26. Salvatore

The moment Gia is dragged away from me, I feel something snap inside.

Her hand slips out of mine, and I turn to see a black-garbed Bratva man yanking her back, dragging her towards the flood of Bratva goons pouring in from the left side of the church. My immediate instinct is to go after her, and I spin, reaching for her as I try to dart after the man taking her away from me.

But the crowd separates us, and all I can do is hear her scream.

My hand goes automatically to where I'd have a gun, if I were carrying a weapon. But I'm not. This was supposed to be a wedding, and I'm unarmed. I can see my security, but they're fighting their way through the crowd, guests panicking in an effort to get out of the church.

It's utter madness. A woman is on the floor, her arm broken after someone stepped on her in an effort to get out. I hear children crying, the screams of other guests. And over it all, I still hear Gia.

Gunshots ring through the church, and a body drops inches away from me—one of the Bratva. On pure instinct, I grab his gun, my head pounding and adrenaline flooding me, and I charge in the direction where Gia was taken. One of the Bratva tries to cut me off, and I pull the trigger.

He drops, blood pouring from the bullet hole in his throat.

It feels like everything is moving in slow motion around me. My finger compresses the trigger, again and again, pushing my way through the Bratva that tries to stop me. My ears are ringing, my nose burning with the acrid scent of the gun. I hear Josef shouting for me as I stare at the open door they dragged Gia through, and spin around, looking at his pale face.

"What?" I shout at him, and he grabs my arm, shaking me. It's enough to jolt me. I'm Josef's boss, and he's never touched me like that. He'd never grab me. But his expression is frantic.

"They saw the direction they took Gia. Some of our guys. Come on. Let's go!"

He shouts it all at me, and I nod, my heart in my throat as I follow him. All I can think about is the panicked look on her face, the terror in her voice, the sight of her being taken away from me. After everything, losing her is unthinkable. I can't even stop to think about what Igor did, this fresh betrayal and the future consequences of it or the fact that this was undoubtedly planned, because all I can think about is getting Gia back.

The church is swarming with Bratva, the rattle of gunfire filling the air, the scent of blood thick. Josef and my security move around me, charging forward as they cut down any Bratva man who tries to get in our way, clearing a path towards the door. One of Igor's men pushes through mine, and I pull the trigger again, dropping him in his tracks as my men charge forward over his body. I drop the empty gun, bending to grab a fresh one off of the dead man, and my foot nearly slips in a puddle of blood.

It's been years since I've been in the middle of anything like this, but my body reacts on instinct. Getting out of the church is all that matters, and we plow forward, the Bratva dropping like flies as we burst out into the open air. The doors to the car are open, and Josef and I fling ourselves into it, two more men following as the driver peels away from the curb, heading in a direction further downtown.

"There!" Josef gestures as the car swerves to the left, pointing at a blacked-out town car just ahead. "That's the car that took her."

"Follow him!" I snap at the driver, my voice a hoarse snarl. "Don't you fucking let it get away."

"Got it, boss." The driver's voice is flat, the car lurching forward as he steps on the gas, and I stare at the car, willing us not to lose it. New York's afternoon traffic is thick, and the car weaves back and forth, swinging down a side street and losing sight of the other car before the driver emerges two streets down, close enough to see but not so close that they'll clock us—hopefully.

My hand grips the gun until my knuckles turn white, sweat beading on the back of my neck. I can only imagine how terrified Gia must be, and it makes me feel murderous, so filled with a black rage that I know every Bratva man between her and I is going to have seen his last sunrise this morning.

I'll kill anyone I have to in order to get her back. I'll do anything I need to do.

Nothing matters as much as knowing she's safe.

The car swings down another street, picking up speed, taking a corner so fast that, for a moment, I think we're going to flip. My heart surges into my throat, and I grip the side of the seat, leaning forward as the driver gains on the blacked-out car.

And then he steps on the brake, skidding into an alley and coming to a halt.

"What the fuck are you doing?" I snarl, and the driver turns around.

"They're stopping at that hotel." He points up the road. "Didn't want to get closer, or they might have seen."

"Good work." Josef leans back, popping a clip out of his gun and replacing it with a fresh one, tucking two more into his pockets. "Men, let's go. Salvatore, let me cover you."

"Fine. So long as I get to Gia." I slide out of the car, taking the gun and clips that one of my men hand me. "I need a clear path to her. Whatever that takes."

"You got it." Josef motions to the men. "Let's go."

We make our way up the street, through the alleys to avoid attention, to the back of the hotel. The car is gone by the time we get there, and I clench my teeth, trying not to think about what might be happening to Gia. What could still happen, if we don't get there fast enough.

There are two Bratva men at the back door. Josef drops them before they even have a chance to see us, the silencer on his gun making the sound of the shot nothing but a dull click as the bullets find their target. We slink forward through the shadows, the night closing in around us as Josef opens the door and motions the men in, then walks in ahead of me.

We'd been concerned about hotel staff or guests seeing us, but we hadn't needed to be. There's no staff here, no guests—this is clearly a hotel front for a building the Bratva uses for other means. We round the corner only to see five men heading towards us, and in seconds, the hall is filled with smoke as we all fire.

