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Walking in the door, my gun raised, I get my first glimpse of what I am dealing with. Sebastian and Carter are both right on my tail, watching my back and sides. We make our way into the house in perfect synchronization, the three of us knowing each other's moves before we even take them. Our defense is strong, strong enough to handle the two or three men that must be left.
“So glad you could join us!” Dominic blurts out from the open plan kitchen, where he is standing toward the back, not far from the hallway. His smug smile makes me want to smash his face into a million pieces, and I would if Nico wasn’t on his knees on the floor in front of him. Dominic has his gun pointed to the back of his head, execution style, and my heart drops for a beat.
This is less than ideal.
As my eyes sweep the room, I see one other man standing to the left of Dominic, his arms both raised, a weapon in each, trained on us. Fool, there is no way he can get a clear shot at all three of us; his life is most certainly on a short timeline. Aside from Dominic and his man, I can’t see anyone else. Little Red is nowhere in sight, and I pray that she has stayed in the cupboard where Nico put her.
My eyes drill Nico, and he gives me a small nod, confirming my thoughts. He then blinks twice, indicating that there are only the two men, no one else in the house, and I am not surprised. We killed every one of Dominic’s associates weeks ago. Who the dead bodies are outside, I have no fucking idea. He must have picked them up from the streets, promising them the mob lifestyle, only to have them killed before their dream began.
“Drop your gun, Dominic,” Sebastian yells to him, as the three of us take slow steps forward toward him, spreading out.
“Don’t move!” Dominic yells back, pushing the gun further into the back of Nico’s head, threatening us, but we don’t listen. Sebastian moves to the right toward Nico, with Carter to the left, his eyes trained on the man holding up the two guns at us. I move forward, not flinching for a moment as I look Dominic directly in the eye.
“You’re a fucking dead man, Dominic,” I grit out, barely hanging on by a thread, my hand clenching and unclenching my gun with each step I take. I want to take his life. I want to make him pay. For all of it. Angelina, Leo, Little Red.
I hear the click of his gun then, and the three of us pause as he begins to smile.
“I will kill your little soldier here if you take one more step. Don’t test me!” I look at Nico. He is our best man, and I don’t want to lose him. I have no plans for Dominic to take yet another person away from me.
But I need to get to Little Red. I need to make sure she is safe, because if she isn’t, I already know it will break me.
“You lay one hand on him, and I will slice your fucking throat and hang you upside down to bleed out in front of the whole mafia family,” I growl, my voice dripping with venom.
A small flash of panic runs across Dominic’s face, so I know I unnerved him, and he must know that no matter whether he fires the gun at Nico or lets him go, he will be dead either way. There is no way out of this for him. It is the end of the line. As long as Little Red stays hidden, everything will be okay. She will be safe and be in my arms very soon. Where she belongs.
“You think you know it all, don’t you, Dante?” he spits out, his face flushed, sweat beading down his cheeks. He is under pressure and at the end of the road.
“You all think you are just so high and fucking mighty, so impenetrable. I have waited YEARS for you to accept me. YEARS, I have worked for you, doing every shit piece of work you gave me, and you still didn’t accept me as part of the fold!” he yells, sounding completely unstable.
“Was that before or after you fucked my wife and got her hooked on drugs?” I yell to him. I am livid. I have never hated someone as much as I hate Dominic fucking Russo, and my insides swell with the intense need to end him right this second.
He laughs then, a cackle. “She was so fucking good at sucking my cock, Dante. All I had to promise her was an ounce, and she would be on her knees in a flash.” He’s trying to goad me, but it isn’t working. All that matters to me now is Little Red. My heart is pounding wanting to get her out of here, wanting to end him, so I can get to her.
He must see that I am not stirred up by his words, and a sly grin comes to his face.
“I wonder if your little redhead will also be as accommodating.” His voice edges out to me, and I take another step toward him, about to explode. It takes all my energy to try not to respond, to try and remain calm, because one false move here and Nico won’t make it.
“I am going to end you.” I have never meant anything more in my life. He is not going anywhere near Little Red, and every last man in this room will die before I let that happen.
Little Red is mine, and Dominic is going to pay.
38
Annie
My head rests on my knees, my teeth drumming in my ears as they chatter in fear. I am still curled up in the dark cupboard where Nico left me. I have no idea what is happening, but the loud gunshots have stopped. I strain to hear any signs of life, and I hear people yelling, men, how many I don’t know. I try to concentrate to see if I can hear Nico, praying that he is alright, not wanting anyone to die on behalf of protecting me.
Still not able to distinguish who is talking or what they are saying, I peer out the small crack in the wardrobe door, pushing it open a little wider, and then I hear his voice.
Dante is here.
Relief floods me immediately as his voice soothes my shaking body, and I slowly open the wardrobe door wider. I am as quiet as a mouse as I step out from my hiding place, stretching a little before I walk toward the bedroom door to see if I can hear them any better.
Leaning my ear against the bedroom door, the voices are still muffled, so I reach out and slowly turn the brass knob, praying that it remains silent as I quietly open the door and peek down the hallway. I am eager to see him. It has been weeks since I last saw him, and if he is here, I just want to look him in the eye. Then I will know for sure. I will know if he still feels something for me.
The hallway is empty, so I open the door wider and slip out of the bedroom, making my way quietly down the hall, featherlight on my feet, tiptoeing toward the kitchen. I know I shouldn’t. I know I should stay where I am, but it is like he is a magnet. My body is being pulled toward him, needing to feel his safe, protective arms around me, telling me everything will be alright. Just like he did the first time we met.
There is more yelling then, and I stop suddenly as fear sweeps over me. For a brief moment, I wonder what the hell I am doing. Panic seeps into my bones, and I start to shake again as I come to my senses. But as I turn around to walk back to the bedroom, I hear him again.
