Chapter 17 Mauricio #2
Regina gasps behind me, and fury ignites in my chest. I put three bullets in the third guard’s center mass, watching him crumple like a puppet with cut strings.
“You hit?” I don’t turn, can’t afford to take my eyes off the hallway where more guards will be coming any second.
“No, I’m—the gas.” Her voice carries panic now. “Mauricio, we triggered the secondary security. We have maybe thirty seconds before—”
“Then you better find that exit.” I move to the vault door, using the frame for cover as more boots thunder up the stairs. “Because I’m not letting you die in your father’s trap after we came this far.”
“There.” She’s at the back wall now, hands running over what looks like solid steel. “Giordano mentioned a rumor at one point. It was something about a service tunnel Father had installed for emergency evacuation. If I can find the—”
A section of wall clicks, sliding open to reveal darkness beyond. Regina’s laugh is half-hysterical, half-triumphant.
“Found it!”
“Go.” I fire three more shots down the hallway, keeping the advancing guards pinned. “I’m right behind you.”
“Not without you.” Her hand finds the back of my jacket, pulling with surprising strength. “Either we both make it out or neither of us does.”
The stubborn courage in her voice does something complicated to my chest. “You’re a pain in my ass, you know that?”
“And you’re an overprotective idiot.” But she’s already moving into the tunnel, ledger clutched to her chest like a lifeline. “Come on before the gas kills us both.”
I fire one last volley, then plunge into darkness after her. The section of wall slides shut behind us just as smoke starts hissing from vents in the vault—poison gas, designed to kill anyone who got past Sabino’s other defenses.
Close. Too fucking close.
The tunnel is narrow, barely wide enough for us to move single file. I can’t see Regina in the absolute darkness, but I can hear her breathing—fast, scared, but controlled.
“Where does this lead?” My voice echoes off close walls.
“Based on the direction we’re going, it should exit near the service entrance on the north side.” She’s moving fast, one hand trailing the wall for guidance. “Assuming I’m correct.”
“Assuming.”
“Do you want reassuring lies or honest uncertainty?” Her laugh carries hysteria she’s fighting to contain. “Because I’m fresh out of comforting platitudes.”
“Honest uncertainty.” I reach forward, finding her shoulder in the darkness and squeezing gently. “Always honest with me, Regina. Even when the truth is we might die in a tunnel under your father’s house.”
“We’re not dying.” Her voice firms with determination. “I refuse to die before watching Sabino’s empire burn. So we’re going to reach that exit, and we’re going to escape, and we’re going to use these ledgers to destroy everything he built.”
The conviction in her words steadies something in my chest. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Don’t ‘ma’am’ me when we’re fleeing for our lives in absolute darkness.”
“Would you prefer ‘boss’? ‘Commander’? ‘Terrifyingly competent woman who nearly gave me a heart attack when guards showed up early’?”
“I’ll take the last one.” Her hand finds mine in the darkness, squeezing with gratitude and fear combined. “And for the record, you nearly gave me a heart attack when you put yourself between me and armed men. Very heroic. Very stupid.”
“That’s my job description.” The tunnel starts to slope upward, suggesting we’re nearing an exit. “Heroic stupidity in service of keeping you alive.”
“Your job description is watching my back, not being a human shield.” But there’s warmth in her voice beneath the protest. “Though I’ll admit, watching you handle those guards was... compelling.”
“Compelling.” I can’t help but smile despite our circumstances. “That’s one way to describe efficient violence.”
“I was going to say arousing, but that seemed inappropriate given the fleeing-for-our-lives context.”
The admission makes heat flare in my chest despite everything. “We survive this, I’m going to explore exactly how arousing you found it.”
“Promises, promises.” But her breathing has gone faster, and not from exertion.
Light appears ahead—faint, but unmistakable. The service entrance Regina predicted, barely visible in the tunnel’s gloom but growing brighter as we approach.
