22. Lachlan
LACHLAN
The house looks like it's been rotting from the inside out for decades, sagging into itself like a corpse left too long in the sun. I see peeling paint, boarded windows, a front porch that's half-collapsed. The sort of place people walk past without looking twice, which is exactly why Gio chose it.
I crouch behind a rusted-out car across the street, Declan at my side, and watch the shadows move behind the gaps in the boards. Four men visible from here, maybe more inside.
"Two at the back door," Tommy's voice crackles through the earpiece. "One on the second floor, northeast window. I've got eyes on him."
"Jack?" I keep my voice low, my gaze fixed on the front entrance.
"Side entrance is clear. Looks like they're concentrating manpower at the main points."
"Rian?"
"In position. Waiting on your signal."
I glance at Declan. His face is pale, sweat beading at his temples, but his hands are steady on his weapon. I know he's in pain, but he hasn't said a word about it—just insisted on being here and seeing this through.
"You good?" I ask quietly.
"I'm not sitting this one out." His jaw is set, his eyes hard. "That's your family in there, Lach. Which makes it my family too."
The words are a reminder of how close we were once. I had to walk away from him, too, when I ran from New York that night. I lost my best friend as well as the woman I loved. And now he's here, bleeding and battered, ready to walk into a firefight because I asked him to.
"Let's get them out," I say, my heart is hammering against my ribs. "On my count. Three... two... one."
I move.
The front door is locked, but that doesn't slow me down. One kick and the rotting wood splinters, the frame giving way with a crack that echoes through the empty street. I'm through the doorway before the sound fades, my weapon raised, my focus narrowing to a single point.
Find Adriana. Find Matteo. Kill Gio. Everything else is just noise.
The first guard comes at me from the left, and I put two rounds in his chest before he can get his weapon up. He goes down hard, his body hitting the floor with a wet thud, and I'm already moving past him, scanning for the next threat.
Declan is right behind me, and I hear the sharp crack of his weapon as he takes out another guard coming down the stairs. The house erupts into chaos—shouting, the thunder of boots on old floorboards, the rapid-fire percussion of gunshots that makes my ears ring.
"Second floor clear!" Rian's voice is in my ear, calm and controlled despite the violence. "Two down."
"Back door secure," Tommy reports. "Three hostiles neutralized."
I move through the house like I'm on autopilot, my body remembering the years of violence that have shaped me into this.
A guard appears in the doorway to my right, and I drop him with a single shot.
Another comes from the kitchen, and Declan takes him out before I can turn.
We move as a unit, covering each other, advancing through the house.
Jack appears from the side entrance, his weapon raised, and together we clear the main floor room by room.
The house smells like mildew and decay, the walls stained with water damage and God knows what else.
There's trash scattered across the floor, empty beer bottles and fast food containers, evidence of Gio's men camping out here while they waited for...
what? For me to come? For Gio to decide what to do with Adriana and Matteo?
The thought makes my blood run cold, and I push it away, focusing on the immediate threat. "Kitchen," I say quietly, nodding toward the doorway ahead. I can hear voices inside, low and tense, and I know Gio is in there.
Declan moves to the left side of the doorway, and I take the right. Jack positions himself behind us, ready to provide cover. I meet Declan's eyes, and he nods once.
We go in fast.
The kitchen is a disaster—old cracked furniture and counters, windows boarded up, the floor littered with debris.
And in the center of it all, Gio stands with a gun in his hand, two of his men flanking him.
He's dressed like he's going to a business meeting, his suit immaculate despite the squalor around him, and when he sees me, he smiles.
"Gallagher." His voice is almost pleasant.
"I was wondering when you'd show up. I see you didn't listen to my instructions.
Shame. I wonder what order I should do this all in?
I think I'll make you watch while my men fuck Adriana, one at a time, and then make her watch while I kill you.
I'll make sure to shoot you somewhere that you're still bleeding out when I kill her. "
Rage floods through me, but I don't answer. Just raise my weapon and aim it directly at his head.
His men move, reaching for their guns, but they're too slow. I fire twice, and they both go down. Gio doesn't flinch. He doesn't even look at the bodies of his men as they collapse to the floor. He just keeps that smile on his face, like this is all some kind of game.
"Where is she?" My voice is low and dangerous, and I can feel the rage building in my chest, threatening to consume me. "Where's my son?"
"Safe." Gio tilts his head. "For now. Matteo will stay that way, at least."
