I woke to a wiggling feeling on my chest. Several wiggling feelings. Screaming, I twisted as much as my cold and stiff body could manage, dislodging several of the rats that had been roaming over my neck and chest, nibbling at the food remains. Panic climbed up my throat and threatened to throttle me. I was powerless. I couldn’t move, I couldn’t run, all I could do was lie here and take it.
Dry tears pressed against my eyelids. I had no liquid left to spare for them. I was so thirsty, the thought of water had started to take over my mind. It had to have been nearly twenty-four hours by now. Light flooded under the door. Dawn lighting up the world. I was so cold, I was shivering uncontrollably now, my arms and my feet numb. My cheek that was pressed against the dirt was also without feeling.
Was I going to die here?
No. I couldn’t allow the thought to sink through me. Losing hope was dangerous. I saw it all the time at the hospital. People needed hope to keep fighting.
It sounded noisy outside in the property beyond the basement. Men were shouting in the distance, and there were a lot of scuffling steps, like people running back and forth.
Slowly, a noise echoed through my paralyzed thoughts, and sank in. What was that sound? A loud repeated banging tore through the air. It was like a banging drum, beating quickly. No, not a drum.
Now that I focused on it, it was too distinctive to be anything other than gunshots. Machine guns in the distance. I didn’t have to be an expert to know that sound. My heart all but jumped into my throat.
Renato was here.
The door to the basement busted open, and two of the thugs from earlier came in.
“What’s happening?” I asked.
They yanked me to my feet, and one shoved a gun into my side. “It’s showtime. Hurry up,” he grunted.
Renato was here. He’d found me. But I was bait, and I didn’t want my husband getting hurt.
I struggled against the men, but the gun dug harder into my side.
“Listen, chica, you were bait, and now that the fish has nibbled, we don’t need you. Don’t be difficult.”
“That’s an impossible request,” I muttered, looking wildly around for something I could use to defend myself or slow down our retreat. “Ask my husband. Sounds like he’s outside. I can introduce you, if you want.”
“Shut it, bitch, or I’ll gag you.”
The threat was enough to shut me up. Even the thought of this man putting anything in my mouth made me feel sick. It was ironic how Renato had played with gagging me, finger-fucking my mouth with his black gloves, and it had only turned me on, even when I’d been trying to run away from him, yet the threat of it from these guys had me nauseated. Proof that my husband was my exception in every way.
A voice spoke from somewhere in front of us. The light streaming in was so bright after hours of darkness, it blinded me, and I couldn’t make out the features of the dark silhouette that filled the doorway. But his voice? I’d know that voice anywhere. That voice was home.
“No one gags my wife but me.”
My heart squeezed hard. Hope flashed through me like a forest fire. How had he gotten here so quickly? The gunfire still sounded far off. Had he snuck in by himself? Questions shot through me like lightning, but all of that fell away as I searched for a glimpse of him.
My captors had just turned toward the voice when one cried out and dropped my arm. Renato stood in the doorway of the basement, a gun in his hand. He had it pointed toward us and shot in quick succession, and the other guy holding me fell, dragging me to the floor beside him.
Both men were writhing on the floor when Renato reached me. He pulled me toward him, his face intense and stormy. All in black, he seemed like a mercenary for the Devil himself. I couldn’t stop staring. It was hard to believe that he was real.
He looked me over, anger hardening his features. “You’re hurt.” His voice was utterly lethal.
“I’ll live, now that you’re here,” I rasped. “You came.”
“Of course I came. I told you, bambina, not even an angel with a flaming sword could keep you from me.”
He surveyed me, taking stock of my cuts and bruises, and my bloodied, soup- and pee-stained clothes. A look so dark crossed his face I nearly flinched away from him. It was like the light went out in his eyes.
He stroked his fingers down my cheek and turned to the first fallen Castillo, who’d tried and failed to reach his gun. Renato rose and stepped over his flailing body, picked up the weapon, and pressed it to the man’s hand, pinning it to the floor.
“Need a hand with that?” he asked, his dispassionate mask back in place as he pulled the trigger.