“Almost there.” She picks up speed, and I match her pace, hand still clasped in hers like a lifeline.
“Once we’re outside, we sprint for the tree line. Car’s hidden two hundred yards north. Keys in the exhaust pipe.”
“You stashed a getaway car?”
“I stashed three getaway cars in different locations,” I tell her. “I’m thorough.”
We burst from the tunnel into cool night air that tastes like freedom and pine. Behind us, alarms are shrieking—Sabino’s estate lit up like a Christmas tree, guards swarming like angry hornets.
“Run.” I don’t wait for her agreement, just grab her hand and sprint toward the tree line with everything I have.
We’re fifty yards out when the first bullets start flying—wild shots from guards too far away to have accurate aim, but close enough to make my skin crawl with how thoroughly this went sideways.
“Down!” I tackle Regina behind a landscaping wall just as gunfire intensifies, bullets chewing through ornamental bushes where we’d been standing seconds before.
She’s beneath me, breathing hard, eyes wide but focused. The ledger is still clutched to her chest, and even with death flying over our heads, she’s protecting what we came for.
“You hit?” My hands are already checking her for wounds, unable to help the frantic need to confirm she’s whole.
“I’m fine.” But her voice shakes slightly. “Mauricio, we need to—”
“I know.” I risk a glance over the wall, counting guards and calculating odds. “When I say run, you run straight for the trees. Don’t stop, don’t look back, don’t wait for me. Just get to the car and drive.”
“I’m not leaving you—”
“Regina.” I catch her face between my hands, forcing her to meet my eyes. “If they catch us both, this was for nothing. But if you get away with those ledgers, if you survive to expose everything they’ve done—that’s the mission. That’s what matters.”
“You matter.” Tears shimmer in her green eyes, catching light from the estate. “I didn’t escape Father’s cage just to watch you die protecting me.”
“Then don’t watch.” I press a hard kiss to her forehead. “Run, Regina. Honor what we’re doing here by surviving.”
Before she can protest, I’m up and moving—drawing fire, giving her the opening she needs. I hear her curse, hear her scramble toward the tree line, and pray she’s smart enough to keep running.
I lay down covering fire, making every shot count, buying her seconds that feel like hours. When I finally risk a glance back, she’s disappeared into the trees.
Good. Smart girl. Survives everything including my protective instincts.
I start my own retreat, using landscaping and shadows for cover, trying to make it to the trees before—
Pain explodes in my shoulder, white-hot and stealing breath. I stumble, training the only thing keeping me upright as another bullet whistles past my ear.
Fuck. This is going to make escape significantly harder.
I make it to the tree line on sheer stubbornness, blood already soaking my jacket from the shoulder wound. The getaway car is close—I can hear the engine running, Regina behind the wheel with tears streaming down her face.
“Drive!” I shout, throwing myself into the passenger seat. “Go now!”
She floors it before my door is fully closed, tires screaming as we fishtail onto the main road. Behind us, Sabino’s estate erupts with activity, but we’re already disappearing into darkness.
“You’re shot.” Her voice is steady despite the tears. “Mauricio, you’re bleeding—”
“Shoulder. Went through clean.” I press my hand against the wound, applying pressure that makes stars dance at the edges of my vision. “I’ll live. Focus on driving.”
“I should have stayed. I should have covered you—”
“You did exactly what you needed to do.” I reach across with my good hand, finding her thigh and squeezing gently. “You survived. That’s all that matters.”
She drives like she’s being chased by demons—which, technically, we are. But her hands are steady on the wheel, her focus absolute, and once again I’m struck by how thoroughly I underestimated this woman.
“The ledger?” I manage, fighting to stay conscious through pain and blood loss.
“Right here.” She pats her jacket.
“Good.” My vision is starting to blur at the edges. “Regina, if I pass out—”
“You’re not passing out.” Steel enters her voice. “You’re staying conscious until we reach the cabin and I can patch that shoulder. No heroic dying while I’m driving.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“I told you not to call me—” She glances over, sees my smile, and laughs despite everything. “You’re an idiot.”
