31. Alessandro

Chapter thirty-one

Alessandro

Daniel hands over a machine gun to me as he slips a knife into his boot.

I jump out of the Tacoma truck with the gun in my hand.

The warehouse is surrounded by Aldo's men shooting back at us. Using the door of the car as a shield, I take shots at the men.

Daniel joins me as my men push forward. A bullet is shot in my direction, but I dodge before it breaks through the window.

Two men come out from inside the warehouse with submachine guns, shooting frantically. Several of my men fall to the ground dead.

"Fuck!" A bullet flies past me.

I take more shots, killing two of Aldo's men. The bullet meets one in the head and the other in the chest.

Daniel signals to some of our men to follow him. We are breaking through their opposition.

I make a target on one of the guards with the submachine gun. He groans as I shoot him in the arm. Daniel ends him with a perfect shot in his head. Aldo's men yell at each other in Italian. As we press forward, reaching the warehouse, more vehicles arrive.

Shit.

They begin to shoot from behind, making us run for cover. I grab one of Aldo's men from behind, punching him in the face as I turn his body. He grunts, dropping his gun to the ground. I use his body as a shield. He yells as the bullets pierce his body.

I'm making my way to the warehouse, shooting at more men. The man at the front of the warehouse is distracted by my men. He is shooting and killing them with multiple lethal shots.

I spot Daniel moving cautiously to the warehouse. The man with the submachine gun turns to me and tries to take a shot.

"Daniel!"

Daniel takes the shot quicker and sends a bullet through the back of his head. He drops to the ground, dead. Daniel and I meet by the door of the warehouse.

"Cover me."

He nods and continues shooting. Daniel slips out a revolver from the back of his pants. He begins to shoot with both hands to cover me.

I push the door open with my leg. One of the men shoots at me as I see Adriana and her sister being taken away through another door.

"I can't hold them much longer," Daniel yells from outside.

"They are fucking getting away!"

Adriana and I lock eyes as she turns to look at me. She is bleeding. Her blue eyes are pleading. It makes me angrier as I shoot one of the men holding her in the shoulder. He groans and falls to the ground. "Adriana!"

She disappears with the rest of the men, and I watch as they push them into an SUV car. They zoom off before I run to the door. Daniel barges into the warehouse and pushes the door with his back.

"They're killing us, Ale."

"You," I grunt with my chest heaving as I pick up the man I shot. He tries to pick up his gun and shoot me, but I kick it away from him.

"Ale!"

I toss his body against the wall violently. He screams as his back meets the concrete wall hard and then falls face flat to the ground. "Where are they taking her? Answer me!"

I pick him up again and hook him to the wall. I'm holding his neck tight. He is struggling to breathe, his legs fluttering in the air.

"Where is she?"

He coughs as I let go of his neck and he falls to the ground. He raises his middle finger at me.

A hard kick to his face. "Tell me!"

His face is bleeding, with a big wound on his head. "Aldo's warehouse."

He coughs out blood as I punch him some more in the face. The insides of his mouth are covered with blood.

"Where?"

"Mott Haven," he whimpers. Daniel runs to meet me.

"We have to go now. George's men have arrived. They are holding Aldo's men off."

I carry two crates filled with guns and drop them on the head of the man on the floor. His yell seizes the moment it crushes his head. Blood splatters with the impact of the fall of the crates. His head burst open on the floor.

"Let's go."

We use the exit the other men used to take Adriana away. It leads to the back of the warehouse. Bodies are littered on the ground as we walk back to our car. Daniel and I keep on shooting as we run to his car.

I slide in first into the driver's seat and Daniel jumps into the other seat just after I put the car in drive. We drive off hurriedly, heading to Mott Haven. But we aren't alone.

I spot two sedans following behind me. They are shooting at us. Daniel hastily takes another gun from the back seat and begins to shoot back at them.

"Hand me the revolver."

He sticks his head out the window and shoots before returning his head to the car and handing his revolver to me.

I watch the men behind me through the side mirror, exchanging my gaze between the road and their car.

The moment one sticks his head out of the car to shoot, I let my hand out and take a clean shot, immediately turning my attention back on the road. I see in the side mirror the bullet hits him in the hand and he quickly returns his head into the car.

"Hang on!"

Daniel grips the door tight as I take a quick turn. The tires screech as I make the turn into another street. We're only a few minutes away from Mott Haven.

"Where did they go?" Daniel asks.

I look into the side mirror and both sedans are suddenly gone.

"I have no fucking idea."

Daniel reloads his gun and I drive faster, gripping the steering wheel tightly. Adriana is in danger and I will stop it. I will save her. I'm keeping my promise to her.

