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“Define ‘all,’” I demanded, my voice low and dangerous.
“Everything.” His gaze flicked over my body, assessing, calculating. “Every deal, every asset, every territory...And let’s not forget your pregnant girlfriend. She’s become quite the sight for sore eyes, hasn’t she? Hasn’t looked hotter, really. And she’s always been stunning.”
The words hit me like a punch to the gut, igniting a firestorm of protective rage that blazed through my veins. My vision tinted red; every rational thought evaporated. This was about respect—about family—and now he’d brought her into it.
“Touch her and you’re dead,” I promised, the threat a low rumble in my throat.
“Tristan, don’t!” Kieran’s hand tightened on my arm, but I was beyond reason.
In a flash of motion, I shook off his hold and charged at Rossi with the full force of my fury. I barely registered Kieran’s shout of warning, the scrape of our feet on the marble floor, or the sharp crack of a gunshot splitting the air.
Nick wasn’t quick enough on the draw when it came to firing his gun, but he still squeezed the trigger. The bullet whistled past my ear, a harbinger of death gone awry, embedding itself with a thud into the wall behind me.
Time slowed as adrenaline surged, pumping through my bloodstream. I tackled Nick to the ground, ready to pummel him into oblivion for threatening the three people I loved most in this world. Kieran was somewhere close, shouting my name, trying to pull me back from the edge where violence teetered on the brink of savagery. But I was already gone, lost in the heat of battle.
My fists found their mark again and again, the sickening crunch of bone under my knuckles punctuating each blow. Nick’s face was barely recognizable, his blood slick on my hands as I drove him further into the ground, my rage a living thing.
“Tristan, stop!” Killian’s voice cut through the red mist in my mind. He was close, but I didn’t care. I wanted to end Nick, make him pay for every threat, every fear he’d ever instigated against us.
“Think, lad! Why are we here? Where’s Adriana?” Killian’s words were like ice water, shocking me back to reality. My heart plummeted. Adriana. This wasn’t just about retribution; it was about her safety.
I released Nick, who lay gasping like a fish out of water, and scrambled to my feet. I had to get to her. I turned toward the study, and sprinted.
Before I could reach the door, a force collided with me from the side. Gio. His tackle sent us both crashing to the floor, his weight pinning me down. We grappled, our struggle a tangle of limbs and curses. I fought to push him off, desperate to reach Adriana, but he was relentless.
“Get off me, Gio!” I shouted, throwing a punch in his direction, trying to dislodge him. But he was like a damn leech, sucking away precious time I couldn’t afford to lose.
“Calm down, Callahan,” Gio growled, trying to subdue me. But there was no calming the storm inside me—not until I knew she was safe.
My world narrowed to the hard thud of my heart, the hot breath against my neck, and the iron grip of Gio’s arms around me. With every ounce of strength, I tried to shove him off, my muscles burning with effort and fear for Adriana.
My world narrowed to the hard thud of my heart, the hot breath against my neck, and the iron grip of Gio’s arms around me. With every ounce of strength, I tried to shove him off, my muscles burning with effort and fear for Adriana.
“Damn it, get off!” My voice was raw, my mind a single track to get to her.
Kieran’s boots thudded across the floorboards as he joined the fray, his hands gripping Gio’s jacket, trying to drag him away from me. “Gio, back off!” Kieran’s command sliced through the chaos, but Gio held on like a man possessed.
“Protect the family,” Gio grunted, mistaking my desperation for madness.
The room spun, a vortex of flailing limbs and curses. I could feel the blood pulsing just beneath my skin, adrenaline fueling my struggle. Then, out of nowhere, a fist connected with my face—a sharp crack that splintered through my skull.
“Tristan!” Kieran’s shout sounded distant, muffled by the ringing in my ears.
The punch had come from nowhere, blindsiding me. My vision blurred, darkness creeping into the edges as I fought the pull of unconsciousness. One more hit would send me under—I knew it.
“Ade…” I gasped out, the name a talisman against the void.
But the darkness was relentless, swallowing sound and sense alike. My last thought before succumbing was a silent plea that she was safe, that all this wasn’t for nothing.
And then, nothing at all.
Chapter Twenty-Eight: Adriana
The crack of a gunshot split the air, and my heart lurched. I lunged toward the door, each muscle in my body coiling to sprint, to find Tristan, to find the source of that ominous sound. But before I could reach the brass handle, an iron grip clamped down on my shoulder, spinning me back into the room.
I mean, it had been stupid. I knew it was stupid before I did it and I still found myself doing it anyway.
“Where do you think you’re going, Adriana?” Diamond’s voice was like gravel, heavy and cold. He was wearing such a nice suit, but steel toed boots. I should have noticed the way he was dressed when we were first came in, but I hadn’t.
