Chapter 34
I was goingto be sick. As they laid into Paolo, something inside of me snapped. I had always been the patient one, I knew what to do in situations like this, how to talk men like them down until some kind of backup arrived. I also knew that my daughters weren”t far and had a target sign painted on their heads. The logical thing to do was to sit back, relax, stay calm, and keep the situation level.
But I was well beyond logic.
I steeled myself as blood decorated the floor. Paolo”s blood. The moron had baited them out. I saw it in his eyes, that crazy look that said he was going to take whatever came his way. Yelling and begging them to stop wasn”t going to work. These men were heartless, nothing like the man I gave a damn about who would happily sacrifice himself for us.
Now, it was my job to keep him alive.
I continued to wind my wrists behind my back like I”d been doing since we were in the van. The tape had already started to loosen a bit, but it was still tight. Good. I lifted my arms above my head while all eyes were on Gianpaolo and grunted as I flexed and yanked my arms in opposite directions. The tape broke, still sticking to my skin and leaving behind a searing pain as it ripped out some of my hair.
The pain didn”t even register. I moved swiftly and snatched a gun off the man standing next to me. Without a thought, I clicked off the safety, aimed, and shot him in the head. As the bang echoed through the room, others went for their guns, but I pointed mine at the man in charge. Qiang.
”Do it,” I said calmly. ”And he”ll be dead before I am.”
”York, what the hell are you—” Paolo started coughing so hard he couldn”t speak.
”Breathe,” I said, refusing to take my eyes off of Qiang or the room full of jackals that I was in. ”Everything”s going to be fine.”
A loud bang drew our attention to the back of the warehouse. I watched as a man raced up to us, took in the situation, and hesitated.
”What the fuck is going on?” Tasso growled.
”The kids are gone.”
”How the hell are they gone?” he roared.
I smiled. Navy and Nyra had been well trained since they could walk. They both knew the drill; if someone took them, they were to stay together, look for a way out, stay out of sight, and wait for help. Relief flooded me knowing that they weren”t at the mercy of some goon. That was all I needed to move.
”Stay right where you are,” I snapped at all of them.
I moved forward swiftly, crouching beside Paolo when I reached him. My fingers pressed against his throat. His pulse was still there, but weaker than it should be, faint and fluttery. I swore under my breath. The desire to kill each and every one of them coursed through me, but if I moved off Qiang, I knew we were all dead.
”What now, Agent?” Qiang asked. ”If you make one bad move, you”re dead. Or he”s dead. I can”t decide who I would enjoy killing first and seeing the other suffer. You”re both a pain in my ass.”
”Good. Glad to know we’ve made an impact. You’re going to prison.”
Qiang smiled. ”You think prison scares me? I can run more from behind bars than I could out here. My empire will still be mine. And I”ll live like a king in there.” He chuckled. ”You really don”t understand shit about this world.”
My hand shook. The thought of this asshole living like a king and continuing to kill even while he was locked away, cemented the rare switch in my psyche. For once, justice wasn”t justice if it meant he was locked away instead of six feet under the ground. I wanted Qiang dead.
The longer we stood there, the factory so quiet you could hear a pin drop, the more the tension weighed down on my shoulders. It was so thick you could slice into it and it would bleed. One wrong move and this would all erupt into chaos.
What do I do? There”s too many of them. If I move this gun, I”ll die. If I shoot, we”ll die. What do I do?
”Hold on.” Paolo grunted as he dragged himself to his knees. ”Give it a minute.”
”What?” I asked.
”Shhh, baby. You”ll hear it soon.” He shuffled a little to the left. The sound of grunting followed. When I dared to spare a single glance, he had relieved one of the men of his gun only after he elbowed him in the face. ”It”s coming.”
”Hear what? What”s coming?”
I stole a glance at Paolo. His face was a tapestry of pain, blood splattering one side of his face and his right eye was swelling up before my eyes. However, he was still grinning. He coughed hard, spit up blood, and kept right on smiling.
”Paolo, I”m a little afraid that they might have hit you in the head a bit too hard,” I muttered. ”Are you sure you”re okay?”
”Never better, sweet cheeks.” He yanked me against his side, raised a finger, and pointed it at Qiang. ”You”re going to die the worst. Oh man, I can”t wait to see it.”
”Shut him up,” Tasso shouted. ”I”ve had enough of this bullshit!”
My aim switched from Qiang to Tasso as soon as he raised a gun and leveled it at us. I pulled the trigger. The shout that left his mouth was almost satisfying. One minute he stood up, the next, he fell to the ground, shouting about his fucking arm.
”Hurts like a bitch, doesn”t it?” I asked.
Gunshots rang out. I ducked on instinct, pulling Gianpaolo down with me to get out of the line of fire. People poured into the factory. At first I thought it was feds, but then I noticed a familiar face. Benito Vitale was front and center, and along with him was the man I had only seen in photos; Harlow Vitale.
The factory descended into mayhem. As soon as we were no longer the sole focus, I grabbed Paolo, dragged him behind a stack of crates, and crouched down beside him.
”You”re too fucked up to fight,” I told him. ”Stay here.”
He groaned. ”No way in hell. I have a few promises to keep.”
”Sorry, but I”m putting my foot down. Stay here. Don”t move.”
”I can”t promise that.”
