Marcus doesn’t hesitate, slipping under the open garage door and taking off like a fucking rocket toward the thick brush around the property. “Where’s he going?” I rush out as Levi takes my hand and pulls me toward the garage door.
We all slip under it, the boys’ cousins sticking to us like glue. “Marc has sniper training,” Levi explains as we rush around the side of the property, far out of view of Giovanni and his men. “He’s got the best shot out of all of us. He’ll be able to take out a few of them before they even reach us.”
“Shit, but wouldn’t your father have men hidden out in the woods? You could be sending him right into a trap.”
Roman glances back at me, his eyes softening just a touch. “Marcus can handle himself,” he explains. “I don’t want you going into this worrying about us. We’ll be fine. You need to be thinking about yourself.”
Levi nods as we slam our backs up against the side of the house, lying in wait. “If things get dicey,” he says, “if something happens and we can’t save you, then I want you to find an out. Take off into the woods. Call for Dill and Doe and run for your fucking life. They’ll guide you out of the woods and to safety. Just know, whatever happens, we will find you.”
I let out a shaky breath. The thought of having to cut and run makes me sick, but if I hang around waiting for death, that makes everything we’ve been through all for nothing. “Promise me, Shayne,” Levi continues, his voice taking on a strained, hard edge. “Promise that you’ll run if it comes to it.”
I swallow hard and nod, tears filling my eyes. I hastily wipe them away, trying to gain control of my emotions. This is certainly no time to turn into a babbling, whiny bitch. “I promise,” I tell him. “But I swear to God, if you assholes die, I’ll kill you myself.”
Roman scoffs. “Nothing can kill us, Shayne. We’re the motherfucking grim reapers.”
And with that, we take off into the night.
Levi pushes me toward Roman, and I hurry after him, keeping right on Roman’s heels as he bounds through bushes and toward the very front of Giovanni’s army, ready to take them face on. I’m not going to lie, standing right at the front of the pack isn’t exactly the position I want going into this, but I trust the boys to keep me safe. Marcus is out there somewhere keeping watch over us, and I need to believe that he’s got my back.
Levi and the cousins rush off in different directions, and I quickly realize that we’re surrounding Giovanni’s army from all angles. A grin pulls at my lips. They’ll never see us coming.
Roman pulls me down into a bush that looks over the front of the property, right to where we see Giovanni strutting down the long driveway as though he’s some kind of god. His men stand at his back, not one of them holding Roman’s baby. “Fuck,” he says, his gaze scanning over each of them. “He’s left my son somewhere.”
“He’s got to be somewhere close,” I murmur. “Your father wouldn’t let him out of his sight for long. He’ll want him somewhere he could easily get to him if his plan turns to shit.”
Roman nods, agreeing with me, but the only problem is that none of us know where the fuck that could be. “Come on,” he says, his hand falling back into mine.
I follow him out of the bush, keeping in the shadows of the night. “There’s got to be at least eighty men,” I say. “I know you guys are good, but there’s no way we can take on all of them by ourselves.”
“Have faith, Empress. We’ve faced worse odds,” he says, pausing to wait for his father to get just a little closer. “Just a little bit longer.”
A few seconds tick by, and the moment Giovanni steps into the very center of the circle drive, preparing to take the stairs, a shot rings out.
One of Giovanni’s men falls with a loud cry, the bullet piercing right through the center of his head. A spray of blood decorates the man beside him, and I cringe in disgust as the blood catches in the faint moonlight.
Giovanni holds up his hand, bringing his men to a stop as they frantically search around, desperate to find the shooter, but they’ll never find him. Marcus is too good.
Another shot rings out, and a man on the opposite side of the pack drops like a sack of potatoes, the bullet piercing through his chest. He cries out in agony, and I watch as men duck down in fear. “They didn’t know,” I breathe as Roman’s hand squeezes in mine. “Your father’s brought them here to be slaughtered, and they had no fucking idea.”
“None,” Roman says. “He would have told them it was just a show of force to get us to kneel to his demands. They’re not prepared for this. They’re just random men off the fucking street. It’s a shame really, but it’s either them or us, and I choose you every fucking time.”
Another shot goes off and another before Giovanni holds out his hands. “ENOUGH,” he roars through the night, his face reddening as his gaze flicks from left to right, trying to pinpoint his sons. “SHOW YOURSELVES AT ONCE.”
Roman laughs and tugs on my hand. “Show time.”
And with that, everybody steps out, creating a barrier around Giovanni and his army.
A grin pulls at my lips, seeing Levi directly to our left and Marcus stepping from the woods on our right. Giovanni glances around, knowing just how much of a threat the boys would be coming at him from three different directions. He looks nervous, but his determination soars above that.
“Really now?” he says, holding his hands out. “You think you’re a match for me? I have a hundred men here tonight and you stand before me with nothing but yourselves and your cousins? I came for a fight, but this will be a slaughter.”
“Don’t fool yourself, Father. You’ve never fought a day in your life,” Roman laughs, mocking him like any emotionally abused son should. “What are you hoping to achieve here? We’ve already won your seat at the head of the table. The family has sworn loyalty to us. You’ve lost. You’ve got nothing left.”
Giovanni scoffs. “You threatened the family into pledging their loyalty,” he laughs, shaking his head. “But where are they now? It’s just words, Roman. If they are not standing at your back, ready to end my life, then you don’t truly have their loyalty. The family is still mine. It’s always been mine, and you are nothing but a moronic child who thinks he’s ready to play in the big leagues. Give it up, son. You can still walk away. This is your final warning. I would hate to have to end you like I did your mother, but I will.”
Roman slips one of his many guns from the combat belt at his side and in a rapid flash of lightning, two perfect rounds ring loudly through the night. The two soldiers at Giovanni’s side go down and Giovanni barely even flinches. “Too fucking late to come begging for forgiveness now,” Roman calls. “Tonight, you die.”
As if someone flipped a switch, the army roars at Giovanni’s back and comes storming toward us like a stampede, bounding around Giovanni in their desperation to take us out. Roman fires off a few more shots, effortlessly taking out soldiers as Marcus and Levi join the fray. Their cousins hit the soldiers from the back and it turns into an all-out war, the army evenly spread around Giovanni like some kind of protective shield.