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Nico

Idrop the gun, my finger still trembling from pulling that trigger, the one that extinguished the life of Frank Cappodamo. The metal piece crashes to the ground a couple of feet away from his slumped-over body. One shot to the head. I knew I had to do it, but I hesitated a second too long, and now…

Goddammit! I allowed the fear and self-doubt to paralyze my actions and because I wasn’t strong enough to break away fast enough, Shaye is lying on the floor hurt…or worse. My stomach roils as I collapse to my knees next to her. Nausea rushes over me as I drag a hand through her tousled hair. The thumping in my chest is deafening, so much so that I barely hear the instructions being shouted at me. Max pushes me out of the way and slices through the duct tape binding her hands and feet together. I reach for a corner of the tape on her mouth, which is already loosened by the tears she’d been crying for the better part of the hour, waiting for me. Me, who was one second too late. Yeah, I’d gotten my first kill, my rite of passage, earned my place…all of that shit, but at what cost?

It was a price I wasn’t willing to pay, but that choice was yanked away from me moments earlier.

I slide the chair out from under Shaye, careful not to move her. Still motionless, her head is lying in a puddle of blood, and my heart damn-near stops when I see it. My fingers hover just above her face. Oh fuck, where is this blood coming from? No, no, no…

Rocco creeps closer, grumbling in pain with each inch covered. “Fuck, is she breathing?”

I lean closer, pulling the corner of the tape away. Short gasps of air slice at my lungs like I’m inhaling tiny shards of glass, nothing compared to the agony of her not coming back to me. The tape peels away easily enough, but she still doesn’t stir. I lower my head to her mouth, a thin stream of breath warming my nose. “She’s breathing!”

“Thank fuck.” Max rakes a hand through his hair and kneels next to me. “I’m gonna move her head, okay? Not much, but we need to see where the blood is coming from.”

“Be careful,” I murmur, squeezing her hands.

He smooths back her hair and shifts her head to the side just enough to get a look before sitting back on his heels, letting out a deep breath. “The fucking bullet grazed the side of her head. There’s no entry wound. She’s okay. She’s fucking okay!”

My head falls to her chest and I wrap my arms around her waist. “Come back to me, Shaye,” I murmur. “Come back, baby.”

Max grabs his phone and dials a number. “Joe, it’s Max. Yeah, it’s done. Nico took care of him.” He grins at me and gives me the thumbs up. “Cap? He’s got a mad headache, the kind that just explodes out of your neck, you know what I’m saying?” He chuckles.

Rocco groans from his spot on the floor. “Can you stop dicking around and tell old man Salesi we need the doc? I’m fucking bleeding out here.”

“Don’t be such a pussy,” Max mutters, his hand over the mouthpiece. “It’s a flesh wound.”

“And I have to work with this douchebag?” Rocco mumbles, still squeezing his side.

“I may come up with another job for you.” I hold out my hand to him and he smacks it. “You really came through tonight. You took a bullet for me and helped me plug this asshole.” I nod to Cappodamo. “I owe you for that.”

He nods. “Yeah, you fucking do. And I’ll collect, too.”

I smirk. “I know it.”

Max stabs the End button and turns back to us. “Doc is ready for us at his place. We need to get the hell out of here before the cops show up.”

I eye Cap’s crumpled body one more time, knowing I’ll have to step over plenty more on our way out of this death trap of a building.

Except we’re the ones leaving in one piece. The trio most likely to get lit up just took out one of the most notorious crews on the East Coast. I popped Cap and my kill cherry. Two birds with one bullet. Happy fucking New Year to me.

“I’m proud of you, bro. You fucked his shit up pretty good.” Max pounds me in the shoulder with his fist. “Now take one last look, and let’s go.”

I gather Shaye’s trembling body in my arms. Her eyelids flutter, but they still don’t open. A disturbing, grapefruit-sized lump has already formed on the side of her head that had slammed into the concrete. A tiny moan emerges from her pale lips as we meander around the cavernous building in search of the nearest exit.

“Wait.” I stop and pull out my cell phone. “Let me text Viktor to make sure we’re all clear. I need to make sure there are no other jackasses hanging around outside, waiting to jump us on the way out of here.”

“If there are, you’ll pump ’em up real good. Just like you did to Cap.” Max snickers and jogs ahead to check the darkened corners of the hallway.

I’d like to not have to kill anyone else tonight. If I’m being honest, I’d prefer not to have to do it ever again. People talk about the adrenaline rush that they get when they pull the trigger, how it makes them feel all-powerful and shit like that. I pulled it, not because I wanted to, but to send a message. You fuck with my people, you die. Period.

I lean against a wall and stab at the screen, my other arm still tight around Shaye. “Okay, all clear. They’re waiting for us at the car.”

Max has his gun drawn, ready for any unsuspecting goon to leap out at us. But we only pass bloody, motionless bodies. Not only is Viktor’s crew stealthy and deadly, but they had a vendetta of their own to carry out. New Year’s Eve or not, they weren’t missing an opportunity to take out their biggest competition.

Rocco lets out a wheeze and leans against the chain link fence outside of the warehouse. His face is pinched, teeth gritted.

“You okay?” I shift Shaye in my arms and stop next to him. “Can you make it?”

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