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My heart was pounding, knowing that Armando would have to leave now. He was going to have to go up against Dominic and his guards. I imagined his chances of surviving this were less than fifty percent. I would have felt better if he were taking someone with him, but I knew he wouldn’t risk leaving me alone. None of this was playing out like I had expected, but I guess I hadn’t really expected anything.
“Gab, if I am not back in three hours, get Natalie on a plane and take her home,” Armando ordered and it only made the knot within my stomach tighten.
“I will,” Gabriele quickly promised, not even bothering to try and argue with him.
Armando came over to me and placed his hand on my cheek. I felt his thumb rub along my cheek, bringing tears to my eyes. This couldn’t be goodbye. This couldn’t be how our story ended. I didn’t even know until this very second that I wanted there to be a story between us, but I did.
I never thought it would be possible to look past what he had done, specifically to my father, but as we stood here, I didn’t even think about that. When I looked into his eyes, all I saw was the man I had been falling in love with, and now I might lose him.
“I am going to do everything within my power to come back here. To come back to you,” he promised. I wished that brought me any comfort, but it only left me feeling cold, because it was a promise I knew he most likely couldn’t keep.
“I know you have to do this, but I wish you didn't. I wish we could get on a plane, go to New York, and put all of this behind us.”
“So do I, but you won’t be safe until he’s dead. No matter what happens, you will be okay. I know it’s hard but try and relax. The stress isn’t good for you or the baby. I’ll be back in a few hours.”
He was trying to comfort and reassure me but was falling short because he didn’t know if he would be back. Neither of us did. I appreciated him trying, but it just wouldn’t do it tonight. I reached up and placed my hand on the back of his neck, pulling him down to me.
The second our lips touched, I felt a fire spreading across my body. If this was going to be our last kiss, I would make sure he knew exactly how I felt. He hungrily kissed me back, and within seconds, it had me breathless. He pulled back far too soon for my liking, but I knew he had to get going before someone discovered that we were not at the house.
“You do whatever you have to do to come back to me.” I didn’t care what he had to do tonight, as long as he came back to me. We could deal with whatever happened as long as we were together.
“I promise,” he said before he gave me one last quick kiss before pulling back. I was instantly missing the warmth from his touch. I wanted to reach back out to him, but I couldn’t. I could only watch as he walked out the door and pray he walked back through it.
Chapter twenty-eight
Armando
I parked a block away from the private club. I reached out to the extraction company, and they were preparing to go into the compounds tomorrow morning with the Feds. They wanted to wait until the morning hours so they could ensure that all of the women were in the compounds and not out with clients or at the clubs. I was pleased with that because it meant we had enough time to get Natalie out of town. The only thing that was left was Dom’s death.
It was all coming down to me, and I was not about to disappoint Natalie. I checked my gun once more to ensure it was good to go. I also had a knife with me as well just in case. I had no idea how many guards were going to be here tonight, but I was hoping it was under three. I was confident with three, but anymore and things start to go in their favor.
The only comfort and peace I had was knowing that Gab would care for Natalie should I not make it out. He would make sure she got to New York City and set up in a nice home with a great doctor. He would be there for her and the baby until his dying breath.
Letting out a deep breath, I blocked off all my emotions and what was at stake. I needed to focus on getting in and getting out alive. I locked it all down before getting out of my truck and going down the block. My eyes scanned the area to make sure there weren’t any potential threats. The area I was in wasn’t too bad. It was more middle class than the lower class, so there weren’t any gang members I would need to be concerned with.
The first guard was going to be the hardest because they were standing at the outside door. As I approached, I pulled my knife out and scanned the street again to ensure we would be alone. The last thing I needed were witnesses.
I didn’t recognize the guard, but that wasn’t surprising considering how many guys Dom had working for him. I didn’t know most of the lower ranking men. Once I was close enough, my hand shot out to cover his mouth before my right hand came up, and I shoved the knife under his ribs and right into his heart. I quickly twisted it before pulling out, severing multiple parts.
I knew he would be dead within seconds. I caught his body as it collapsed. I dragged it over to the side alley to try and hide him away. With the guard taken care of, I moved back over to the door and headed inside, turning to lock it before heading up the stairs. The private club was on the top floor of a two-story walk-up. The bottom floor had been a convenient store that had been shut down. The building itself looked rough, but that was what Dom wanted. He didn’t want someone to accidentally come across the private club.
Once I reached the door to the club, I pulled my gun out and held it up as I opened the door. It was never locked or guarded because there was a guard downstairs. Dom figured no one would be able to make it up the stairs, so he never bothered posting a guard at the door. It was a mistake that was going to cost him his life.
I slowly opened the door and poked my head inside, not really certain where the guards would be. I walked in and instantly heard the music playing from the back of the club. This club wasn’t your typical club. It didn’t have a big dance floor or even a bar. There were no workers here, just the women enslaved to Dom to cater to the men. Tonight, it was just Dom and a few of his lower-ranking men to keep guard.
“This is bullshit. The boss gets to have all the fun, and we are stuck here,” I heard one voice say from down the hallway.
“It’s our job to keep an eye on him and make sure no one tries to kill him. We’ll get to have our fun later,” another one said, annoyed as if he’s had to explain this before.
I waited a moment to see if someone else would speak, but when no one did, I moved around the corner with my gun raised. I knew the second I fired, I was going to be alerting everyone that there was a problem, but there was nothing I could do about that. I pointed my gun at the first person and fired, hitting him in the chest.
He went down, but the gunshot alerted the guy standing behind him and just as he pulled his gun, I was firing again, hitting him in the center of his chest. I heard footsteps running down different hallways. I knew there were more guards here than I had expected, but it was too late to turn back. All I could do was hope that I got out of this alive.
Eight fucking guards had been here tonight. Apparently, Dom had increased his protection detail. I suspected Leo or Alberto were planning a coup, and it was making Dom anxious. The first two guards had gone down easily, but it became increasingly difficult after that. I had taken a bullet to my right side, but it felt like it was lower. I had run out of bullets from having to take cover and fire, so I had resorted to using my knife.
All in all, I was hurting, but I was still alive and capable of fighting. When the last guard went down, I went to the final door and kicked it down. Within the room, I was met with Dom and three naked women dancing for him. The music was so loud that it was no wonder he didn't hear the fight just on the other side of the door. I went over and hit the power button to shut off the music as Dom spoke.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” There was a slight slur to his words; he was clearly drunk and stoned. He didn’t even realize his life was in danger.
