Page 107 of Sinful Bride

"Go," I tell my men.

We move fast, crossing the lawn in a dead sprint. Two guards appear from around the side of the house, rifles raised. My men take them down before they can fire. More guards pour out of the house. We're outnumbered, but we have surprise on our side. And rage. I have so much fucking rage.

I shoot a man in the chest, reload, and shoot another in the head. We pour past them, and we’re inside.

The back of the house is chaos—guards scrambling and shouting, trying to organize a defense. I don't give them the chance. I move through them like a storm, my gun an extension of my arm. Shoot, reload, shoot again. Blood sprays across the floors. Bodies fall, and I don't stop. I have to get to her.

The stairs are ahead. I take them two at a time, my men covering my back. There are more guards on the second floor. I shoot one, pistol-whip another, and keep moving. I have to hope she’s in her room. I only know where it is because she pointed it out on our way back from the hall, that night when we had the family dinner here. I try not to think about it further than that. I don’t need the distraction, or the pain in my chest when I wonder if any of it actually meant anything.

The door is closed. I kick it open.

Enzo is there, and Alessio… and Elena.

She's standing between them, her face pale, her eyes wide with terror. Enzo has a gun in his hand. Alessio is holding a duffel bag, like they were about to leave.

Like they were about to take her and run.

"Declan." Enzo's voice is calm. "I was wondering when you'd arrive."

I raise my gun, aiming at his chest. "Let her go."

"Or what?" He smiles. "You'll shoot me? In front of my daughter?"

"Yes."

The smile fades. He looks at Elena, then back at me. "She tried to kill you. You know that, don't you? I gave her a gun and told her to put a bullet in your head while you slept."

"I know."

"And yet here you are." Enzo shakes his head. "You're even more foolish than I thought."

"Let. Her. Go."

"She's my daughter. She belongs to me."

"No." My voice is steady. Ice-cold anger floods through me at those last words, and the world narrows down to my gun, pointed at his chest. "She doesn't belong to anyone."

I pull the trigger.

The shot echoes in the small room. Enzo's eyes go wide with shock. He looks down at the blood spreading across his chest, then back up at me. "You⁠—"

He falls. I hear Elena scream, and I spin toward her, lowering my weapon.

Alessio moves fast, dropping the bag and grabbing Elena. He yanks her in front of him, one arm around her throat, his other hand pulling a gun from his waistband. "Don't move!" His voice is high and panicked. "I'll fucking kill her, I swear to God⁠—"

Elena's eyes meet mine. She looks shocked and horrified, maybe by the death so close to her or the sudden betrayal of her brother. But as she looks at me, I also see trust there.

She trusts me.

If she’d truly wanted to betray me, she wouldn’t. She’d be trying to get away. Not hoping for me to save her.

"Let her go, Alessio." I raise my gun slowly, looking for an opening. "This was between me and your father. You don't have to die here. Give me my wife, and we can let this go."

"Fuck you!" He's shaking, the gun pressed against Elena's temple. "You killed him. You killed my father. I'm going to⁠—"

Elena moves. It's so fast I almost miss it. She drops her weight suddenly, throwing Alessio off balance. His grip loosens for just a second, and that's all I need.

I fire, and the bullet catches Alessio in the throat. He makes a choking sound, his gun clattering to the floor. Elena scrambles away as he falls, blood pouring from the wound. She lets out a thin cry, her hands covering her mouth as she stares at her brother convulsing, blood leaving him so fast he dies within seconds. And then, suddenly, it’s quiet.