24. Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Three
Giana
“ I should’ve known,” Tommaso ground out, vitriol leaking from his tone as he rushed around the other side of the couch, not toward me this time. He lunged for the side table, desperately reaching into the drawer.
He yanked the whole thing out and dumped the contents onto the floor before tossing it across the room. Wood splintered, the crack piercing through the otherwise quiet penthouse. He growled in frustration, clearly not finding what he was looking for, then resorted to tossing the cushions on the ground next.
“Are you looking for something?” Amusement laced my tone as he raced around the room, checking each of his hiding spots. I crossed my arms over my chest, lifting an eyebrow as he came up empty each time.
“What did you do?” he demanded, sending another drawer crashing to the floor.
“I think it should be obvious by now.” I giggled, pulling my gun from its holster. Relief washed over me as the familiar cold weight settled in my palm. “I took all the weapons you stashed here—the ones you didn’t think I had any idea about.”
“How? I was with you the entire time,” Tommaso said as he lifted his hands in the air. Did he truly believe that simple act of defeat would earn him mercy?
“But were you here the whole day?” I grinned, walking closer to him. It seemed it was his turn to go on the defense this time as he stepped back, ensuring to keep a few feet between us—not that it would help with the gun I had pointed at his chest. “I knew that you wouldn’t want to be stuck in here all day; I knew that you would’ve thought that babysitting your captive was beneath you, so we had someone hack into the cameras, and sure enough, you were gone, and you took all but one of your guards with you.”
“How did you even get in?” He clenched his hands into fists, as though it was taking every bit of his willpower to keep them raised in the hopes of placating me. “I would’ve been notified if you were seen on camera or if you used your elevator code.”
“We looped the cameras, so you wouldn’t suspect anything, and used the staff code that you never knew I memorized.” I shrugged, grinning as his anger grew. “For someone who says they know everything about me, I thought you would’ve at least realized I picked up on all of your dirty little secrets, Tommaso.”
“So, they’ve been in here this whole time?”
“They have.” I nodded. “They were posing as guards. I guess it’s lucky for me that you’ve had so much turnover lately that your real guards didn’t recognize them, and that you didn’t even bother to check upstairs yourself. See, most of your problems stem from your massive ego.”
“You think my ego is the problem?” He smirked, lowering his hands slowly as he stepped farther from me.
I gritted my teeth, suppressing the urge to check over my shoulder to see if the guys had gotten Sophia out yet. That was the real reason I was stalling. The window of time earlier hadn’t been large enough for us to get her out before he’d gotten back. Hell, I’d barely made it down the service elevator before Tommaso came back.
“We must be perfect for each other, then, since the same could be said about you, mi amore .”
My heart jackhammered and I swallowed thickly. “How so?”
“Because, in all this time, you could’ve killed me, you could’ve gotten this all over with, but instead, you’ve been stalling just so you could brag about your triumph.”
“That’s not true.” I shook off the oily feeling of his words latching on to me. “You’re really telling me that you have nothing else up your sleeve? That I could just kill you now, and that would be the end of this nightmare?”
It couldn’t be that easy, right? I was waiting for him to make the next move, but maybe I shouldn’t have.
“I guess you do know me, my love.” He grinned just as his hand slipped beneath his suit jacket.
Panic surged through my veins as he pulled the gun from his hidden pocket. “I guess you should’ve searched me too.”
I blocked him out, though, and pulled the trigger, bracing myself for the searing pain I knew would follow momentarily as he did the same. Time seemed to slow around us, my mind trying to make sense of the sudden shift, but reality came crashing back in the next moment as a pained grunt echoed behind me.
Tommaso’s gun wasn’t pointed at me.
The gun in question clattered to the ground as my bullet went wide, piercing his shoulder.
His pained cry echoed off the walls, but it wasn’t the same as—
Icy fear spread over my skin as panicked voices sounded behind me.
Keeping my gun trained on Tommaso, I glanced over my shoulder, needing to see with my own eyes.
Tommaso had caught them coming downstairs, had waited until that exact moment they were in view to even reveal that he had a gun. I should’ve shot him as soon as the guards began dropping, but I’d known he had something, despite his frantic searching. I’d known it wouldn’t be that easy. And I’d been right, but because I hadn’t taken that risk, I wasn’t the one paying that price—Merrick was.
Merrick was collapsed on the stairs, his hands clasped over his chest, pressing against the gunshot while Kellan ripped off his jacket to replace it with the thick material instead. Sophia was trying to keep him upright and off the cold, hard marble, while Spade’s eyes were focused on Tommaso, burning with hatred as he stalked down the last few stairs.
