Chapter 29
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Giana
Isucked in a deep breath and reached for the doorknob, but Merrick got there before me.
The hinges squeaked slightly as he eased the door open, but there was no sign of movement on the other side.
Light filtered out onto the cement pavers as he opened it wider, his gun raised as he scanned the grand kitchen.
The interior was a chef’s dream, of course, the kitchen larger and more opulent than most commercial kitchens with a massive fridge and two stovetops plus a double wall oven.
A giant island was in the center of the kitchen with carved white fabric bar chairs on the other side that no one used.
Angelo always pointed out the brilliant Carrara marble that topped the island and counters as a key piece of the interior to anyone who would listen.
There was a smaller mahogany breakfast table on the other side of the kitchen, but the Barones never deigned to use it, preferring to be served in their dining room as his employees rushed around to prepare his food.
Lorenzo must have sent the other staff home for the evening since there wasn’t anyone to usher outside.
The rest of our teams filtered into the house, and when we closed the door behind us, a few of the guys took out boards and began quietly hammering the nails into place.
It was a liability since we wouldn’t be able to escape this way either, but we couldn’t risk any of the men in this house getting out either.
We couldn’t end this all tonight if any of them got away.
Antique yellow wallpaper lined the hallway, leading to the rest of the main floor.
I peered down the hall that led straight to the front door, waiting for Lorenzo’s men to join us and bolt the front door too.
We continued with the windows in the meantime, the music helping to cover us, but also making it impossible to hear if anyone else was coming.
“They should still be in the ballroom,” I said as Merrick, Spade, and Kellan surrounded me.
The Barones had a massive ballroom that rivaled the one used for the engagement party.
Large mahogany tables lined the sides with a dance floor in the middle, and grand chandeliers lit the vast space.
There were two entrances to the room, one through this hallway and the other with a hallway only accessible from the front door.
There were a few other doors on this side, leading to the parlor, and the formal dining room, while the other corridor had the staircase to the top two floors.
For our plan to work, I’d have to get closer to the other entrance without getting shot in the meantime, of course.
I sucked in a deep breath, flexing my fingers to help dispel some of the nervous energy thrumming through me.
Merrick placed a comforting palm on my shoulder while Kellan took my hand, and Spade rubbed my back in a soothing motion.
They helped to ease the frantic pace of my heart, slowing it from the heavy jackhammer staccato that rattled my ribs.
I could do this. My guys were trusting me to pull this off so we could ride off into the sunset together. “You three are everything I could have hoped for.”
Merrick’s hard gaze slammed into mine, while Kellan gripped my hand even harder, like he’d never let go.
“Don’t you dare say that to us right now, sugar,” Spade said, his warm breath licking against my ear, sending a tingle of desire shooting down my spine. “You tell us that when we all make it out of here.”
I sucked in a sharp breath and nodded, not trusting my voice.
Even if I didn’t make it out of this, getting to love them was worth it.
My gaze locked on the front door as it swung open, and I motioned for them to stay back as Lorenzo’s men filtered into the grand foyer and bolted the door behind them.
There were at least fifteen of them, which would only add to our numbers.
I gestured the snipers forward, and they met in the hallway with the guards loyal to Lorenzo.
Our five Demons and the guards eyed each other warily, but they all headed to the other hallway for the snipers to set up on the second floor.
Since the ballroom was so large, the ceiling reached up to the second floor, and there were balconies overlooking the party from there.
I lifted my watch and counted down the minutes.
We agreed upon ten minutes from the time the guards entered through the front door, since our Demons would need to get their equipment set up.
I chewed on my lip as I checked my watch every few seconds, feeling the anxiety filling the air as though it was palpable.
I held up a finger, indicating we had one minute left before we had to breach the door.
We filed into the corridor, our guns at the ready, and all three of my men surrounded me.
There’d be no chatting this time, no holding them off to mess with their heads.
This was it, the death knell before one of us was taking their last breath.
I counted down the last few seconds, making sure everyone was ready as we stormed the door.
Spade pulled a grenade from his pocket at the last minute, and as we crashed through the doors, we didn’t give them the opportunity to reach for their weapons.
Spade pulled the pin and threw the grenade under the long mahogany table they were all seated at, and we ducked out of the way as an explosion rocked the room.
The wood splintered, sending shards flying as we ran for cover.
We opened fire as the guards streamed in through the other doorway and made their way to the far wall to stay out of the crossfire.
There were at least thirty of them lying on the ground, blood staining their suits and shrapnel embedded into their chests.
Some were dead, while others were unconscious, but at least twenty of them were seated at another table and were able to get it knocked over to provide some cover.
We did the same on the other side of the room, giving us some cover so we weren’t sitting ducks while the Barones exchanged fire. The tables didn’t do much to stop the bullets, but at least we weren’t open targets.
I shifted to the other side of the room, using the tables as coverage while I aimed and pressed the trigger, taking a few of them down.
Our numbers far exceeded theirs, but we knew Angelo wouldn’t stick around.
As I suspected, Angelo had a few guards surrounding him, sneaking him closer and closer to the second door.
We were equipped with bulletproof vests; meanwhile, since we caught them in the middle of a celebration, most of them were not.
More and more bodies slumped to the floor, but there were still enough of them that I had to be wary of the stray bullets flying through the surrounding air.
“Cover me,” I instructed one of the guards, and he nodded, clearly having been let in on the plan by Lorenzo.
I pushed out from the last table and sprinted to the door. Pain sliced across my arm, the heat blistering, but I didn’t stop as it would only get me killed.
Angelo and his guards burst through the door, but I was right on their heels.
I raised my arm, shooting two of his guards in the head before a blow knocked me sideways.
Another guard had snuck up on me, his fist slamming into the side of my face.
My gun was knocked to the floor as I tried to right myself, but it was too late.
A second guard grabbed my arms and pinned them behind my back as I blinked away the darkness creeping at the edges of my vision.
I could not afford to black out right now.
“Giana, just the person I was hoping to see.” Angelo straightened his suit jacket as though he wasn’t just running scared like a coward.
I bucked in the guard’s hold, trying in vain to get free, but he merely laughed at my attempts.
“You think I give a fuck about any of them getting killed? I have thousands more who will give up everything just for the chance to get into my inner circle.”
Shouts erupted from the ballroom, stealing his attention for a moment before he sneered back down at me.
“I should kill you for everything you’ve done, but that would be letting you off far too easy.
” His eyes glittered with malice as he dragged them down my body.
His lecherous look made the vest, leggings, and long-sleeved black shirt I was wearing feel like they’d disappeared, and he was leering at my bare skin.
I hissed and thrashed in the guard’s hold, evoking his sinister laugh.
“Oh, I have so many plans for you, plans you won’t escape, plans that will make whatever my son did to you look like child’s play. ”
A shudder wracked my body, sending a chill straight up my spine.
I blocked the images from my mind, keeping my senses on high alert as he motioned his guards up the stairs.
The next thing I knew, I was pushed to the oak staircase, the cool press of a barrel against the back of my head forcing me to put one foot in front of the other.
I sucked in a breath, easing the frantic thrumming of my pulse against my eardrums. Tension radiated through my chest with each step I took.
They urged me to pick up the pace as the ballroom door was opened, and we made it to the third floor before anyone even reached the staircase.
Angelo fled to the end of the hallway, swinging a painting out of the way to reveal a steel door.
One of the two remaining guards flung the door open, exposing a metal ladder to the roof.