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But no sooner do I get the door open, do we hear a scream coming through the passageway, and then the sound of a shot and a feminine cry of agony. I run as quickly as I possibly can toward the sound, not even hearing the pounding footsteps behind me.
I’m coming, topolina. I’m coming.
CHAPTER36
Gia
Moments Earlier
“We needto get to the bedroom,” Sofia says grimly as we go through the tunnels. “Nico will have stashed weapons in each room, so we need to figure out where they are when we get there.”
“Maybe we should stay here,” I suggest worriedly, but I follow her anyway.
“These tunnels aren’t fool proof, and if we get stuck in here with no weapons, we’re as good as dead,” Sofia tells me grimly. “Dante told me about them and how to get out of them. I have special permissions so I can get us out of certain doors. We just have to make sure we’re at the right ones.”
“We should head for Nico’s room then,” I suggest. “He’ll definitely have weapons in there.”
“No, that’s where they’ll expect us to go,” Sofia says, suddenly stopping and kicking off her shoes. “Fucking things.” I quickly do the same, gripping the skirt of my dress and hiking it up so I can run faster behind her. “We’re going to go to your room. There are guns stashed in with the jewelry underneath some of the drawers.”
“Wait, how do you know that?” I demand as we run down another pathway. I hope to God she knows where we’re going because I have no clue and we might be getting ourselves terribly lost.
“Because Dante showed me,” she says briskly as we finally come to the end of the hallway. “He wanted me to know where everything was in case of any problems.”
“Did he know there were going to be problems?”
“There are always problems at mafia weddings,” she says as she reaches out to touch the door. “Now, we need to be quiet, because we have no idea what we’re going to expect. So be quick, quiet, and follow my lead.” I nod. I’m not about to play hero, that’s for sure.
She pushes open the door soundlessly, and peaks her head out. Then she creeps forward and waves for me to follow. We move slowly, listening, but hearing nothing, we pull out the drawers of the island where the jewelry is stored and Sofia pulls out a tray of diamonds, showing two handguns laying neatly inside. “Do you know how to shoot?” she asks me softly as she grabs one and quickly shoves the magazine inside. I shake my head. “Fine, I’ll have the guns then. Now, let’s get back in the tunnel before they—”
“I don’t think so, cunt,” Carmen’s voice says stonily, we look up and see her standing just inside the door of the walk-in closet, gun pointed at us both. “You’re not going anywhere but with us, and then we’re going to fix this epic fuck-up that you’ve created.”
I stare at her. The woman who’s always hated me and I suspect would love nothing more than to kill me and leave my body to rot. “Carmen,” I say carefully, not looking at Sofia. We’re still behind the island and close to the door. If we’re careful, maybe we can make it inside and shut the door.
“They’re in here,” Carmen calls over her shoulder, her eyes never leaving mine. “I hope you’ve had fun being a whore, because now, you’re going to know the real meaning of the word.”
“I think if she wants to know the meaning of the word, all she has to do is look at you,” Sofia says, lifting the gun, face calm, and hand steady. This is a woman who’s accustomed to holding a gun, and I’m glad as hell she’s on my side. She’s not afraid to shoot, and I doubt she’ll miss.
Carmen sneers at her. “Says the housekeeper whoring herself out to the Underboss. You think you’re untouchable, but we’ll make an example out of you too. I’m sure your father will love seeing his only baby girl coming back to him in pieces.”
Footsteps sound behind her, and I’m not prepared for the sight I see. Instead of my father, three of my brothers come up behind her, Marco leading the charge. He gives me a cold, cruel smile as he says, “Well hello, little sister. Surprised to see me? Don’t worry, we’re going to be getting closely reacquainted again.” He looks at Sebastian and Mateo and orders, “Take them both.”
“I don’t fucking think so,” Sofia snarls, firing off a shot and catching Mateo in the throat. Mateo falls to his knees, gargling and clutching at his throat, the sounds coming out of him are inhumane. Sebastian and Marco roar their fury, shoving at Carmen to try and get to us. “Get to the passage,” Sofia yells at me as she fires off more shots. She manages to graze Marco’s head, making him stumble and clutch at it.
I do as she says, backing up quickly, but the train on this dress is too long and I immediately get caught in the fabric, falling to my back with a cry. I roll, but suddenly Carmen comes flying out of nowhere and launches herself at me. I scream as I fight her, knocking the gun in her hand away as we wrestle. I hear fabric rip and my face stings when her acrylic nails manage to catch my cheek, slicing through my skin. Adrenaline pushes me through the pain, and I manage to buck her off and send her flying. She screams as she crashes into one of the shelves, sending shoes and bags down on top of her. I scramble to my feet, only to be met by the sight of Sebastian fighting to get the gun away from Sofia, who looks like a wild cat as she fights him.
I catch movement out of the corner of my eye, and I manage to duck when Marco’s fist swings wildly toward my face. “You fucking bitch,” Marco screams at me as I race away from him and further toward Sofia. I need to get her, but I need to keep Marco away. Fuck, where is that gun?
I look wildly around trying to spot it, but nothing. It must have fallen under a shelf or something. I scream when I feel Marco’s hand grip the train of my dress, pulling me backward and making me stumble before I can stop the momentum. But just as I’m about to crash into him, Sofia kicks Sebastian away from her, and he stumbles into Marco, sending them both crashing to the floor. Unfortunately for me, that means I’m falling right into them.
I scream, kick, and thrash as they fight both each other and me. Of course, Sofia wades in, slamming the gun down on the back of Sebastian’s head, making him groan and instantly slump down on the floor, out cold. “Get the hell up,” she orders Marco as she places the gun against the back of his head. “Or I’ll put a bullet in your brain.”
Marco slowly releases me and I scurry to my feet, stepping back to stand with her. I glance back and see Carmen out cold in the back of the closet, blood dripping on the shelf behind her. She must have hit her head. I turn my gaze back to Sofia and Marco, who is now getting to his feet. “You won’t shoot me,” Marco tells her tightly.
“Tell that to your dead brother,” she says cruelly. Marco whirls around, probably hoping to surprise her, but clearly Sofia is ready, because she merely brings the gun down on the side of his jaw, sending him staggering to the floor. She looks at me with a grin. “And the men think we need protecting,” she laughs, eyes bright and feral. She’s clearly loving this whole thing, while I’m still trying to process it. Then her eyes go wide for a moment, and she shoves me violently to the floor, bringing the gun up and firing, just as another shot fills the space. I hear an agonized scream and terror squeezes my heart.
Oh God, Sofia!
I hear a roar fill the room, and I immediately know it’s Nico, and even as I roll trying to see what’s wrong, I let out a cry of pain when I feel Marco’s hand grip my arm so tightly I’m surprised he’s not crushing bone. “I’ll be back for you, sister,” he hisses in my ear. “And when I do, I’ll kill you slowly and make him watch.” Then he releases me and I hear him scramble back and out of the room. I vaguely hear footsteps chasing after him but Nico is there, and he’s reaching for me.