"Declan." I don't take my eyes off Gio. "Find them."
"On it." Declan moves toward the hallway, and I hear his footsteps receding and him calling out orders to Cormac through the earpiece.
Gio watches him go, and then his gaze returns to me. "You know, I almost admire you, Gallagher. Coming all this way, risking everything, just for a woman who doesn't even want you."
"Shut the fuck up."
"She told me, you know." He's still smiling, and I want to wipe that expression off his face with my fist. "Told me she's terrified of you. That you're just another monster, just like me. That she doesn't know who you are anymore."
The words feel like knives cutting in somewhere deep, but I don't let it show. I'm sure he's lying, but the fact that it's possible it could be true is just as painful. "She's wrong," I say quietly. "I'm nothing like you."
"Aren't you?" Gio takes a step closer, and I tighten my grip on the weapon. "You took her without asking, locked her in your penthouse, and told yourself it was for her own good. How exactly are you different from me?"
"I love her. Everything I've done, every choice I've made, has been to protect her."
"And yet here we are." Gio spreads his hands, gesturing to the rotting house around us. "She's more afraid than ever. Your son is traumatized. And you're standing here with a gun pointed at me, about to commit murder. Tell me, Gallagher—how is this protecting them?"
I don't have an answer for that. But it doesn't matter, because I'm not letting him take them back. I'm not letting him hurt them anymore.
"Lachlan." Declan's voice in my ear, urgent. "Found the kid. Second floor, back bedroom. He's okay. Bringing him down now."
Relief floods through me, so intense it's almost painful. Matteo's alive. He's okay. "And Adriana?" I ask, my voice tight.
"Haven't found her yet. Still searching."
My heart stops. "What do you mean you haven't found her?"
"She's not with the kid. We're checking the other rooms—"
"He'll find her soon enough, I'm sure," Gio says, and his smile widens. "I thought she might appreciate some time alone to think about her choices."
The rage that's been building in my chest explodes, and I take a step forward, my finger tightening on the trigger. "If you hurt her—"
"You'll what? Kill me?" Gio laughs, and the sound is cold and mocking. "You're planning to do that anyway, Gallagher. But we both know how this ends, and it isn't with me dead."
I keep my weapon trained on Gio, and we stand there in silence, the air thick with tension and the smell of blood. I can hear movement upstairs, hear Declan's voice as he talks to Matteo, trying to calm him down. I can hear Jack's footsteps as he searches.
And then I hear a door opening, footsteps, and then Adriana's voice, shaky and terrified.
"Lachlan?"
"I'm here." My voice cracks on the words, and I have to force myself to stay focused and keep my weapon on Gio. "I'm right here. You're safe now."
She appears in the doorway, and the sight of her nearly breaks me. She's pale, her eyes red from crying, her clothes dirty and torn. There's a bruise on her cheek, and I can see the terror in her eyes.
"Adriana." I want to go to her, want to pull her into my arms and never let go, but I can't. Not yet. Not while Gio is still standing.
She sees him, and her entire body goes rigid. "Lachlan, please. Just get us out of here. Please."
"I will." I keep my eyes on Gio, my weapon steady. "I promise. Just stay behind me."
And then I hear footsteps on the stairs and Declan's voice, low and soothing. "It's okay, kid. Your dad's right downstairs. We're going to get you to your mom, okay?"
"Mama?" Matteo's voice is small and frightened, and I hear Adriana make a sound that's half sob, half gasp.
"I'm here, baby!" she calls out. "I'm right here!"
Declan appears in the doorway with Matteo, and my son looks so small, so fragile, his face pale and his eyes wide with fear. There's a bruise on his cheek, and his clothes are dirty, and when he sees Adriana, he tries to pull away from Declan.
"Mama!"
"Matteo, wait—" Declan tries to hold him, but Matteo is desperate, struggling against his grip.
And then everything happens at once.
Matteo tears himself free, stumbling forward, and his foot catches on something—a body, one of Gio's men lying dead on the floor. He goes down hard, his hands hitting the ground, and I see him look at the body, and then at the gun lying next to the dead man's hand.
I see my son reach for it and pick it up, pushing himself to his feet. Holding a loaded gun.
"Matteo, no!" Adriana's scream is raw and terrified, and she moves toward him, but I'm faster. I step between them, putting myself between my son and Gio, and I see Matteo's face. His hands are shaking as he raises the weapon.
He's aiming at Gio.