Chapter 38
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
Matteo
This is it. Either I move now or I die here and leave Alessia alone with this bastard.
Emilio's finger tightens on the trigger and I see the exact moment he's going to fire. I push off and dive to the side just as the gun goes off, the bullet passing so close to my head that I feel it against my ear.
He fires again but the shot goes wide because I'm too close now and moving too fast. My shoulder slams into his chest and drives him back against the wall hard enough to knock the air from his lungs.
The gun falls from his grip when I drive the knife into his wrist, severing tendons and making his hand go useless.
His other hand comes up to claw at my face but I catch his wrist and pin it against the wall above his head. My forearm presses against his throat and I lean in close enough to see the fear starting to replace the rage in his eyes.
"This is for my father." My voice comes out rough and I press harder against his windpipe.
I shift my grip to grab his throat with my hand instead of my arm, feeling his pulse hammering frantically under my palm. His eyes go wide for a second and then empty as his body goes slack, and the satisfaction that floods through me is so intense it makes my hands shake.
I let him drop and step back, breathing hard and cradling my wounded arm against my chest. Blood is still running down my sleeve but the bleeding is slowing now that the adrenaline is starting to wear off.
I turn away from Emilio's body and the sight that greets me makes my chest tighten harder than any bullet wound could manage.
She's still on the floor where she fell, and I can see blood in her hair from where her head hit the concrete.
The chair is on its side with her still partially bound to it, the restraints still holding her down.
My legs feel heavier than they should as I cross the distance between us, and I'm not sure if it's from blood loss or the sheer weight of everything that just happened finally catching up to me.
"Alessia." I drop to my knees beside her, my good hand already reaching for her. "Talk to me. Tell me you're okay."
Her eyes flutter open and focus on my face, and the relief that floods through me is so intense it makes my hands shake when I pull out the knife to cut through the remaining restraints.
She's alive and conscious and looking at me like I'm the only solid thing in a world that just tried to kill her.
"Matteo." She tries to sit up and I slide my arm under her shoulders to help her, pulling her against my chest as carefully as I can manage with one arm that's not working properly. "You came."
"Of course, I came." My other arm goes around her even though it screams in protest, and I'm probably holding her too tightly but I can't make myself ease up when she's finally safe and in my arms. "Did you really think I wouldn't?"
She makes a sound that might be a laugh or might be a sob and her face presses against my shoulder, and I feel her tears soaking through my shirt. Her whole body is shaking against mine and her fingers are digging into my jacket like she's afraid I'll disappear if she lets go.
"You’re stupid. You came unarmed." The words come out muffled against my chest. "You walked in here knowing they would kill you."
"I'd walk into hell unarmed if it meant getting you back." The confession spills out before I can stop it. "Nothing else mattered except making sure you were safe."
She pulls back enough to look at my face and her hand comes up to touch the cut on my cheek from where the concrete chips hit me earlier. "You're bleeding." Her eyes drop to my arm where blood has soaked through my sleeve and is dripping onto the floor between us. "Matteo, you need—"
"I'm fine." I catch her hand before she can touch the wound and bring it up where I can see the cuts on her wrists from the zip ties, the bruises already forming dark purple against her pale skin. "You're the one I'm worried about. Your head—"
"It's just a bump." She tries to dismiss it but I can see the way she winces when she moves too quickly.
"We need to get you looked at by a doctor." I shift my grip so I can see her pupils and they look okay, even despite the blood and bruising. "When we get back to the estate—"
"You need a doctor too." She touches my wounded arm again and this time I don't stop her. Her fingers are gentle when they probe the edges of the wound and I have to clench my jaw to keep from making a sound. "This needs stitches."
"Later." I brush blood-matted hair back from her face and she leans into the touch slightly. "Right now I just need to know you're okay. That you're really here and safe and not—"
My voice cracks on the last word because the image of what could have happened is too vivid, too immediate. If I'd been five minutes later, if my brothers hadn't breached when they did, if Lorenzo had gotten his fucking hands around her throat one more time.
"I'm okay." Her hand finds mine and squeezes hard enough that I can feel her pulse racing under her skin. "I'm alive because you came for me. Because you risked everything."
Behind us I can hear my Brotherhood securing the space and I know we need to move soon before local cops start asking questions. But for just a few more seconds I let myself hold her and breathe in the reality that she's safe and alive.
"Can you walk?" I ask finally. "Or do you need me to carry you?"
"I can walk." She tries to prove it by getting to her feet but her legs shake badly enough that she has to grab my shoulder for balance. "Maybe with some help."
I stand and pull her up with me, keeping one arm around her waist when she sways slightly. My wounded arm protests the movement but I ignore it.
"Lean on me." I adjust my grip to take more of her weight. "We're getting out of here."
Luca appears in the doorway with his phone in one hand and his weapon still in the other, and his eyes go immediately to my bloody sleeve before moving to Alessia's pale face. "Our vehicles are ready. We need to get out of here now."
I guide Alessia toward the door and she's moving better now, finding her balance even though she's still holding onto me like she needs the support.
The stairs are narrow and I have to go first so I can catch her if she stumbles, and by the time we reach the top both of us are breathing harder than we should be.
The night air hits us when we emerge from the warehouse and it's cold enough to make Alessia shiver against me. Rafael is already at the lead vehicle with the door open and the engine running, and Enzo is standing guard near the entrance with his eyes scanning the surrounding buildings for threats.
"Let's go home." I help Alessia into the back seat and slide in beside her, keeping her pulled against my side because letting go still feels impossible after how close I came to losing her tonight.
The door closes and Rafael pulls away from the building, tires crunching over gravel before we hit smooth asphalt. Alessia's head rests against my shoulder and her breathing is starting to even out into something that might be exhaustion or might be the aftereffects of whatever drug they gave her.
"Matteo?" Her voice is quiet enough that I have to lean closer to hear her over the engine noise.
"Yeah?"
"Thank you." She lifts her head enough to look at me and there's something in her expression that makes my chest tighten in a way that has nothing to do with injuries or blood loss. "For coming. For risking everything. For choosing me."
"You chose me first." I brush blood-matted hair back from her face carefully, making sure to avoid the injury on her scalp. "When Lorenzo was about to shoot, you threw yourself forward to save me. That's not something I'm going to forget."
"We're even then." She settles back against my shoulder and her fingers find mine, lacing together with a grip that's stronger than it should be given everything she's just been through. "Partners in stupid heroic gestures."
"Something like that." I press my lips to the top of her head, careful to avoid the wound, and watch the city lights blur past the window as Rafael drives us home.
We're both covered in blood and bruises but we're alive, we’re together, and the Morettis are dead.
For now, that's enough.