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He didn’t let go of me as he moved toward it, keeping his back to the wall, and I was right there next to him, not willing to be apart from him. He slammed his palm down on the door, then waited.
“What—”
The metal door flung open, and as soon as the first soldier stepped inside, Lorenzo let off one shot, hitting him right between the eyes.
“Fuck!” a deep voice shouted, but Lorenzo was lightning quick, twisting his body around the half-open door and letting off his final shot. The sound of a body hitting the ground had my shoulders slumping, and I knew then, we were free. We were finally free.
My head spun as I leaned my shoulder against the scratchy brick wall. All of the fight was leaving my body, my brain trying to shut down, but I couldn’t let it, not yet, not until we were away from here. I blinked several times, trying to clear the blurriness from my eyes as Lorenzo dipped outside, then darted back in.
“Stay with me, baby.” He bent, his one arm coming beneath my thighs and his other at the base of my back. He was trying not to touch the wounds on my back, but what he didn’t know was that every single time I moved, they burned like a hot poker was thrusting inside of me. “We’re nearly there,” he whispered, running toward the door.
I gasped as the air slapped off my bare back. “It hurts,” I groaned, finally feeling like I could tell him. I’d tried my hardest to keep up a front, but when it was just him and me, I could let the barriers down.
“Keys,” Lorenzo barked, and I opened my eyes, seeing the soldier again. His gaze met mine, his pale face telling me that he wasn’t sure whether he was going to live or die.
“I…”
“Keys. Now,” Lorenzo gritted out, moving his hand off the base of my back.
The soldier placed them in his palm and took several steps back. “What…what happens now?” the soldier asked.
“Now, you run.” Lorenzo straightened up, and I knew without looking at him that he meant business. “You get a one-time pass for helping us out of there.” He paused, his chest heaving. “But if I see you in the city again, I won’t hesitate to kill you for becoming his soldier.”
“I…I…”
Lorenzo spun around, and I was glad we didn’t have to stand and listen to him any longer. I was grateful he’d helped us, but he’d also stood in that warehouse and watched as Paolo tried to break us down and break us apart.
I gripped Lorenzo tighter as he ran across the yard, not knowing where he was going, but when he halted, I saw the edge of a car. “Lie on your front,” he told me, yanking open the back door. I felt the tears building as he maneuvered me into the back of the car and bit down on my bottom lip to stop them from falling. The car smelled like raw meat, but I didn’t care because this was our only way out of here.
He stroked my hair, his lips connecting with the side of my face as he said, “We’re out now, baby. We’re out.”
LORENZO
I didn’t care how many laws I broke driving from the other side of the city and back to the mansion. Every gasp and groan of pain coming from Aida had my foot pressing harder against the gas pedal. I’d left behind a bloodbath, but it still hadn’t sated the rage inside me. I needed something more, I needed—I needed Aida to be okay.
“We’re nearly there,” I rushed out as I turned the corner to our street. The mansion gates were closed, with several soldiers standing outside of them. They were focused straight ahead, their guns in plain sight for everyone to see, and yet they hadn’t even noticed me speeding up the street. It was time to get new soldiers, that much was clear.
I swerved to a stop, beeping my horn at them, but it took several seconds until they realized who I was. When they did, they spoke into their radios, and the gates whooshed open.
Slamming my foot down again, I sped through the gates and to the main doors. The engine stayed running as I pushed out and ran around to Aida, wincing as the wounds on her back had opened back up again, blood pouring out of them and staining her skin. I may have spent more time being physically tortured by Paolo, but she was the one who had taken the brunt of it. She was the one who had come off so much worse. Most importantly, she was the one who didn’t deserve it.
“Lorenzo!” Ma screamed, but I didn’t turn to look at her. I stayed focused on Aida, trying to help her out of the back of the car. “Lorenzo!” Ma shouted again.
“Call the doctor,” I barked out, placing my hands under Aida’s arms. “Get him here now!”
Footsteps rushed toward us, and several sets of hands reached for Aida, but my growl of warning was enough to get them to back off. I pulled her halfway out, enough so she could place her feet on the ground, and as soon as she was upright, I hauled her to me, needing to feel her against me.
Everything was a blur as we rushed into the mansion and into the living room—the closest room to the front doors. I didn’t let go of her as I sat us down, keeping her front to my front. Eyes widened around us, gasps and curses flung around, but I didn’t look at a single one of them.
My anger was building again, but this time for an entirely new reason. We’d been missing for nearly three days, and no one had found us. Had they even been fuckin’ looking? Conversations around me started up, whispers about what they were witnessing, but I didn’t need to hear any of it, not right then, not when Aida’s soft cries were floating into my ears, threatening to destroy me.
I lifted my head, my narrowed eyes glancing around the room. Christian stood with Dante and Mateo, my two uncles behind them, and Ma and Sofia were on the other side, their faces pale. There were a thousand things I wanted to say, but I didn’t voice a single one of them as we waited for the doctor to come.
I wasn’t sure
how long we all stared at each other, but as soon as Doctor Dubeke walked in the door, a sigh of relief washed through me. His gaze met mine, then swerved to Aida’s back.
“Fuck,” he whispered.