“No.” My voice was shaky as the word spilled from my lips, freezing him in place. “I can handle this. Please, I need you to help get them out of here.”
Pain sliced across my chest, my heart splayed open, like the shot had gone through me instead. I wished it had.
“Don’t you dare,” Merrick growled, but Kellan and Sophia were already helping him to his feet.
“Sugar.” There wasn’t the same teasing lilt to Spade’s voice as his name for me rolled off his tongue. There was darkness, the promise of death, and warning. “If you think I’m going to leave you alone—”
“Get them out of here, Spade, or I’ll never forgive you.” Tears pricked at the corners of my eyes as Merrick fought against their hold, but it was no use; he was losing too much blood. He only had minutes to get some medical attention, or I’d lose him forever. “Trust me.”
I held Spade’s gaze, the glittering violet depths nearly taking my breath away, but I tore my eyes away far sooner than I wanted to as Tommaso scrambled on the marble floor, clamoring for his gun to finish the job.
“Giana.” Kellan’s pleading tone nearly broke me, but I already knew what I had to do.
“If he dies, I will never forgive any of you.” I couldn’t even look at them as the words left my lips. It was my fault. I was at the center of this, despite Tommaso’s actions being all his own, and the truth was, I’d never forgive myself if I lost Merrick, if the games led to one of my guys or Sophia losing their life.
This was between me and Tommaso, and we had to finish this once and for all because we were destroying everything around us, and I would not let the people I loved become collateral damage.
Some of the tension eased from my chest as the elevator doors dinged open, and I blocked out Merrick’s raspy voice as he barely held on to consciousness, blocked out Sophia’s tears, blocked out Spade’s broken look and Kellan’s pleading voice.
They all knew I wanted to be the one to end him, that I wanted to take his life. They needed to trust that I could do this, just like I had trusted them.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” My tone was cool as I stalked toward Tommaso, keeping my gun aimed at his head as his hand wrapped around his gun. He froze, blood oozing from the shoulder wound as he looked up at me, his mahogany eyes wild, like my shooting him had just pushed him further into his obsession.
“You won’t kill me.” He chuckled, keeping his hand poised over his weapon. “You love this dance too much, mi amore . You love the thrill of pretending to hate me, of having me pining after you.”
I shook my head, not letting his words get to me. Yet another game he loved. Distraction was the best tool he had in his arsenal.
My finger tightened on the trigger, but before I could pull it, Tommaso’s foot swept across my ankles, sending me tumbling to the ground. I barely caught myself before my face smacked against the hard marble, the gun clattering from my hands in the fall. Adrenaline spiked through my veins as Tommaso reached for his own gun. I had mere seconds to react as I kicked out, sending the gun skating across the floor in the opposite direction of my own.
“You want to do this the hard way, then?” He grinned, malice flickering in his eyes as he reached for me. I was too slow to avoid him this time. He fisted my leather jacket, tugging me toward him in a violent jerk that left me scrambling for purchase on the slippery floor.
“You really think you can win in a fight against me?” He chuckled, shaking me in his grasp, as though he thought I was a rag doll, no threat to him at all.
I brought my hands up between his and pushed out with all my strength, jerking him off me. His features lit with surprise, but I didn’t stop to revel in the victory. I used his momentary shock to my advantage and pulled my fist back, clocking him with two fast punches to the side of his face before retreating.
“Fuck,” he cried out and lunged for me, but I was already gone. I slid away from him, using the marble to my advantage for once as I put some distance between us.
I scrambled to my feet and lowered into a defensive stance just as he stood, his balance wobbly as he clutched his already swollen face. “You really shouldn’t have done that, love. I was trying to show you mercy, but now, I guess I’ll have to put you in your place.”
“You can try,” I huffed in amusement.
Rage flickered like flames in his mahogany eyes as he launched himself at me, but I refused to let him intimidate me. He brought his fist back, and I was ready. I narrowly dodged the oncoming blow and twisted my hips, slamming my knee straight into his gut. He wheezed and tried to grapple for my leg, but I was too fast. I spun and landed a backhand to his face in the same place I’d already hit him, feeling the sweet relief of justice washing over me as he stumbled back.
I refused to stop, refused to give him a second to catch his breath or regain his strength. I hoisted one of the now-empty side tables and threw it at him. He loosed a pained cry, but he was able to cover his face at the last second, avoiding most of the damage. I launched myself at him, knowing I needed to get him to the floor again, knowing that was where I would have the biggest advantage against his strength.
Before he could regain his composure, I lunged for him, letting my shoulder take the brunt of the impact as I slammed into him. A scream tore from my lips as he grunted in pain. He tried to pull me off him, but I was already locked on, following him as he tumbled backward.
