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I had no reason not to believe Lucia, even as crazy as her admission was. It made my skin come alive, a heat pass through me like I never expected— remembering the kiss that I so furiously shoved out of my brain. I didn’t want to remember his soft lips on mine or admit the way my whole body melted against him. Least of all the deep ache that had settled between my legs. No. As far as I was concerned, none of that had really happened. It was all a figment of my traumatized imagination.
But Lucia’s words ripped those feelings from my imagination and made them more real than I wanted— or needed in my situation. And that transformed into pure terror coursing through my veins.
I peeked behind me, making sure Lucia was still engrossed in cooking. If she didn’t know I was a hostage, she wouldn’t worry about me trying to escape. The back door was within feet, the sliding glass taunting me, the evening sky calling to me. I had no idea where I was or how far I’d have to run but did that really matter? Shouldn’t my first instinct be to run, any chance I got?
Even if I told Yuri I wouldn’t?
A slamming door jolted me nearly out of my skin and I whipped around toward the sound.
“What was that?” Lucia asked with panic in her voice.
A shout came from the direction of the front door but it was too hurried to make out what was said. Footsteps echoed through the living room until Yuri appeared, zeroing in on me immediately, his eyes narrowed. I sucked in a breath thinking he was going to come after me when Matteo stepped through the archway, covered in blood, with a limp Luka laying in his arms.
I inhaled sharply when Lucia rushed to me and grabbed my hand, her brows furrowed in fear. Yuri ran to the table and swiped his hand across the top, sending every dish shattering onto the floor.
“Luka!” Lucia screamed next to me and my heart dropped. I watched as Matteo laid his brother down on the table, his white dress shirt soaked in blood near the chest. His eyes were closed but he was groaning, the blood beginning to seep across the wooden grooves in the table within seconds.
I shot up immediately and went to the cabinets, ripping each one open until I found a large bowl. My hands shook bringing it to the sink. I remembered the towels that were in the bottom drawer and grabbed a handful when an unknown man, broader and more terrifying than Matteo came around the corner, a gun in his grip. He grunted before hoisting Lucia over his shoulder, ushering her out of the kitchen as her shrieks rang in my ears.
“Raf put me down!” She cried but he strode forward, nodding to Yuri and disappearing down the hall.
With the bowl full of steaming water, I rushed back to the table.
Luka coughed and sputtered while Matteo ripped his shirt open. I sucked in a breath and groped for a towel to submerge into the water, desperately trying to clear away the blood. I had never seen gunshot wounds before but the circles of deep red blood, two on his chest, seemed to be the source of the damage.
“Why isn’t he here yet?” Yuri barked at his brother. Matteo pulled out his phone without taking a hand off of one of the wounds, pressing down hard to stop the blood. I climbed onto one of the chairs and I did the same with the second wound, my heart racing in my chest.
Yuri stepped away. “Fuck!”
I winced but kept my eyes forward, all my focus was on Luka who was quickly losing color.
“What should I do?” My voice wavered as I looked up at Matteo. He just shook his head, his eyes blazing, the vein on his forehead popping.
The voices came closer. “I tried to drag him behind me but the idiot tried to be a hero.” I strained to recognize who Yuri was speaking to but the chaos of the room was too loud. Matteo’s panting and Luka’s groans drowned out everything. All I could do was press down on Luka’s wounds and try not to fall over from dizziness.
“Did you see who it was?” Yuri shouted. I shivered at the edge in his voice.
“It was…” the voice trailed off.
A sharp pain exploded at the back of my head and I was ripped from the chair by my hair.
“Get away from him!” The source of the voice screamed into my ear before shoving me onto the floor. I threw my arms forward to try and catch my fall, slicing my hand on a porcelain shard and rolling until my back hit the wall.
Gasping for the breath I lost on impact, my hand already throbbed as sticky liquid coated my palm. I blinked hard as a figure approached me, the details fuzzy. Wincing and curling in on myself, the figure disappeared, a loud grunt and slam scaring me.
“Keep your fucking hands off her!” Yuri roared.
Everything was a blur. White dots clouded my vision but in front of me, two figures pushed back and forth.
“I warned you once, Denis.”
“No vale la pena,” Denis spat.
“Ya te di una orden. No la toques.” I jumped at another crash. Recognition swirled within me. Orden…order.Yuri was pulling rank.
His growl shook through the floor. My vision cleared and I saw him standing over Denis, shielding me with his body. His hands were balled into fists and Denis wiped his mouth before standing and spitting back.
“You can’t trust her. That bitch is looking for any chance she can to escape and you have her up here with us. You don’t think she would kill your little brother if it meant she could run?” He sneered in my direction as I struggled to pull myself up.
