky the bullet only hit your shoulder. The Doc says it’ll heal completely and you will be able to use your arm like before.”
I tried a smile, but the morphine was making me sluggish. I blinked, trying to stay awake. Luca leaned down. “Don’t do that ever again.”
“What?” I breathed.
“Taking a bullet for me.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Taking a
shower was a struggle. I had to cover my bandages with a waterproof cap, which was a major hassle, but the feel of the warm water washing away the blood and sweat was worth it. Gianna, Lily and Fabi had left less than one hour ago. Father had insisted they leave. Not that they were much safer in Chicago. The Bratva was closing in on the Outfit as well. At least, I’d had them with me a day longer than planned. They’d kept me entertained as I lay in bed while Luca had to take care of everything. As Capo he couldn’t abandon his soldiers. He needed to show them he had a plan of action.
I was already feeling so much better. Maybe that was the lingering effect of the painkillers I’d taken two hours ago. I stepped out of the shower and awkwardly put on my panties. I could move both of my arms, but the Doc had said I should use my left arm as little as possible. Putting on the nightgown proved more difficult. I’d managed to slip one strap over my injured shoulder when I stepped back into the bedroom where I found Luca sitting on the bed. He got up immediately.
“Done with business?” I asked.
He nodded. He came toward me and slid the second strap into place, then he led me toward the bed and made me sit down. We hadn’t been able to talk alone since our first conversation and then I’d been high on morphine.
“I’m fine,” I said again because he looked like he needed to hear it. He didn’t say anything for a long time before he suddenly knelt before me and pressed his face against my stomach. “I could have lost you two days ago.”
I shivered. “But you didn’t.”
He peered up at me. “Why did you do this? Why did you take a bullet for me?”
“Do you really not know why?” I whispered.
He became very still, but didn’t say anything.
“I love you, Luca.” I knew saying out loud was a risk, but I’d thought I’d die a couple days ago, so this was nothing.
Luca brought his face up to mine and cupped my cheeks. “You love me.” He said it as if I’d told him the skies were green, or that the sun revolved around the earth, or that fire was cold to the touch. As if what I’d said didn’t make sense, as if it didn’t fit into his view of the world. “You shouldn’t love me, Aria. I’m not someone who should be loved. People fear me, they hate me, they respect me, they admire me, but they don’t love me. I’m a killer. I’m good at killing. Better probably than at anything else, and I don’t regret it. Fuck, sometimes I even enjoy it. That’s a man you want to love?”