His head smashed against the marble, blood coating the white surface from the impact, but it wasn’t enough to knock him out. I used him as a shield, making sure he took the brunt of the fall as I quickly recovered. Agony pulsed through my knees as they slammed against the floor, but I gritted my teeth through the pain, my hands searching for his throat, for the only thing I could think to do in that moment.
His eyes widened as my hands closed around his throat and I pushed and squeezed, desperately trying to block his airway. His hands scrambled for purchase, his short nails biting into my hands, but I pushed away the pain, losing myself in the fear freezing over his irises. I was so enraptured by the intoxicating power washing over me that I didn’t realize his hands had fallen away until it was too late.
Pain bit into my right thigh, so sudden, I almost thought I was imagining it at first, until I peeled my eyes off Tommaso’s reddening face to where his left hand had gone. A small dagger protruded from my skin, its blade embedded straight into my thigh. His hand was still on the hilt, weakly trying to pull it back to undoubtedly stab me again as blood oozed from the wound.
I had no way of knowing if he hit an artery, but I couldn’t just let him yank it out to stab me again while I hoped I could choke him to death first.
Pulling in a ragged breath, I made a split-second decision. I kept one hand on his throat and reached down with the other to battle for control of the knife. Tommaso was weak, his motions uncoordinated with the lack of oxygen and blood loss, so it didn’t take much to push him off. But as I took a deep breath and jerked the blade from my thigh, he fumbled for something in his pocket.
Panic surged in my veins, the adrenaline helping to keep the pain at bay, despite the warm liquid flowing down my leg. I slammed the knife down into the center of his chest as an agonized scream tore from his lips.
I couldn’t bask in the moment, though, as an explosion rocked behind me, sending a burst of heat ricocheting through the room. I hunched over, not willing to take my hand off the blade as heat licked up my back.
Tommaso lifted a remote before it went tumbling from his grip, his fingers too weak to hold on. But as I shifted my weight from his throat, I caught the reflection of the fire blazing behind me in the window. The flames were licking up the walls, consuming everything in their path.
The remote had been for the fireplace, but why . . .
“You thought I threw that dish into the fireplace for fun?” he rasped, blood dripping from his lips and dribbling down his chin. “There was an accelerant in there, my sweet, naive girl. So, if I’m going to die here tonight, you’re coming right along with me. If I can’t have you, no one will.”
“Die, you fucking cockroach.”
I yanked the blade out and stabbed him again and again, until the screams finally stopped, until his arms went limp, until his lungs were so battered, he couldn’t take in another breath. Blood coated my trembling hands as I yanked them free from the dagger’s hilt, as though the knife had cast some sort of spell on me, determined to keep me in its thrall until it was too late.
My breaths were ragged as I tried and failed to fill my lungs, the room too coated in smoke now to breathe any semblance of clean air. Tommaso’s eyes were frozen wide open, glassy now as he lay lifeless below me. Even in death, his eyes would haunt me.
Coughing, I attempted to stand, but pain shot through my thigh, reminding me of the stab wounds I’d all but blocked out in my fervent need to kill Tommaso once and for all.
How long had it been since my guys had left? It felt like hours, but really, it had only been minutes. Would Merrick be okay, or was he about to join me in this spiral down to the depths of hell?
A sob racked my chest as I tried to get as low to the ground as possible and rolled off Tommaso. I couldn’t let it end like this. I couldn’t let the bastard get his wish.
Pushing through the pain, I crawled toward the elevator, using my good leg to support most of my weight. Every inch was a battle as I shivered, cold sweeping over me, despite the fire consuming most of the living room at this point.
My eyelids were like leaden weights I fought against as they tried to shutter the world out around me. Maybe if I just slept a few minutes, I’d be able to make it out of here?
I slumped to the floor, the fire blazing around me helping to ward off some of the chill icing over my skin.
Something niggled at the back of my mind, like I was supposed to do something or be somewhere, but it was like trying to hold sand with open fingers; just as I thought I’d grasped it, it slipped away, leaving me in a hollow shell of confusion.
Tommaso was dead. I held on to that thought, even as what felt like hands clasped under my arms, tugging my body across the marble floor.
I was dead, right? This had to be the devil dragging me straight down to the depths of hell.
“You better stay with me, Giana, or I’ll never forgive you,” a masculine voice demanded. The familiar sound lit something in my chest, a feeling of warmth and comfort coating me like a snug blanket with his presence.
Whatever was about to happen, I knew I was safe with him.
And with that, I let exhaustion sweep me into its intoxicating current, pulling me into a deep slumber.
TO BE CONTINUED.