19. Chapter Nineteen #2
Once we do, it becomes clear that there’s no one down here. But Elena said they were down in the basement. If they had left, then surely she would have seen something.
An idea hits me.
I start tapping the stone along the wall.
“What are you doing?” Aiden asks.
“A fucker like Sal would have a secret door. I’m sure of it. A quick place to get in and out of he wanted to.”
“Right.” Aiden joins me and we tap along all the walls until we meet in the middle. Our final tap reveals something hollow underneath.
“A hidden door.”
Aiden shakes his head. “A hidden fucking door.”
“Ladies first,” I say, motioning the way.
“Not funny right now, Finn.” Aiden enters the through the door into a long corridor that is just made out of dirt. What the fuck is Sal getting up to?
We make our way through the entire tunnel and up in another basement.
“The house next door,” Aiden says. He’s right. The fucker has the two houses connected with a secret tunnel. I swear Sal is more like a cartoon villain than real fucking life. If I wasn’t so worried for Aria right now, I’d probably laugh.
Neither Sal or Aria are in this next basement so we head upstairs. And that’s when I see her.
Aria strapped to the same table she was once before. Her dress is cut open and Sal is drawing his knife along her stomach. Her screams of pain crush me.
“Fucker,” I growl, running towards them with my gun drawn. Sal ducks down when I fire my gun. I can’t keep shooting. I might hit Aria instead.
From his position behind the table, he’s able to untie Aria’s wrists. When he stands back up, he uses her body as a shield. “I wouldn’t think of shooting me again, Finn.” His hand is right next to her breast. Her stomach is bleeding.
I brought Aria into Sal’s orbit. I need to be the one to save her, even if it kills me.
“Let her go,” Aiden demands.
Sal’s eyes light up. “Oh. How interesting. Both brothers are here now. I thought I heard you next door.”
“Let her go,” Aiden says again.
“Or what?”
“Or you’re going to find out what happens when you piss my brother off.”
I smile. “Aiden is right. You don’t want to be on my bad side, Sal. Why don’t we fight like men? No weapons. Right here and right now.”
“You see, if I do that, then your brother here is going to get my little plaything to safety and I can’t have that.”
Aria whimpers. The sound hits me right in the fucking gut.
“She’s not your plaything,” I growl.
“Oh really? I thought she was.” He brings his knife right to her throat. “I can easily kill her right here and right now and there’s no way you can stop me. I’ll only stop if you give me that delicious pregnant girl back.”
“No,” Aiden snaps. “You will not have Elena.”
“You can have me.” The words are out of my mouth before I even realize I’m speaking. “You can kill me, Sal. You were hired to do it anyway. Let Aria go and you can kill me. No funny business. You wanted me dead. Now’s your chance.”
“Hmm.” He taps the knife against Aria’s throat.
“Interesting proposal. I do like it. But, you see, I don’t trust either one of you.
The second I let my plaything go, you’re going to kill me.
So, I don’t think so.” While keeping his knife against Aria’s throat, he undoes the cuffs around her ankles and drags her off the table.
“I’m taking her with me and there’s nothing you can do to stop me. ”
Keeping Aria in front of him with his knife to her throat, Sal walks backwards to the basement door. Aria pleads with her eyes for me to help her. I want to so fucking badly but I can’t risk her getting killed. I need to find a way to save her when she’s not in such a dangerous position.
Sal smiles like he’s won as he backs down the stairs. The second they’re at the bottom, Aiden and I run after them.
He throws Aria to the ground and runs into the tunnel, slamming the door behind him.
“Aria,” I rush to her side.
“Get him,” she says. “I’m fine. I’m not dying. Just kill him. End him now. I’ll be fine.”
“I can’t leave you here,” I say.
“Just go, Finn.” The strength in her eyes tells me that she’ll be all right.
“Ok. I’ll kill him. Just get outside. Elena is waiting in the car.” I want to kiss her but there’s no time. With Aiden at my side, we follow Sal into the tunnel.
We reach the second house and scan the basement but he’s not there. We take the stairs slowly in case he’s waiting at the top to kill us. But he’s not there either.
He’s not in the living room and he’s not in the kitchen.
“Split up,” I tell Aiden, nodding towards the stairs. “Be careful.”
“I will be.” Aiden goes to the second floor while I remain on the first.
I scan the entire area, looking to see where Sal could have gone but he’s nowhere.
And that’s when I hear the scream from outside.
I run out of the house and stop when I see Sal by Aiden’s car, holding onto Elena. He’s trying to drag her from the car. Aria stumbles out of the other house, holding her open dress to her bloody body. She stops too when she sees what’s happening.
Sal has his gun with him. He fires it towards Aria and she ducks back into the house, barely avoiding getting hit.
Elena jabs her elbow into Sal’s side hard enough to make him let her go. She falls to the ground, crying out in pain. I’ve heard Elena cry in pain before.
When I killed her dad and threatened to kill her.
But somehow, I’ve changed from that man. I’m still chaotic and I always fucking will be but now, Aria has shown me that I can have more in life. I don’t want Elena to die any longer.
