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Soon, we’d shot our way closer to the house. I motioned for Matteo and my other men to have my back. Then I stormed the house. I shot the first Russian in the head, the second in the throat.
“We have your wife, Vitiello. If you want to see her in one piece, you’d better stop fighting and drop your weapons,” Vitali shouted.
“Nobody acts until I give an order. Got it?” I snarled, fixing my gaze on Matteo. He gave a nod, but I wasn’t sure how much it was worth—after all, Gianna was in there as well.
Trying to keep my face calm was a losing battle. I could feel fury simmering under my skin, and worse: fear. I focused on the former. Showing fear for Aria’s life in front of my enemies would have been the ultimate mistake.
Slowly, I walked into the living area of the mansion, guns clutched in my hands. My eyes registered Cesare lying in his own blood on the ground, eyes wide as his chest heaved with every rattling breath. I lifted my gaze. He was lost. Matteo was close behind me, but my eyes focused on Vitali and Aria. He held her against his body, his knife pressed against her throat. I’d dismember him in the cruelest way possible.
“So this is your wife, Vitiello?” Vitali asked with a dirty grin. He pressed his blade against Aria’s skin and blood trickled down. My heart sped up, fear spiking hard and fast. One slice of his knife could kill her, could ruin everything.
“Let her go, Vitali,” I growled, furious and terrified. I didn’t remember the last time I’d been scared during a confrontation. I didn’t fear death, but losing Aria…the thought tore a gaping hole in my chest.
Vitali grabbed Aria’s throat. Her terrified eyes met mine. “I don’t think so,” he said. “You took something that belongs to us, Vitiello, and now I have something that belongs to you.” Vitali ran his hand along Aria’s cheek, and I almost lost it. If his goddamn head hadn’t been so close to Aria’s, I would have put a hole in his fucking forehead. “I want to know where it is.”
I rocked forward, wanting to rip him to shreds, but Vitali raised his knife again. “Put your guns down or I’ll cut her throat.”
Aria closed her eyes for a moment, resigning herself to her fate. Did she think I’d refuse Vitali’s order because I didn’t want to lose face? That I’d give her up to appear strong in front of the Russian asshole?
I released my guns. I’d put my life down for Aria. I’d do anything for her. Matteo looked at me as if I’d lost my mind, but I narrowed my eyes until he, too, dropped his weapons.
Vitali leered as he licked Aria’s face again. “Your wife tastes delicious. I wonder if she tastes this delicious everywhere.” He forced Aria’s face around to him. She looked like she was going to cry when he brought his face closer, and all I could think about was how I could protect her, how I could kill the bastard to keep my wife safe.
Aria tried to move back, her expression desperate, and I glanced down at my guns.
Vitali licked Aria’s chin and I began shaking with so much rage, I was sure it would consume me any second. And then everything happened very quickly. Aria pulled a knife from her back pocket and shoved it into his thigh. He screamed in pain, releasing her. I pulled my own knife from my back holster, barreled toward them, pulled Aria to my side, and slid Vitali’s throat open. Blood shot out of his gaping wound and onto my clothes.
Shots and screams rang out. I pressed Aria against my body, grabbed guns from the ground and began firing. Aria bent down and picked up a gun for herself. I aimed at another Russian fucker and split his skull. Dragging Aria toward the asshole, I reached for his gun because one of mine was out of bullets. “Luca!” Aria screamed. My gaze shot up as another attacker aimed his gun at me. Fuck. Aria jumped in front of me and fired at the same time as the Russian pulled the trigger. The shot rang in my ears and Aria jerked.
Her eyes grew wide, lips parting in an agonized cry, and my entire world seemed to stand still. I wrenched Aria against me once more but her legs gave away, and that’s when I saw the blood soaking her shirt. My heart rate tripled as cold fear speared my insides. I lowered her to the ground, holding her in my arms, but she lay completely unmoving. For a second I was sure she was dead, that I’d lost the one person I loved more than my own life. I’d never known love meant being scared all the time, scared of losing someone you couldn’t live without.