The man’s hand exploded in a burst of blood and bone. The sound was deafening. I crab-walked back to stay out of the spray zone. The other man tried to get up and run, but he’d been shot in the legs, and he only managed to hobble a few steps before falling. Renato took a knife from a hidden pocket in his sleeve.
“It’s nothing personal for us, man. It’s just the boss’s orders.”
Renato stalked him down, his black gloves flexing in the overhead lighting. He crouched over the man and pointed the knife at me.
“Nothing personal? Who marked her face up? Who pressed their worthless fingertips into her skin? Who touched her at all?”
The man on the floor shook, and the smell of pee filled the air. There was a poetic justice in seeing him reduced to the same state he’d put me in.
“Who scared her?” He dragged the knife down the guy’s face and leaned in to speak to him in a low tone. “When I take your worthless life, I’m going to cut off your head and have it delivered to your family. It doesn’t matter where they live. I’ll find them. I’ll make it my life’s work. They’ll get the head, and then, that night, while they cry and mourn your loss, I’ll slip into their homes, nice and quiet, and do the same to them. Then I’ll send their heads to their families…and in time, I’ll have wiped out everyone who held even a drop of your blood from the world.”
I swallowed a jagged protest at those truly horrifying words.
Renato wasn’t home right now, and I couldn’t stop this monster on a mission.
The man whimpered, and Renato smiled. “Don’t worry, I’ll be sure to tell them exactly why they are dying before they go.” With that, he ripped his knife across the man’s neck, and blood sprayed against his shoulder and cheek. He didn’t even flinch. He looked like a real live demon at that moment.
He stood, surveying his handiwork, and took a gun from his waistband. He pumped two shots into the guy whose hand had been blown off.
I couldn’t look away, even though I wanted to. It felt like if I did, he’d disappear and I’d wake up, delirious from dehydration on the basement floor, still handcuffed.
Renato crouched beside me, cleaning the knife on his pants before carefully cutting my bonds. Then he pulled a small pack from his back. He’d barely opened the water before I was reaching for it and gulping it down.
“Go slow, you might bring it up again,” he muttered, watching me with that same dark murderous look that warned that his revenge killing spree was far from over. He went back to the pack and pulled out a dark sweater, threading my injured wrists through the sleeves like I was made of glass. The sudden warmth made me shiver even more for a second. My arms were coming back to life and they hurt like hell.
“We have to move,” he said after a moment of watching me, taking stock of every shake and sigh. He stood and then pulled me up carefully into his arms.
“Where are we going?” I asked quietly, unsure if I was talking to my husband right now or the demon who wore his face.
“To finish this,” he said gently.
It was such a contrast to the way he’d just acted, I was transfixed by the sight. My husband was measured and calm. Controlled in all ways. Not anymore. He was as close to savage as I’d ever seen a man. The contrast was only more dramatic in a man like Renato, who was a master of his emotions. I clung to his neck and pressed my face into the bloodstained skin there.
He took me out into the freezing dawn. Sonny stood outside, gun in hand, his face bloodied and battered. The smile of relief that passed across his familiar face tugged at my heart. The back of the property was quiet, and I could see a jagged hole in the wire fence that bordered the snowy woods. Had my husband cut his way in here, sneaking past numerous armed guards, with only one man as his backup? We passed by the side of the house, heading around to the front. Clearly, sneaking in the back while attacking the front had been part of the plan, if the chaos that we walked into was anything to go by. I wasn’t prepared for the sight that greeted me around the corner.
The grounds were strewn with fallen men. The sound of gunshots echoed all around. The snow that had fallen was bloodied.
De Sanctis men had filled the yard, crouched behind different things for cover. Their cars had busted open the gates, and the sides of the black SUVs had taken fire.
The cartel members hid behind the walls of the porch, and I could only assume, other places around the property. Shots were exchanged in both directions. We stepped into the shadows beside the house, and stopped where there was a vehicle parked, providing excellent cover.
“Well, Giada?”
Renato’s voice surprised me, until I spied the discreet headset in his ear.
“I’ve got her. Where are they?”
I couldn’t hear her answer.
