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I am trapped, a sitting duck waiting to be burned alive or suffocated. No escape, no way out - I can't breath. The smoke is overwhelming.
Get hold of yourself!
I stand swiftly, fighting back terror. There must be a way. I cast about desperately, searching for anything that could help.
I can't escape from the double-layered window, one of glass, followed by grill on the external side. But, I can break the glass window for fresh air.
Here goes nothing. I take a candlestick from the bedside table, and smash open the glass, the night air hitting my face in a blast of chill relief. The smoke is still heavy, and I try to keep my face toward the grilled window. At least there's some air coming my way.
The compound is a scene of chaos. Fires rage, bodies lie motionless, and gunfights have broken out everywhere.
I'm just catching my breath when I think someone sees me. I try to move away but a shot cracks the air. a bullet pierces my shoulder, tearing flesh. Agony explodes through me.
I cry out, falling to the floor. The smoke rushes closer to meet me as I fall into darkness.
Chapter 24
Stefano
ExplosionsrocktheConticompound, glass shattering and walls crumbling around me.
I can barely hear my own thoughts amidst the chaos. Through a loudspeaker, the Chicago Mobster, Felix Carlisi's voice, pierces the air.
"We're not here to cause unnecessary violence! We're defending ourselves! We are here to make it clear that we did not kill your last underboss! Stop the attack against us immediately. Do not come back to Chicago, Luca Conti. Are we clear? Do not come back to Chicago. Once our message is delivered, we'll go in peace!"
"Porca miseria!" Holy Shit! I curse under my breath. What has Don Conti gotten us into?
My heart hammers in my chest as I sprint through the chaotic compound, searching for Isabella. I saw the guards who were supposed to be guarding her door in action outdoors. Who is protecting her while we fight? The world blurs into streaks of color; all that matters to me is her safety.
"Isabella!" I shout, my voice hoarse from smoke and desperation. "Dove sei?!" (Where are you?!)
I tear through the chaos, my palms are slick with sweat, my breath coming in ragged gasps. The weight of responsibility bears down on me. For right now, I'm her only protector.
I see the Capo barreling toward me.
“Where are you going?” he shouts, pulling out a spare gun and throwing it to an associate hiding behind a bush.
“To find Isabella,” I shout, trying to run past.
“Oh fuck her,” he says. I stand there, shocked. Aren’t we supposed to protect her?
“What if she gets hurt? Or worse, killed?”
“Then so be it,” he shouts back at me, without giving it a second thought.
A chill goes down my spine as I watch him get distracted by a skirmish erupting close by.
Then so be it? Why then have we been protecting Isabella with everything we have for all these months?
Suddenly, I realize, there’s more truth to Isabella’s narration of the Capo’s intentions, than his to hers.
I need to get to her, to know she’s safe. To get to the bottom of the truth.
"Ti troverò, Isabella!" I will find you, Isabella, I vow.
She has already lost her father, Diego Torres, and I cannot – I will not – let her suffer any more pain.
I run up the stairs to the hallway her bedroom is at. Fire engulfs me from both sides. I take a handkerchief from my pocket, place it over my nose and mouth, and move forward through any open spots I can find.
