Page 57 of His Kidnapped Irish Mafia Virgin

The men moved with ruthless efficiency, spreading through the lower floors while I headed toward the staircase.

Heavy footsteps thundered above us, and another gunshot cracked through the building. Victor Hale was still here. I could feel it.

“Diggs, with me,” I said.

He fell into step beside me as we climbed the stairs two at a time. The hallway above was narrow and filled with dust, and the weak lights flickered as the building trembled from the fighting below.

A man appeared at the far end of the corridor, raising his weapon. I fired before he could aim. The shot echoed through the hallway, and the man fell without another sound.

“Keep moving,” I said. We advanced past him, clearing each room with practiced speed. Every empty room tightened the knot in my chest, but I refused to let panic take control.

Nora was here; she had to be. I reached the end of the corridor and stopped in front of a heavy metal door. Unlike the others, it was locked from the outside.

My pulse slammed against my ribs. “Breach it,” I ordered.

Diggs stepped back from the door and signaled to the men behind us. They moved quickly, attaching the charge to the wall beside the metal door while I kept my weapon raised and my eyes fixed on the lock.

“Ready,” one of them said.

“Do it.”

The explosion tore through the hallway with a deafening roar. Concrete shattered outward, dust and debris filling the air as the wall beside the door cracked open. Before the smoke had time to settle, I pushed through the breach, ignoring the burning in my lungs and the shouts echoing behind me.

The room was dim and cold, lit by a single weak lightbulb hanging from the ceiling. For one terrible second, I saw nothing but dust. Then I finally saw her.

Nora was sitting against the far wall, her face pale and drawn, her hair tangled around her shoulders. A crude bandage was wrapped around her arm, stained dark with blood, and the sight of it sent a violent surge of rage through me. But she was alive.

Relief hit me so hard that my knees nearly gave out beneath me. The gunfire, the shouting, and the entire operation disappeared from my mind, leaving only Nora and the terrifying proof that I hadn’t been too late. I crossed the room in seconds and dropped to my knees beside her.

“Nora.”

She looked up at me with wide, frightened eyes, as if she couldn’t believe I was real. I reached for her carefully, afraid that touching her too quickly would hurt her. My hand brushed her shoulder, and she flinched before recognizing me.

“Liam,” she whispered.

“I’m here,” I said, my voice rough with emotion. “You’re safe now.”

Her lips trembled, but she nodded weakly. I looked at her injured arm and forced myself to focus. The bandage was poorly wrapped, but the bleeding had slowed. I checked the wound as gently as I could, making sure she wasn’t losing too much blood.

“Please be careful. It hurts like hell,” she whispered.

I swallowed the fury threatening to choke me. Victor Hale had done this to her. He’d left her here bleeding and terrified. I wanted to hunt him down that second, but Nora came first.

“Can you stand?” I asked.

She hesitated, then nodded.

I slipped one arm around her waist and helped her to her feet. She leaned heavily against me, her body trembling with exhaustion and shock, but she stayed upright. Diggs appeared through the breach, his weapon still raised.

“We need to move, boss,” he said.

I tightened my hold on Nora and looked at her pale face, at the fear still lingering in her eyes despite my words.

“We’re leaving,” I said. “Right now.”

I kept one arm around Nora as we moved through the dust-filled hallway, her weight leaning heavily against me with every step. She was trembling from pain and exhaustion, and I could feel the weakness in her body even though she was trying to stay upright.

“We’re almost out,” I told her.