I hold seven fingers up to Ricky before walking in the open area. They should have had more men throughout the warehouse if they wanted to get away with whatever this is.
Vinny looks in my direction, unsurprised, a cocky grin on his face. He must think his six men dotted around the room are more than enough to stop me.
Not a chance.
“Took you long enough.” Vinny twirls a sharp knife as he steps closer to Emma. Her eyes light up when she sees me, as if I’m her hero. She’s bolted to the fucking ground because of me, how can she look at me like that? Then, as if realization slaps her in the face she screams, “It’s a trap! They lured you here!” The dried blood on her face makes my jaw clench.
I inch forward, halting when he brings the knife to her throat.
“You can have anything you want. Name it. Just let the girls go.”
He laughs sinisterly.
I tighten my hand around the gun.
“You can’t give me back my daughter,” He growls. The dull fluorescent light accents the gleam of his knife.
He’s right. I can give him money and power, practically anything in the world. But I can’t bring back the dead. What happened was never my fault, but I should never have gotten involved with the Mafia. Back then, I had nothing to lose.
Things are different; I’m not the same man. I have everything to lose now. Vinny’s a desperate man, but what he doesn’t understand is what he’s holding beneath that sharp blade. My world.
Standing straight, I aim the barrel at his chest. “That wasn’t my doing.” I spit.
There’s no point trying to reason with him.
“Eye for an eye. Can’t find the men who did it...yet. She’ll do for now.” He shrugs, running the dull side of the knife against her soft shoulder. She tries to be strong, but I can see her body shaking violently.
My finger lightly squeezes the trigger. The only thing stopping me is the fear of him accidentally cutting her, even the slightest nick on her skin won’t be tolerated.
“Put the gun down, or this pretty one gets a gash on her precious face.” His voice is devoid of any emotion. He sounds…bored.
I don’t obey. The second I do, I’ll be a target for his men. If I die, who will keep the girls safe?
“Wrong choice.” He sneers, lightly skimming her cheek with the blade.
I growl lowly as she cries out, a line of blood dripping down her face.
“See, Aiden.” He drawls, his voice laced with humor. “I have your sorella and your piccolo. I want to keep them. They’re just so…obedient when they’re passed out.” He chuckles.
As he laughs, hatred fuels me. He has to die.
“If you fucking touched either one of them, I swear to God.” I choke.
The odds are against us, I know they are. But Emma shouldn’t have to see me this way, and she definitely shouldn’t see what I’m about to do. If I die, it will only be after I squeeze the life out of every man in this fucked up warehouse.
I stare at Emma’s beautifully terrified face, trying to memorize her every feature. I mask the anger in my voice, using that gentle tone I always use with her, not wanting her to remember my last words as mean or hateful. “Close your eyes.”
I thank God she listens, because the second her eyes close, I pull the trigger. A loud bang sounds and a bullet pierces dead between Vinny’s eyes. Bullets fly, ricocheting in every direction.
Four men left.
I shield Emma with my body, she cries out for me, but I can’t turn for even a second. Ricky does the same for Ashley.
Only three men left.
Ricky wails in agony.
I turn to see him bent over, a bullet wound to his leg. Ashley is fighting against her chains to be by his side.
“I’m fine.” He growls, straightening before pulling the trigger.
One to go.
Lucio Matarazzo, Vinny’s brother. His eyes burn with unadulterated rage as he glances at Vinny. Blood pools beneath his head, and the sight makes me laugh.
I want Lucio to suffer, the others died too quickly for my liking. I shoot his hand and his gun clatters to the ground as he shouts. I throw my head back, unable to control my dark laughter at the sight of his world falling apart.
Caught in my quest for vengeance, I fail to notice the gun hidden in his waistband until I hear a loud bang and a burning pain sears my chest as the bullet slices through me. Emma’s piercing scream rings in my ears as I look down and see red seeping through my white T-shirt at an alarmingly fast rate.
I curse myself for not wearing black. The girls shouldn’t have to see this.
I grunt as the pain grows. I press down on the wound, trying to stem the blood. Luckily, I hear Lucio’s gun jamming. Feeling faint, I do the only good thing I’ve ever done in my life. I empty my magazine into Lucio’s chest as my sight blurs and I feel my body going slack.
My sister’s safe. My girl, my beautiful girl, is safe.
I will gladly bleed out on the cold concrete if it means she will not endure another scratch.
Fourteen
Pain. The overwhelming agony when you lose someone you love is unbearable, unthinkable. No words can express the emotions when your heart is ripped from your chest and stepped on. When a life is cut too short.
Pain, they say, gets better with time. Thank God I won’t have to find out.
Thank God Aiden is okay.
I watch his still body on the hospital bed, connected to beeping machines, with heavy eyes. Their rhythmic beeps echo inside my head as I wait for him to open his eyes. Needles are sunk into his skin and a bandage covers his entire chest.
I hold my breath when I hear a groan.
“Did they touch you?” are the first words out of his lips.
I laugh. I know I shouldn’t, but my heart is filled with so much joy. A weight has been lifted from my chest.
“No.” I make my way to his bedside, running my fingers through his black hair.
“Don’t lie.” He croaks, pushing himself up stubbornly.
I place a gentle hand on his shoulder, pushing lightly to get him to lie back down. He’s been unconscious for three days, massive blood loss and damage to his head will do that. He fell on the hard concrete upon blacking out, it broke my heart that I couldn’t reach him as I fought against my restraints.
He tilts his head, taking in the bandage on his chest, and ignores it. “Please, tell me.” His fingers circle the healing scab on my cheek, like it’s something serious.
I bite my lips, embarrassed. I shake my head. “They didn’t. Ashley and I, we’re kind of in sync.” I gesture to my abdomen.
He shoots me a confused look.
I sigh. “I started my period that morning, so did she...” I blush.
He smiles, gesturing for me to continue.
“We...we both had tampons in. Still intact.” I put my hands in front of me.
“Thank God.” He wraps a heavy arm around my waist and pulls me onto the bed, laying me across his chest.
I gasp, yanking myself away. “Are you crazy?” I exclaim, moving to check his bandage. “I could’ve squished you and opened your stitches!”
He rolls his eyes. “Oh, baby, you can’t even squish a fly.” He pins me with puppy eyes, his voice soft and warm. “Please come here.”