Chapter 32 #2
“Everything is about her now. The diamonds. The island. Roman’s wife and daughter.” Gio’s smile is all teeth. “Did she tell you where they are?”
“I’m not here about the diamonds. We never found them.” I edge forward. “I’m here for her.”
“How sweet.” Gio circles Chloe. “The monster found a heart. Too bad you’ll both be dead before you can enjoy your newfound love.”
A distant explosion rocks the building and quakes the floor beneath our feet.
Not enough to knock me off balance, but enough to elicit a flinch from Gio.
Alexei and the others are still drawing attention and resources away from this room, but their diversion won’t last forever.
“One last chance.” I shake out my hands, prepared for anything. “If you let her go, you might walk out of here alive.”
Gio’s smile widens. “Or I just put a bullet in her head and find the diamonds myself.”
A high, urgent alarm starts wailing. Through the door behind me, I catch the acrid scent of burning chemicals.
Fire.
The popping sounds indicate the blaze is already spreading.
With all the bombs going off, it’s no surprise. According to Kirill’s analysis, this warehouse is full of old industrial chemicals.
Gio’s eyes flick toward the door. A split-second of distraction.
I lunge, covering the distance between us in three strides.
Gio whirls and fires. I twist sideways, and the bullet whizzes past my ear. In the next heartbeat, I slam into him, shoving him away from Chloe and into the concrete wall.
The impact jars my wounded ribs. Wheezing through the white-hot burst of pain, I grab his gun first, smashing his hand against the wall until his fingers loosen. The weapon clatters to the floor.
“Chloe, you okay?” I keep my eyes on Gio.
“I’m fine.” She exhales heavily through her nose. “These ropes are cutting off my circulation, but I’m fine.”
Gio’s laugh reveals crimson stains on his perfect teeth. “She’s lying. I’ve been working on her for hours. Just didn’t break her yet.”
Fury explodes inside me. I slam my fist into his face and relish the sensation of his nose crunching beneath my knuckles.
Blood sprays as he retaliates with a knee to my injured ribs, a calculated strike aimed at my weakness. The vest absorbs the bulk of the impact, but pain still drops me to one knee.
He seizes the advantage by driving his elbow into the back of my neck.
I roll with the blow, letting momentum carry me across the floor. Then I pop up in a fighting stance, copper in my mouth, vision tunneling. Breathing is agony.
Gio circles, his footsteps light in his Italian leather shoes.
He’s not just some pampered rich boy. He knows how to fight. Military training, maybe, or the hard education of growing up in a crime family.
“Do you really think the diamonds are Roman’s?” Gio ignores the blood gushing from his nose.
I don’t give a shit about the diamonds or the seed of doubt Gio’s trying to plant in my head. Not when I need to get Chloe out of here.
Another explosion rocks the floor, closer this time. The chemical smell grows stronger. A thin haze of smoke slithers into the room.
Time’s running out.
I feint left, then lurch forward, snapping his head back with a right hook. I follow with a hit to the solar plexus, robbing him of breath.
He stumbles backward, gasping, but recovers fast. His fist connects with my jaw and sends me staggering.
“You don’t even know what you’re fighting for!” Malice laces Gio’s tone. “Roman’s been lying to all of you for fifteen years.”
His words are drivel meant to distract.
They don’t work, because I’m not fighting for Roman.
I press forward again, ignoring the burn in my muscles, the throb of my wounds. Our bodies collide in a tangle of limbs and fury.
I ram my knee into his stomach, causing more air to rush from his lungs.
His fingers dig into where the bullet grazed my shoulder and twist. For one crucial second, the pain blinds me, allowing Gio to slam his forehead into my face.
My lip splits, and the taste of copper invades my mouth.
We separate and rotate around each other again as the smoke thickens.
Through the fog, I see Chloe working at her restraints, using the edge of the chair to saw at the ropes.
So damn smart.
“Time’s running out, Ilyin.” Gio wipes his chin. “Building’s coming down soon. You’re going to die here. And for what? A woman you barely know? Diamonds you’ll never see?”
After another explosion, part of the ceiling collapses in the far corner. Flames lick at the doorway, hungry orange tongues consuming the oxygen as the heat intensifies.
Sweat pours down my face and stings my eyes.
This time, I don’t hold back or pace myself.
No point in conserving energy if I’m going to die from smoke inhalation anyway.
Every technique, every dirty trick, every ounce of violence I’ve cultivated over years of serving Roman…I unleash them all.
Grabbing the table, I fling it at him. He flinches and ducks, but the empty chair in my other hand smashes into the side of his face. Pressing my advantage, I lunge at him and pummel his jaw with my fist.
Blood covers his eyelids, pouring from a cut on his forehead and obscuring his vision, just like I hoped.
My knee cracks his ribs. Once. Twice.
Gio stumbles backward, arms raised to protect himself from blows he can no longer see coming. Struggling to breathe.
One more good hit, and he’s finished.
One more, and he’ll pay for everything.
For taking Chloe. Threatening her. Cutting her face.
A support beam crashes down behind me. Sparks shower us all. The flames reach the doorway, cutting off our primary escape route. The heat is unbearable, the smoke thick enough to choke on.
“Kolya!” Chloe shouts over the roaring fire. She’s freed one hand and works frantically on the other. “We need to go!”
In response to my divided attention, Gio lunges for a shape on the floor that’s half hidden by debris.
I could stop him. Should stop him.
End this here and now.
Above Chloe, the ceiling groans, concrete dust sifting down onto her hair. I abandon the fight, vault over a fallen beam, and sprint to her side.
My knife makes speedy work of the remaining rope. I haul her to her feet, supporting her weight as her legs find their strength.
She glances back. “But Gio—”
“Doesn’t matter.” I’m already pushing us toward the emergency exit on the far wall. “You do.”
Behind us, Gio’s triumphant laugh echoes, followed by the distinctive click of a cocked gun. I force Chloe ahead of me, shielding her with my body as we stumble through the smoke toward the exit.
A shot rings out. The bullet embeds itself in the wall beside my head.
We don’t stop. I swing an arm around Chloe’s waist and half carry her through the inferno the warehouse has become.
Eventually, we reach the emergency exit. The metal door is too hot to touch, so I kick it open. Fresh air rushes in, sweet and cool compared to the hellscape we escaped.
We tumble out onto a metal fire escape, flames licking at our calves. Behind us, a deafening crack rends the night.
I peer over Chloe’s head as the entire roof caves in. Concrete and steel rain down onto the spot we just vacated.
Gio’s yells are cut short, buried beneath tons of debris and ravenous flames.
I don’t waste any time pulling Chloe down the fire escape. She moves as fast as her unsteady legs will allow. We reach the bottom as the upper floors of the warehouse begin to collapse in a chain reaction of structural failure. The ground trembles beneath our feet.
“Run.”
And we do, until we’re staggering across the empty lot toward the perimeter fence where Kirill waits with our extraction vehicle.
I don’t glance back at the blazing warehouse. Gio’s tomb. He doesn’t matter anymore.
Only the woman beside me matters, her hand clutched in mine, her breathing ragged but strong.