Sal turns his gun onto Elena, aiming it right at her head.
That’s when I act.
I run forward and dive in front of Elena right as Sal pulls the trigger. The bullet hits me right in the chest.
“No!” Aria screams.
Sal stumbles back in shock. I guess he never thought I could be selfless enough to save someone other than myself.
I point my own gun at him and use his moment of shock against him. I pull my trigger and the bullet goes right through his fucking head.
Sal grunts once and collapses onto the ground. Finally fucking dead.
All my energy leaves me and I slump over, knowing I probably don’t have a lot of time left from the gunshot to my fucking chest. At least it didn’t hit me in the heart. Then I’d be dead already.
Elena sits up and stares at me with wide eyes. “You just saved my life.”
“Funny, isn’t it,” I manage to say. Aria runs over to my side and presses her hands onto my bleeding wounds.
“You’re going to be ok. Elena, call for Aiden. We need to get Finn to the hospital. We need to call 9-1-1.”
Elena doesn’t move.
“Elena!” Aria shouts.
With a jerk, she pulls out my phone from my pocket and calls the police. Aiden comes running out of the house and doesn’t hesitate to come to my side. He checks in with Elena, who tells him she’s ok.
“Paramedics are on their way,” Elena explains. She shakes her head. “You saved my life. You, of all people.”
“I figured you… were owed that.” My eyes turn to Aiden. “I’m sorry… for all the shit… I’ve done.”
“Don’t talk like you’re dying,” Aiden snaps.
“But I think I am dying. Sorry to disappoint all of you.”
“You can’t die,” Aria says, tears streaming down her face. I never thought I’d see her cry over me. It only took me dying for it to happen.
The urge to tell Aria I love her is on my lips. But a surge of pain hits me before I can say anything and then all I see is darkness.
Aria
I feel Finn’s pulse stop.
“Oh my god. He’s dead.”
“Move,” Aiden says, gently nudging me out of the way, before he starts doing chest compressions.
“Where did you learn to do this?” I ask.
“I’ve been in a lot of tough situations in my life. Knowing how to do chest compressions is a staple. Now, I need to focus.”
I watch as Aiden does chest compressions on Finn for what feels like hours but can only be minutes before the paramedics arrive. They take over and get Finn on a gurney.
The three of us follow in Aiden’s car to the hospital.
The nurses take one look at me and have me admitted too. I’m put on a bed with a hospital gown as Finn is wheeled into a different room. Aiden and Elena are forced to stay in the waiting room.
A doctor gives me some pain meds and cleans up my cuts before letting me go with some clothes from the lost and found. I meet Aiden and Elena back in the waiting room as we wait for news about Finn.
“I’m fine,” I tell them as they give me a questioning look. “Sal didn’t cut deep.”
Two police officers approach us. “You were involved in a shootout. A man is dead. We need to question all of you.”
“I got this,” Aiden says. He explains to the officers what happened. How Sal had kidnapped us and Finn shot Sal to save Elena’s life. Since we were all witnesses to it, the police don’t seem that concerned about it being murder but they do tell us an investigation will take place.
“I’ll call Erik when this is all over,” Aiden tells us once the police are gone. “I’ll have him clean up this mess. But… I should call Dante. Let him know that you’re ok, Aria.”
“And my dad.”
Aiden winces. It’s a subtle movement but I see it.
“What?” I ask.
“I didn’t want to be the one to tell you but… your dad is dead, Aria.”
“What?”
“Sal killed him. Snapped his neck. I saw his body when I came back to the house and found you and Elena gone.”
Aiden is so matter of fact in the way that he speaks. I’m appreciative of it in this moment. There’s no good way to tell someone that their own dad is dead.
I break down into tears. I never got to fully appreciate my dad before he died. Elena’s words have come back to haunt me and now we’re in the same boat. Both of us have dead fathers, killed by hitmen.
Hours go by and in that time, I stop crying.
A doctor finds us to tell us that Finn has been admitted to surgery for the bullet and that he might not make it. “I’ll come find you when there’s more information.”
I’m in a state of shock. My dad is dead and now I could lose Finn. I wasn’t sure how I felt about Finn before. I was so conflicted. But now all I want is to have him back. I know in my gut that I’ve fallen in love with him because the thought of being without him hurts too much to even contemplate.
Fiona shows up at the hospital and rushes into Aiden’s arms. We’re all waiting for news about whether he’ll pull through or not when Erik, Dante, and Matteo arrive.
“Who called them?” I ask.
“I did,” Aiden admits. “They needed to know.”
As the three men approach us, all I can think is great – this is going to cause even more drama at a time when I don’t want it. I prepare myself for what they’re going to say.
“Finn could die?” Dante asks.
“Good,” Erik responds. “We should just let it happen. You never should have called the police, Aiden.”
“He saved my life,” Elena says in a low voice. “Finn saved my life. So before we decide whether he should die or not, let’s wait to see what happens in surgery.”
“You guys might just get your wish,” I say with bitterness. Dante rushes to my side but I pull away from him. I don’t want comfort right now. I just want to know if I’ll be a widow by the end of the day.