One of my men lets out a pained cry as a bullet strikes his shoulder, slumping against the wall. The dark hallway carpet turns darker still, blood soaking into it as body after body hits the floor. We push forward towards the stairwell, cutting down the Bratva, my hands working on instinct as I empty the gun and shove another clip into it.

Josef yanks the stairwell door open, and we charge up onto the stairs. Halfway up, I hear a choked sound, and turn to see one of my men falling backward, tumbling in a smear of blood and the sound of cracking bones as Bratva rush in, following us and shooting one of mine. Josef and the others turn instantly, releasing a volley of gunfire and mowing them down as I and three more of my men charge up, pushing ahead.

The second floor is so empty that I know Gia can't be there. The same for the third. But the fourth is crawling with Bratva, and I lean back into the stairwell, reloading my gun as Josef and my men do the same.

"There's a hell of a lot out there," I murmur. "It's going to be tough getting through."

Josef nods. "We've got this." He pauses, and I hear footsteps. "Backup," he says. "We'll get her back, boss. Just one more push, and we'll get to her."

When the door opens, we flood out into the hall, gunfire going off the moment we emerge, and the Bratva turn to meet us. Over the sounds of shooting and through the haze, I look down the hall, and my entire body tenses.

I see him. Pyotr. Stepping out of a room towards the end of the hallway.

"Josef!" I shout my enforcer's name, and he turns, following my gaze. Without hesitation, he motions to three more of my men, and the five of us push forward, the rest bringing up the rear and clearing a path all around us as we move toward the room where I'm certain Gia is.

Pyotr turns, meeting my gaze, and everything narrows down. There's a sick irony in how similar it is to the moment when I knew how I felt about Gia, when the world disappeared around me, and there was only her. Only her softness, her scent, her body against mine, and the taste of her mouth, everything else vanishing except for what was right in front of me.

Only this time, it's not love that blooms through me like a red cloud of blood; it's hate. It's pure, unadulterated fury, and as my gaze narrows down on Pyotr and the sounds of gunshots and the scent of smoke and blood fade into the background, it's because all that matters to me at that moment is that he dies.

He smirks, as if I'm not coming for him, ready to tear him to pieces if that's what it takes. He says something, but I can't hear it, my ears ringing too loudly to make out the words. It doesn't matter—I don't give a shit what he has to say.

He raises his gun, and I raise mine, a second quicker than he is. That's all that matters, in a moment like this. A split second faster, and the other guy is a dead man.

I feel the trigger sink under my finger, and I see the moment the bullet strikes Pyotr in the shoulder. He recoils, and I shoot again, this time aiming for his knee.

I want him to hurt, before he dies.

He falls, crashing down, the sound of his scream tearing through the ringing in my ears. I stride forward, adrenaline rushing through me, and grab a fistful of his hair in my hand as I yank his head back.

"She's mine," I snarl, and I press the gun to his forehead. I have two shots left.

I pull the trigger.

The second I feel him go limp, I fling him down to the carpet, spinning towards the door. I shove it open just in time to see a tall, bulky man stepping away from Gia's bedside, an empty syringe in his hand.

I don't even hesitate. I fire once more, and put my last bullet squarely through his forehead.

Gia doesn't move when he hits the floor next to the bed, and panic floods me. I toss the gun away, rushing towards the bed, and the sight of her pale face and limp body makes the hand around my heart squeeze into a fist, crushing it.

"Gia." I reach for her, smoothing her hair away from her face, rage flooding me all over again when I see the bruise on her cheek and the blood on her lip. If I could kill Pyotr all over again for this, I would. "Gia."

She doesn't move. I press my fingers to her throat and feel her pulse, faintly.

She's alive, but I don't know what they've done to her, and fear jolts through me. Her hands are cuffed above her head, and I turn to the man's body, bending to rifle through his pockets until I find the keys.

I might have lost the chance to tell her I love her. I might be too late.

The thought echoes through my mind, a punishing loop, over and over as I free her wrists and lift her fragile body off of the bed, clutching her to my chest.

I love her, and it might be too late.

I turn around to see Josef behind me, covered in blood, his eyes instantly on Gia. "Get a car ready to go," I snap, striding towards the door. "Anyone who tries to stop you dies. We have to get her to a hospital, now."

Josef nods, following me out, barking orders at the men. I head for the stairwell, cradling Gia as my men and I make our way past the blood and bodies back down, all the way out to where the car is waiting for us. I slide into the back, still holding Gia on my lap, unwilling to let go of her.

I hold onto her all the way to the hospital, until we push past the front doors, past the startled staff. "Clear a floor," I snap at the nurse at the front desk. "I need a doctor, now?—"

"Who the hell do you think you are—" she starts to say, her eyes flicking between Gia's body and my face, and I lean forward, my jaw tight.

"Salvatore Morelli."

Her attitude changes immediately. She nods, grabbing for the phone. "Floor nine," she says after a moment. "You can head up now. A doctor will meet you."

Fifteen minutes later, Gia is in a bed, with my security spread out over the now unoccupied floor and Josef calling for more backup. Nurses are taking vitals and hooking her up to an IV, asking questions that I answer as best as I can, but all I can do is look at her, my heart heavier in my chest than it ever has before.

I sink into a chair, staring at her still form, and reach for her hand. I can't lose her. Not now, not like this.

And I'm going to stay right here with her until I have her back.