Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 68192 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 341(@200wpm)___ 273(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68192 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 341(@200wpm)___ 273(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
When he and his “associate” entered the house, Alina switched to the view of all cameras, but it didn’t allow us to see what was happening. We waited. That was all we could do.
If things went as planned, it would be a while. There would be the pretense of negotiation, and it would be drawn out as long as necessary for others to get in place.
Moments later, Dante appeared on one of the cameras. “There.” I pointed to the screen, and Alina enlarged it. “What’s he doing there? Isn’t that room upstairs?”
“Yes,” Alina said. “He shouldn’t be in the hallway if he needs a quick escape.”
Dante crouched around a corner. I wanted to be able to tell him there was a camera on him. He needed to move. The wait was painful.
Niko ran a hand up and down my back. “Just breathe.”
“I’m trying, but how am I supposed to? My heart’s racing. It feels like it’s going to pound out of my chest. I know Dante’s in trouble. And I have no way to help him. I’m too far away. I can’t even speak to him.”
And then another man came into view. Dante leaned out, raising his gun, but the man shot first.
I watched a bullet hit my brother. He fell back, and the other man had disappeared.
“No!” I screamed. That hadn’t happened. It was a trick. It wasn’t real. “Dante!”
“He’s going to be okay,” Alina said. “The bullet hit him in his shoulder. He’ll survive.”
“Only if somebody gets to him. Call Remington, call somebody,” Niko said.
I knew they wouldn’t answer. If they were all involved in a battle, they wouldn’t be able to go get Dante. They had to be fighting for their lives too. What the fuck had gone wrong?
“I have to do something.” But there was nothing I could do from so far away.
“It’s going to be okay,” Niko said, but there were tears in his eyes.
“He can’t die.”
Alina held out her hand. “Give me the phone.” I handed it to her, and she held it to my face. “Unlock it.”
I looked at the screen, and then she started tapping on it. A few moments later, I heard Rafe’s voice through the speaker.
“Rafe, we need to—”
Alina held up her hand and spoke instead. “We saw Dante get shot. Bullet went into his shoulder. He’s upstairs.” She explained how to get there.
“I won’t let him die,” Rafe said and ended the call.
Niko pulled me to him, and I held him tight against me, pressing my lips against the top of his head. When I let him go, I paced the cabin. I tried to have hope. I tried not to blame myself, but it was so fucking hard. I’d made a choice. I’d come here instead of staying to protect them. I’d sworn I would protect them.
“Dante’s a grown man, Lorenzo,” Alina said. “He’s like thirty, right?”
“He’s only twenty-seven.”
“Hmm. He must’ve gotten his PhD rather fast.”
I nodded. “He did. This is his second year teaching.”
“He’s an adult with a doctorate, and he’s had the same training you have. He might have already gotten himself out of that house.”
He was brave and strong as fuck, but that was asking a lot. “Why don’t they fucking call me?”
“Lorenzo, you know they can’t,” Niko said. “You know they’ve got to fight their way out of there.”
“I know.” I did. I knew exactly what it was like, but that didn’t matter. This was my brother, my little brother. I’d watched my cousin die. It had been my fault, no matter what they said. And now—
My phone rang. It was Remington. I braced myself. Niko grabbed my hand and squeezed so hard it hurt.
“Dante’s alive.” My knees buckled, and I sank onto the couch. “Rafael’s driving him back to my house, and the doctor is meeting them there. If they have to, they’ll take him to the hospital, but he’s already insisting he’s fine.”
“Thank God.” If Dante was arguing with people and trying to be stoic, then I could believe he would survive. “The bullet—”
“Went all the way through. It will be a while before he can use that arm easily, but—”
“He’s not dead.” Obviously not, but I needed that confirmation.
Remington chuckled. “No, he’s not. He managed to make his way to a bedroom, where he barricaded himself in and texted Rafe.”
“What the fuck happened?”
“Ivanov wasn’t here.”
“Goddamn it. So he’s still alive?”
“As far as we know. He’s on the run. Probably out of the country by now, but we won’t let this go. His trafficking has been exposed to the authorities, and the rest of the family is scrambling to distance themselves. They refuse to let this bring everyone down. Also, Nikolai’s mother was there—she was hopped up on something and barely conscious. One of my men has taken her to the hospital.”
Damn right we wouldn’t let it go. “So who answered the door?”