AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Drago looks up, first at his sister, then Mona, and finally at me. His face is red, emotions thick. “My son,” he bites out through clenched teeth. His eyes are trying to tell me something, but what? That he’s sorry? I don’t want him to be sorry, not even for a minute. He chose right. He made the same choice I would have if I were in his shoes.
“Wise choice.” Vincent steps in his direction. “I’m going to hand him to you. Attempt anything other than taking him and you won’t just watch those three bitches die. You’ll be watching your son die too.”
The weapon in Drago’s hand clatters to the ground and both of his hands fist at his waist. His eyes move to his father’s and hatred pours from them. I see it so vividly.If Drago doesn’t kill his father today, he will eventually. It’s only a matter of time.
It breaks my heart. I don’t want that for him. I don’t want any of this for him, for any of us.
Vincent stops in front of D and his arms start to reach up. “Easy, son,” his father warns, and Drago’s arms halt mid-air. With this left foot, Vincent kicks D’s gun away from his reach, then he drops Gabriel, letting him fall from his hold. I gasp, but it can’t be heard from the tape keeping my mouth shut. My tears start to leak from my eyes. I can no longer keep them at bay.
Drago catches him, pulling Gabriel to his chest. The baby is crying, no doubt shaken up from this ordeal. I want so badly to hold him, comfort him so that he knows everything is going to be all right.But it’s not going to be all right.At least not for me or CC or Mona.
Drago wraps his palm over the side of Gabriel’s head, covering his ear and pressing the other side of him to his body. His father turns his back to D, facing us again, and I see Drago look to the ceiling once again. His head moves ever so slightly, as if nodding, then his eyes shut.
“Now”—a grin widens across Vincent’s face—“for the main event. I’ve been anticipating this moment since I landed back on U.S. soil. None of you could possibly understand the joy I’m about to embark upon.”
I’m not watching his father. My gaze remains fixed on D, until finally, his eyes open once again, glancing upward.
Vincent continues to speak, but I make every effort possible to drown him out, and that’s when I hear a zip-like sound. I know I’ve heard it before. It’s faint but very familiar, almost like—
“Noooo!” The evil in his voice quickly turns from elated to angry.
CHAPTER SIXTY-SEVEN
BRIANNA
Everything happened so fast that I haven’t taken the time to wrap my mind around it. One second Vincent was about to kill us in whatever sick way he had planned, and then the next second it felt like I was slung into a ten-ton brick wall.
I’m not dead, so I’m guessing his plan went to shit.
“Bri!” Eric’s voice is a holler in my ear, his breath hot.
I look up and he rolls off me. His face is a mask of pain as he arches his back and grabs his head. My back is screaming in pain, but when I see his weapon holstered at his side, I scramble, grabbing it and pressing where I know the release button is. It’s difficult when you’re trying to get it off another person, but it’s not impossible. I’ve trained this very scenario multiple times.
Yanking it loose, I grip it in a firm hold, twisting my body and aim at the target. I fire without thought, not second-guessing my actions. The kickback jolts my body, pressing my aching back into the broken chair behind me. It must have broken when E dropped on top of me. I’ve never been happier to be trampled on.
My shot wasn’t the only one fired. I cut my eyes away from Vincent’s falling body to see Tom standing near the entrance behind D, his weapon raised.
Who killed him?Was it me or was it the shot Tom must have gotten off? Holy fuck. This is all too much. I look around, taking in my surroundings.
Justin has Caprice in his arms, holding her tight from where they both sit on the ground. He removes the tape from her mouth, ripping it off, and her cries start to echo through the vast space around us. Hers aren’t the only ones. Eric jumps up from next to me and he’s quickly at Mona’s side. Mike is untying the knots, but there’s blood running down his hand. He’s been shot. In the shoulder, I think.
Tom is still aiming his weapon at Vincent’s lifeless body crumpled on the ground as if he’s frozen in place.
Is Drago’s father dead?I lay the weapon down and climb to my knees. My back throbs, causing me to worry about the baby I’m carrying. I don’t think I can go through another miscarriage. Sending a silent prayer to the man upstairs, I try to put it out of my mind and get to my feet, ripping the tape from my mouth, and it finally feels like I’m able to get air into my lungs.
Drago is still on his knees, holding Gabriel to his chest, but he’s looking at his father, staring, his eyes unblinking. The shock swarming in those dark irises cut me to the core and I look away, eyeing his father once again. Vincent is lying ten feet from where Drago is and about the same distance from me.
Sirens sound from the open door near Tom, and as I step toward D and the baby, Tom looks around, stopping his sight on Caprice, his daughter. He holsters his weapon and then makes a beeline for her.
“Babe,” I call out as I near them. His eyes remain locked on his father’s body. I didn’t check for a pulse, but he hasn’t moved, so it’s likely he’s dead. I hope he is, and I should make sure, but the pull to get to Drago and Gabe is greater.
“It should have been me.” The muscle in his neck is corded tight. His hands remain wrapped around Gabriel, who is surprisingly content considering what just happened and the chaos around us. “I have to know.” His hold loosens and he lifts Gabriel to me. I take him, needing my boy in my arms. It’s the biggest relief I’ve ever felt.
When I have him, Drago jumps up, walks over, and then kneels down to his father.
I follow but stop a few feet behind him just in case he isn’t as lifeless as he looks.
“Is he?” I ask. Drago’s fingers are pressed against his neck where his pulse would be if he had one.