"Ale!" Daniel screams as we see a shooter in front of us.

"Fucking Christ."

The shooter sends a bullet through the windshield. It flies past our heads as we tilt our heads to the side. We aren't prepared for what happens next as I lose control of the car with a bullet bursting the car's tire.

I crash into a building unexpectedly, hitting my head hard on the wheel. The airbags open up. My head stings from the hit. I barely hear anything and my eyes are getting blurry.

Daniel is coughing with a huge gash on his head. I still can't hear him. Or anything. A piercing sound fills my ear for a fucking long minute. The dust is blinding as I try to shield my eyes.

I jump in my seat as I feel a hand on me. The sound in my ears fades as I become conscious of my environment again.

"Ale. Get out now."

My head fucking hurts. I feel a liquid stream down my face.

"Ale, now!"

I grunt, pushing the door open. My blood stains my palm as I touch my face. It still all looks blurry and I struggle to see clearly. My legs grow weak, making me fall to one of my knees.

I hear the sounds of gunshots, but I'm too weak to stand. I'm slowly falling unconscious as my eyes flutter and I barely see anything else but a black space.

I fall to the ground completely, letting out slower breaths.

"Ale."

Someone grips my shoulders and shakes me. It helps me open my eyes again. Daniel is hovering over me.

"You're hurt."

"Adriana," I whisper.

Daniel reaches for my left arm and pulls something out. I grunt loudly as I feel a sharp pain. He pulled a glass shard stained with blood out of my face.

"Can you walk?"

"Hmmn."

He helps me to my feet, pulling me up.

"We have to leave."

I place my hand on his chest. My left arm is burning with a stinging pain.

"No, we have to save her."

"You're fucking hurt."

"I'll survive."

Daniel stares at me like I'm crazy. He has no idea I'll do anything for Adriana. Even if it means giving up my own life for hers.

Our car is ruined, with huge chunks of concrete fallen on it.

"Let's go, Daniel."

I meet three dead bodies by the sedan that shot us. The gunshots I heard previously. Daniel must have killed them. I drag the body of the man in the driver's seat out to the ground and slide into their car.

Daniel hesitates for a moment before he finally walks to the car. He steals the guns from the dead men on the floor and joins me in the car.

"You'll get yourself killed, Ale."

I start the car and make a quick reverse. "As long as I see Adriana safe, I'll be just fine with that."

Daniel grunts as he shuts his door. The sleeve of his shirt is stained with blood.

"Are you alright?"

"It's just a graze. Fucking drive."

I drive to Mott Haven with a gunshot wound to the side of my stomach. Daniel has no idea I got shot. I'm not letting him know until I see Adriana and we get her and Beatrice safe. I'm not losing her like I lost Mother. Not this time.

The entrance of the warehouse is surrounded by armed men. It's getting darker already.

I park the car a few stops after the warehouse. I'm watching the armed guards by the building pace the surrounding area through the side mirror.

Daniel dials for help. My men are already on their way but I'm losing patience and consciousness by the minute. The SUV that had taken Adriana away is parked by the side of the building.

"Where the fuck are they?"

Daniel cuts the call. "They are a few minutes away. Chill the fuck out."

"She's in danger, Daniel. I have no fucking idea if she's still alive in there."

My legs begin to shake as I get impatient. I'm a push away from barging into the warehouse.

"You won't be if you walk in there right now."

I hate that he is right and I can't walk in there to grab her. My bleeding wounds make me weaker.

Daniel's phone beeps after a minute that felt like a fucking lifetime. "They're here."

I put the car in reverse just as a van stops in front of the warehouse. Several of my men jump out of the back of the van, heavily armed and take Aldo's men outside by surprise.

They all begin to exchange fire as I make my way to drive the car into the warehouse. I hit some of the men with the car, ramming through their bodies as I move closer to the front door. The building erupts in flames before I crash into the door.

"Fuck no!" Daniel exclaims.

"Adriana's in there!"

I stop the car and hurriedly step out of it. One of Aldo's men runs towards me with a knife in his hand.

He groans as I dodge his strike and land a fist on his throat. I take his hand with the knife and stab him in the stomach with it.

He yells in pain as I drive the knife out and stab him again in the chest this time.

"Ale."

I move my head just enough for Daniel to take a shot. He shoots the man running towards me with a gun. He keeps saving me.

Daniel walks to me and hands over a gun to me. "Be careful, Ale."

My attention is fixed on the burning building.

"Promise me you'll keep her safe if I don't make it out alive." I hold Daniel's arm tight, looking straight into his eyes.

"Make it out alive, stronzo (asshole)."