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“What the fuck?” Gianni mutters through gritted teeth and nods at the guy behind Rocco. “Go check it out.”

The guy lets me go and pushes open the door. A second later, a loud thump follows another burst of shots.

Gianni walks back toward the bed and reaches for Sloane. He yanks her off the bed, his arm around her throat, gun to her head. She whimpers against him, her hands clawing at his arm. “Don’t fight me, sweetheart, or you’ll end up like Layla over there and will be zero fucking use to me and my dick.” He nods at me. “Get out. Now.”

The guy behind me pulls me toward the door and shoves me out into the hallway. I edge past Rocco, rubbing my back against his arm, lifting the back of my jacket. I feel him grasp one of the guns, and I let out a sigh of relief. It’s short-lived, though, since I may just get my head blown off the second I set foot in the line of fire. More gunshots explode into the air and a rush of footsteps stomps around the place. I slide around the corner of the doorway. Fucker really should have picked smarter guys who knew enough to frisk me before they brought me up here.

Gianni nudges me forward, his arm around Sloane’s neck with the gun pointed at her temple. Calm. I have to keep calm. If I lose my shit, this will end very badly. I need to just—

Another blast of gunshots peppers the walls next to us. An angry face appears from one of the rooms, a gun hanging from one hand. He steps into the hallway, shirtless, hair mussed. “I thought Layla was gonna make the call when we gave the word,” he screams at Gianni. “Who the fuck is in here?”

“Would you shut the fuck up, Ant?” Gianni screams back, cocking his gun.

“You guys wanna come out here and see how big your fucking idiot crew is now?” Nico’s voice rings out in the wake of the bullets.

Ant nods toward Gianni. “Get out there and take care of them. Bring the girl. This is your show, remember?”

It dawns on me who Ant is…Anthony DiBiasi. I thought I’d recognized him. He’s part of the Cinque family. He’s been away for a long time, but not long enough as far as I’m concerned. If he’s here, more of them are coming. We need to get the hell out of here and fast. My breath hitches as Sloane’s whimpers float through the air. If I make a move, I’m dead. She’s dead. Rocco is dead.

Too much blood.

I need a plan.

And time.

But I have neither.

Gianni pushes Sloane past me. Her body trembles and her eyes meet mine. Think, think, think!

They creep toward the end of the hall and pause for a second to peer around the corner. One of the doors next to them flies open, and a long metal pipe swings at the side of Gianni’s head. He pitches forward onto the floor and on top of Sloane. The guy behind me shoves me into a wall and plugs the open door with a round of bullets. Whoever nailed Gianni falls to the floor next to him, covering his head with his hands.

I don’t think. I don’t breathe. Reaching behind me, I grip the handle of my gun and pull it out. I don’t aim, I don’t pray. I just shoot. One shot to Ant’s chest, and he flies into the door before hitting the floor, sputtering blood.

Rocco pushes past me to roll Gianni off of Sloane. He helps her up and pushes her into one of the rooms. “Lock the door!” He yells, crouching down and peering around the corner. “I’m gonna check things out. You okay?”

“Yeah,” I mutter. “Just find Nico, okay?”

Ant is sitting upright against the door, blood pouring from the wound in his chest. Blood drizzles out of his mouth. I bend down next to him. “Hey, Ant, are you the best the Cinques had to send? Didn’t you learn anything working for them? Never fucking open a door if you don’t know who’s waiting for you outside.”

Ant’s chest heaves, his breaths coming fast and furious. But I don’t feel even a shred of remorse. A wave of rage took over once they snatched my girl, and I’m riding it hard.

I struggle to my feet and rake a hand through my hair. Another round of gunshots rings out, and I clutch my gun, edging closer to the end of the hallway. Fuck! Please let that be Nico. I have no idea who’s still left around this building, but Sloane is here, along with a number of other innocent women. We need to get them out before anyone else happens to drop in on us. Like the feds or the rest of the Cinques.

I slowly creep forward, my arm extended.

“Hey, you know something? I never got to fuck that hot pussy. Think I’m gonna take my shot. Now. One for you and then one for her.”

I spin around to find Gianni’s sadistic smile covered with blood. The side of his face is smashed in, blood running down the side of his head and shoulder from the open gash over his ear. I pull the trigger and my body flies backward into a wall, the gun crashing to the floor. A searing pain follows as the bullet tears through my flesh like a hot poker, slicing away at my insides. My head crashes into the hard plaster behind me, blurring my vision. I blink fast, gritting my teeth.

Have to get up. Have to get the gun. Have to save Sloane.

I try to keep my eyes open, try to focus, try to stay alert.

Gianni grins, waving the gun in my face. “Mighty Max. God, it feels fucking good to see you like that. Mikey told me not to kill you. Said you’d suffer more if you were thrown in jail, knowing we sold your girl and that you couldn’t save her. But you know what? I’ve decided to kill you anyway. And I’m gonna fuck your girl and then sell her ’cause she’s no fucking use to me six feet under. So you can die knowing that you fucked with the wrong guy and that I’m about to take everything from you.” A maniacal laugh escapes his lips, and he spits blood onto the floor. “I’ve waited a long time to do this, and I’m gonna enjoy every second. Wanna beg for mercy first?”

“Fuck you!” I sputter, clutching my arm. My fingers are so numb, I can barely stretch them. But that gun…it’s somewhere on the floor next to me. If I can just feel around for it without him noticing…

He cocks an eyebrow. “Do you really think I’m going to let you get that gun and shoot me, Max?” He kicks it away from my outstretched fingers. “Hell no. I’m not. And if you don’t have any final words, then let’s just get on with it, yeah? I’ve got a plane to catch.” He cocks the gun, points it at my forehead, and smirks.

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