”Do it or be killed,” I said. ”By me.”
Gianpaolo smiled. ”So violent. You”re like an animal, York.”
I punched him in the arm and he grimaced. ”See? Stay here.”
”Yes, Daddy.”
I rolled my eyes at him. Even while he was making a disgusting wheezing noise, he still had time to joke and play. I loved that about him, all his quirks and craziness. They were so uniquely him.
”Gotta go find the girls. You, stay,” I repeated.
”Staying,” he said as he coughed and wrapped an arm around his ribs. ”I”ve got this,” he said as he waved his gun. ”Go get our babies.”
I nodded and stood up. As soon as I did, a man shot at me. I rushed him, slammed my fist into his face and watched him go down. As he laid on the ground, I didn”t stop. I punched until my hand ached and then kept going. Once he was out, I stood up, flung the blood from my knuckles and went after the next guy.
My blood pumped, my heart racing as I threw myself into the thick of the battle. The smell of blood and gunpowder filled my nose, suffocating me as I avoided another gangster and kicked his legs out from under him. I pulled my foot back and delivered a blow to his face. When his eyes rolled back, I moved on. I didn”t have time to waste, and killing? That was more Gianpoalo”s thing. As long as I got to my girls, that”s all I cared about.
I made my way to the back office, but it was empty. As I stepped out and rounded a corner, something snagged my pant leg. I glanced down, gun ready, before I saw a little hand.
”Navy? Nyra?”
I moved a large box they had turned upside down and put on top of them. When they looked up at me, eyes wide, my heart calmed a little.
”We pushed the button,” Navy said.
”Did it help?” Nyra asked.
”What button?”
They both held up matching charm bracelets. I vaguely remembered them, but I had thought it was something Shelly had given them. She used to buy little trinkets here and there.
”Who gave you those?” I asked.
”Paolo,” Nyra said. ”Where is he?”
I glanced over my shoulder. There was no time to explain any of that, and worst of all, I didn”t have a safe space where I could stash them. Every corner held danger, every vehicle outside could be attacked. We were stuck.
”I need a phone,” I muttered.
”Here.”
I turned on my heels, raising the gun. Giancarlo stood in front of me, blood splattered on the side of his face and dripping from his hammer. He passed over a phone.
”Where”s my brother?”
”I stashed him behind a crate and gave him a gun.”
He grinned. ”Good man. I assume you”re calling in the pig brigade?”
”What else can I do?”
”Stand back and let us work.”
I frowned. ”What if you lose?”
”We don”t lose.”
”My girls...”
”Take them out that back door and down the road to one of the cars we stashed. Once we figured out what was going on, Benito arranged for a driver to be ready to transport them somewhere safe.”
I stared at him. ”How do I know they”re safe? There”s been so many fucking moles...”
”Trust me, Benito knows him personally. Actually, here he is.”
A man walked up to us, and I recognized him immediately. He was the person that had shot me in the alleyway. When our eyes locked, he blinked.
”This is Tony, Benito”s right-hand. He literally lives for him. It”s kind of gay, but your kids will be safe. You should stay and fight. We need the hands.”
I pulled my daughter”s close. ”You shot me.”
Tony grinned sheepishly. ”Yeah, I”m sorry about that. In my defense, you weren”t supposed to be there. You freaked me out.”
I continued to stare. That wasn”t the best defense in the world at all. My grip tightened on my gun.
”Daddy, it”s loud,” Navy cried. ”I want to leave.”
Right, father first. Putting a bullet in this man”s head? That would have to wait.
”If anything happens to them...”
Tony nodded. ”Death. Trust me, I get it. Hey, come on, you two. We”re leaving.”
Nyra held onto my hand. ”Don”t go.”
”I have to get Paolo,” I told her. ”Is that okay?”
They both exchanged a look. In less than a minute, they turned back to me and nodded in unison. Paolo was just as important to them as he was to me, I wouldn”t be able to return without him.
”Go with this nice man. Remember your training,” I said.
As soon as they were gone, I straightened up and put my agent face back on. Giancarlo shuddered dramatically.
”Seeing a pig become a pig is truly terrifying. My brother might be sick.”
”Let”s get Paolo,” I said, knowing better than to get into a conversation with him.
”Lead the way.”
We made our way back out into the chaos, dropping people as we went. I went for blunt force, knocking them out, and stepping over them. Giancarlo went for brute force, smashing in heads and breaking bones as he followed.
”There he is!” Gin said.
I stopped short. Someone had given my insane man a baseball bat. He twisted with all his might, knocking the guy out that had held my daughter a little too tightly. Paolo slammed his foot on his arm, raised the bat, and brought it down on the man”s hand. His scream sent a slice of cold through my veins as he picked the bat up and brought it down again.
When he was done, he turned and dropped to the ground. The thinnest part of the bat was shoved against the man”s neck and Paolo pressed.
”I told you I would break every bone in your hand. Die, you son of a bitch. No one fucks with my family!” he growled.
To my dismay, heat swept through my body.
”Paolo, your boyfriend”s getting a boner. Hurry up so we can keep going! You might get laid.”
Gianpaolo stood up and turned to face me. His eyes ran down my body and back up again, before he grinned.
”I guess I better work hard, huh, sweet cheeks?”
Yeah, I was in love with a psycho.