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“You have other things to be concerned with than my word choice, princess. Keep your head down.”
I peek my head around the corner. Through the open door, I spy at least three Bellasiomudakswithin range. One of them spots me, but before he can aim, I shoot twice.
The first misses. The second buries itself in his forehead.
I hear a strangled cry behind me, but I don’t have time to coddle Taylor through her first sight of bloodshed. I snipe the two other Italians in quick succession, then I grab her hand and drag her out of the corridor.
“Y-you…killed them,” she gasps, straining against my hold.
“They deserved to die.”
My peripheral vision catches another asshole coming our way. I whirl around, shoving Taylor behind me before I unleash another two rounds. The Bellasio thug drops to the floor like a dead fly. I kick his body out of the way and assess our options.
West leads back out to the gardens, where the people are. Where Celine is.
South is through the kitchens, the quickest route to safety.
South it is, then.
“What are you doing?” Taylor cries out when I start pulling her toward the kitchen.
“What does it look like I’m doing?” I growl. “I’m getting you the fuck out of here.”
“I’m not leaving!” she protests. “My family’s here.”
I’m as amazed at her stupidity as I am impressed by her loyalty. Regardless, I’m not about to let her waltz through open fire just so she can prove she’s not a coward.
Before I can tell her to stop being an idiot, she screams. “Watch out!”
I turn, but it’s too late. I’m knocked off-center by the idiot who’s decided to tackle me to the ground. The gun flies out of my hand and goes skittering down the hallway.
I roll away and jump upright on my feet. “That was a stupid move,” I snarl at the Bellasio thug. He blinks back at me dumbly. This has not gone how he envisioned.
I slug him in the stomach first, and while he’s reeling from the hit, I throw a hard right hand to his face. His orbital socket shatters under my knuckles and he lets out an ungodly scream that quickly snuffs itself out. He’ll wake up in one or two hours with a broken nose and a fuck-ton of regret.
Or, more likely, one of my men will kill him before he gets that chance.
When I glance up, I see that Taylor is back to looking horrified. Three more gunshots sound in quick succession. She winces at each one of them.
Then her eyes flit over my shoulder. I turn to see what she’s seeing, just in time for Mila to appear from the garden. Her cream dress has ripped up the side, exposing a length of thigh nearly as inappropriate as Taylor’s.
“Dima said you have cargo?” she asks me.
I gesture to Taylor. “Get her out of here.”
I can see the question in Mila’s eyes.Why am I so concerned withthissister?
Before I can answer, Taylor rips herself free from my side and runs past us.
“Taylor!” I yell. But she doesn’t slow or stop. She makes a beeline for the garden, bumping a surprised Mila off-balance on her way.
Snarling, I take off in pursuit.
I swallow up the distance between us in five long strides. Then I pluck her off her feet and throw her over my shoulder. She writhes like she’s being electrocuted and pounds useless fists into my back.
“Foolish fucking girl,” I mutter under my breath as I charge back in search of cover.
She’s not even pretending to listen to me, though. “Mom!” Taylor screams in panic at the mass of bodies in the distance. “Mom!”