“Where’s Elio?” I wondered, peering around at the shadows and the men crouching, staying out of the line of fire. It looked like an impasse. Renato’s sottocapo was never far from his side.
“He’s on his way,” Renato said.
“De Sanctis!” A loud shout echoed around the grounds. It sounded like it came from above us.
There, surrounded by his men, on a balcony overlooking the scene, was Juan. His men were arranged in a human shield around him.
“Are you going to hide away or face me like a man?” Juan goaded.
Renato made no move to walk out into the vulnerable space in front of the house. Instead, he tilted his head back and shouted upward.
“So, it is you? You’re the head of the Castillos? And you didn’t even have the balls to own up to it when you strolled into my warehouse downtown. Have you always been a coward?” Renato challenged.
Juan replied immediately, annoyance in his tone. “Not a coward, just smarter than you. I wanted to see your operation, and I did. Interesting stuff. Maybe we’ll keep some elements when we take over from you. The days of the De Sanctis Mafia’s rule are over.”
“Is that right?” Renato prodded.
I could hear Giada murmuring in the headset and wondered what the hell she was saying.
“I don’t care if you think I’m a coward. Soon, you’ll be dead, and your city will be mine,” Juan called.
“And what makes you so sure of that?” Renato asked, his tone a disinterested drawl.
It was clearly irritating Juan if the way his voice kept growing higher and higher was any indication.
“Because I’m not alone in my endeavors. You’ve pissed off the wrong people, De Sanctis, and now you’ll understand the danger of that.”
“The wrong people, or the wrong person? You’re talking about Commissioner Reynolds, right? This house is in his family, isn’t it? He’s really going to hate what you’ve done with the place.”
“He wants you gone, and he wants me to do it. Win-win for me.”
“Hmm, maybe. But you can’t get to me here without risking yourself.”
“True, maybe not, but we won’t stop. If I don’t get you today, then we’ll never stop hunting you, or her. One day soon, we’ll get to her.”
Renato was silent for a long moment and then looked down at me. “I can’t risk that,” he told me quietly. He set me carefully down on the ground and avoided my hands when I tried to reach for him.
“What are we going to do? They’ve got the higher ground, we need a miracle,” I muttered senselessly, fear paralyzing every part of me except my mouth.
Juan shouted down at us, “Or do you not care if your woman dies?”
“If she dies, I don’t care about living,” Ren said in a near whisper, his eyes fixed on mine. “Because I won’t live without her.”
There was a faraway sound in the air, like beating wings, growing closer and closer, but Renato held all my attention.
He cupped my cheek. “Keep reading The Prince, little nurse. It will help you lead the family. And I have to change my answer from the chapel, when you asked me if I’d ever been in love.” He kissed me again. “The answer is yes. You are the first, and last woman I’ll ever love.”
“What the hell?!” I latched on to Renato’s vest and refused to let go. “You can’t go out there.” Sonny’s hands clamped down on my shoulders, pinning me in place.
Renato ran a hand over my matted, dirty hair and pressed a kiss to my forehead. “‘Never was anything great achieved without great danger.’ I have to go with Machiavelli on that one.”
The sound in the distance grew closer. Help on the way? How would they get in here without being blown apart?
Renato pried my hands from his vest, and I swayed into Sonny. His grip didn’t allow me even an inch to fight against. He wasn’t going to let me go with Ren. My husband took two steps away from me, his gaze fixed on me.
“Very well, Castillo! I surrender,” Renato shouted, his voice carrying over everything else. He took another step back.
I cried out, reaching out for him, but he shook his head at me.
“Don’t even think about it, little nurse. Trust me.” Then he turned and distracted everyone by walking out onto the battlefield that lay in front of the house, his hands rising slowly.
Everyone froze. A panicked cry left me as I watched him walk into the dead zone, drawing all attention, making himself a target.
“The mighty Renato De Sanctis, putting his own head on the chopping block instead of his wife’s. How romantic,” Juan sneered.
Renato stared up at the balcony. His gaze never wavered. What was he doing? He was going to get himself killed.
Then the noise overhead was upon us, and all hell broke loose.