“Your idiot. We make a hell of a team.”
“We make a terrifying team.” But there’s warmth in her voice now. Fear’s receding as we put distance between ourselves and danger. “Next time you want to play human shield, warn me first.”
“No promises.” My eyes are getting heavy, shock and blood loss conspiring to drag me under. “Regina—”
“Stay with me.” Her hand finds mine, squeezing hard enough to ground me. “Mauricio, stay with me. We did it. We got the ledgers. Now you need to survive long enough to watch me destroy my father with them.”
The determination in her voice cuts through the fog. “Wouldn’t miss it.”
“Good.” She presses harder on the accelerator. “Because this was just the beginning. Now we go to war.”
I manage to stay conscious until we reach the safe house, though the edges of my vision are black by the time she helps me inside. The ledger is still clutched in her free hand, and even bleeding and potentially dying, I can’t help but admire her priorities.
“Couch.” She guides me down with surprising gentleness. “First aid kit is in the bathroom. I’ll be right back.”
She returns with supplies and efficiency that speaks to medical training I didn’t know she had. Her hands are steady as she cuts away my jacket, revealing the shoulder wound that’s still bleeding sluggishly.
“Through and through.” Relief floods her voice. “No major arteries hit. You’ll live.”
“Told you.” But the words come out slurred, shock finally catching up.
“Shut up and let me work.” She’s cleaning the wound now, movements precise despite her trembling hands. “You scared me, you know. When that guard shot you—when you went down—I thought—”
“Hey.” I catch her wrist with my good hand, forcing her to meet my eyes. “I’m alive. We’re both alive. And we have what we came for.”
“We almost died.” The tears she’s been fighting finally spill over. “Mauricio, we almost died in that vault.”
“But we didn’t.” I pull her closer, ignoring the screaming pain in my shoulder. “We survived. Like we always do when we’re in this side by side.”
She collapses against my good side, careful of the wound but needing contact. “Don’t ever put yourself between me and bullets again.”
“Can’t promise that.”
“Mauricio—”
“Regina.” I tilt her face up, needing her to understand this. “Protecting you isn’t optional. It’s not strategic or calculated or something I can turn off. You’re mine now, and I protect what’s mine. Even from bullets.”
“That’s the most romantic and terrifying thing anyone’s ever said to me.” But she’s smiling through tears. “Also incredibly stupid.”
“Heroically stupid, remember?” I brush my thumb across her cheekbone, clearing tears. “My job description.”
“Your job description is covering my back, not being a human shield.” She echoes her earlier protest, but there’s acceptance in her voice now. “Though I suppose I can’t stop you from being occasionally heroic if you promise not to die.”
“Deal.” The world is starting to gray at the edges again, blood loss demanding payment. “Regina, if I pass out—”
“You already said that.” She’s bandaging the wound now, movements gentle but efficient. “And my answer remains the same. You’re not passing out until I’ve finished playing nurse.”
“Bossy.”
“Practical.” But she’s smiling as she secures the bandage. “There. Good as new. Or at least good enough to survive until we can get you actual medical attention.”
“Don’t need medical attention.” Sleep is pulling at me now, impossible to resist. “Just need you safe. Everything else—”
“Everything else can wait.” She settles beside me on the couch, careful not to jostle my shoulder. “Sleep, Mauricio. I’ll keep watch.”
“You need rest too.” The words come out barely above a whisper. “Been a long night.”
“I’ll rest when I know you’re not going to bleed out on my couch,” she says, and I feel her warmth against my good side as darkness finally claims me.
The last thing I’m aware of is her hand in mine, the ledger safe on the coffee table, and the knowledge that we did it—survived, succeeded, and proved that in this war, we’re more dangerous than Sabino Picarelli ever imagined.
Tomorrow, we burn his world down.
Tonight, we rest.