Juan raised his gun and took a shot at Renato. I screamed at the sight of the bullet connecting with his gut. He fell to one knee. Absolute terror gave me strength I’d never known before, and I stomped hard on Sonny’s foot and used the moment of his distraction to break free. I ran toward Renato.
Suddenly, the air around us came alive with bullets. Light shone down over the dark gardens, illuminating the place where Juan stood on the balcony with the human shield of his men.
Precise shots boomed, cracks of noise ripping through the night. The shield of men fell, and Juan was right after. The back of his head blew out, and then he disappeared from view.
The helicopter hovered for a moment, and I covered my eyes and looked up, blinking in the bright lights. I glimpsed Elio sitting with his legs over the side and the sniper rifle in hand. Then I ran toward Renato again.
De Sanctis men swarmed out of their covered hiding places and ran down the remaining cartel members who were making a break for it. The sound of fighting filled the air again, but it didn’t matter. Nothing mattered except the figure in black lying on the white ground. I dropped to my knees when I reached him and touched his face.
“Renato? Ren, can you hear me?” Tears splashed down my face. Get a fucking grip, Charlie, you’re a nurse. Save him. “I won’t let you die. I need you, so you’re not allowed,” I murmured furiously as I attempted to rip open his black vest and found it hard as hell.
I went searching for a knife to cut it off. I had to find the bullet hole and put pressure on it.
“You fucking wrecked my life and made me fall in love with you, and then you think you can just die on me? You evil, horrible bastard. I promised you my soul, and you have to be alive to claim it,” I muttered, finally getting my hand under the vest and finding a hard, padded expanse of material. It felt vaguely familiar.
I stopped breathing, moving my hand under the vest over the smooth material beneath until I found it. A bullet encased in the hole it had ripped in the ceramic plate.
“You can’t get rid of me that easily, anima mia. I’m afraid you’re stuck with me.”
I looked down and found him watching me. His voice sounded more like himself.
“You have a bulletproof vest on?!” I screeched at him.
“Of course, I do. What’s the point in waiting my whole life to meet you, just to die a few weeks later?”
I went to hit him, but somehow, I was just hugging him. His arms circled me, and he kissed the top of my head.
“You could have been shot in the head!” I protested.
“There are worse ways to die.”
I thumped him, and my hand stung from hitting the bulletproof vest.
“Besides, most people, professional gangsters or not, are fucking terrible shots.”
His grim humor made me smile, despite it all.
“Enough talking,” he said and pulled me tighter into his arms.
My ribs hurt at the squeeze, but I didn’t mutter a peep. It felt too good.
“Are you better now?” I asked, my voice muffled by his gear.
“Better?”
“You were different before…scary.”
“I’m scary all the time, Charlie, it’s just you who doesn’t see it.”
“Do you really love me?”
“Do you think I offer myself up for target practice for just anyone?”
I swallowed and leaned up on an elbow.
“I might love you, too,” I admitted quietly.
He laughed and then winced. “Oh, I know.”
“You know?”
“I knew when you destroyed that little bug and told the cops to fuck off.”
“You heard that?”
“Of course, I heard that. I’ve never been prouder.” He kissed my forehead.
The helicopter had landed a little distance off, and Elio strode toward us over the bloodied snow, another man beside him. His companion was pale and tattooed, with the hardened air of a very dangerous man.
“How did you find me?” I wondered.
The De Sanctis men cleaned up around us. They seemed to be under instructions not to leave any survivors. That was a terrifying thought, and yet it wasn’t my choice or responsibility. It was my husband’s.
“I started with this, and it brought us pretty close.”
Renato reached into his pocket, rooting around until he found what he was looking for. Then he wrapped my Da’s rosary around my wrist. New tears filled my eyes.
“You put a tracker on my sister?” I wasn’t mad. Maybe I should have been, but I wasn’t. His high-handed, controlling tendencies had saved the day. We lived in his world now. New rules applied.
“Of course, I did. She’s family.”
I wet my lips and attempted my best pronunciation. “La famiglia prima di tutto?”
His smile was broad and real. “Brava, anima mia. Now, let me take you home.”
