Chapter 9
Georgi
As I come up the stairs, someone suddenly shoots at me, and I plaster myself against the wall, returning fire.
A bullet hits my left forearm, but it’s so close to the surface that it goes right through. Pissed off, I push forward and shoot the fucker as I reach the top of the stairs.
I’m surprised when there aren’t any other men waiting to stop me, but I can hear them shouting. Some are ordering others to find me, while a couple are saying that they’re leaving.
Not wanting to miss my chance, I dig in the dead guy’s pockets until I find his phone, and seeing it needs a fingerprint to unlock the device, I take a wild guess and press his right thumb to the screen.
It opens, and as I walk down another hallway, I dial Rosie’s number, which every single capo has memorized.
My body aches something fierce, making me grind my teeth as I breathe through all the pain.
It only rings twice before her voice comes over the line. “Yes?”
“It’s Georgi. Track the number.”
“Sweet Jesus!” she shrieks in my ear. “It’s Georgi,” she shouts before lowering her voice and asking, “Are you okay?”
A man comes down the hallway, and moving faster than him, I fire two shots before he can get one off.
“No,” I answer as I continue walking. “I’m dropping the phone in case I’m intercepted. I don’t want them to catch on that I managed to call you.”
“I have your location. Jesus, you’re only twenty minutes away. The guys are coming. Hang tight.”
When I reach the body, I shove the phone into his pocket.
Focusing all my attention on my surroundings, it’s just in time as another fucker darts into the hallway. He moves so fast, I barely register him before years of training take over, and I pull the trigger.
The bullet slams into his chest, and he drops hard, his body crashing into a narrow table that splinters across the carpeted floor.
Every step forward takes me deeper into the mansion, my focus stripped down to one single purpose. Find Nina and haul ass out of this house of horrors.
As I reach the end of the hallway, I notice a foyer ahead of me.
A man suddenly lunges from where he was hiding behind the wall.
A knife glints in his hand, and as he slices across my chest, I grab hold of his forearm and twist hard while slamming the handle of my gun into his face.
The impact makes him stagger, and before he can recover, I wrench the knife from his hand and shove it into the side of his neck.
As he goes down, I quickly rush into the foyer, glancing at the front door.
Just then, it opens, and several more men come hurrying into the mansion.
Fuck.
I run for the nearest door on the opposite side of the foyer while they open fire.
Bullets crack through the air, slamming into the walls, and as I dive through the doorway and hit the polished floor of what looks like a formal sitting room, the gunfire increases dramatically.
I barely take in the velvet furniture as I take cover behind the nearest sofa.
Bullets shatter glass behind me, and bracing myself on one knee, I quickly dart up and shoot at whatever moves.
One man drops in the doorway and another stumbles back, clutching his throat, while a third fucker takes a bullet right in the dick before I also bury one in his head.
The fourth guy makes it inside the room, and knowing I can’t stay behind the sofa and run out of bullets, I lunge to my feet and meet him head-on.
We grab at each other and slam into a table, hard enough to make an expensive bottle of whiskey topple over. I catch it mid-fall and smash it against the fucker’s head, knocking him out cold. As he goes down, I fire a shot into his chest before running to the doorway.
How much fucking time has passed?
As I cautiously walk back into the foyer, a scream echoes through the mansion, and recognizing the sound I’ve heard every fucking night, I hurry up the stairs, taking two at a time.
Reaching the second floor, I hear her cry, “Please, Ivan. I’m begging you.” Her voice sounds hysterical, and it has me pushing my tired body harder than ever as I take another flight of stairs up to the third floor. “Just give Simi to me.”
Hearing Nina plead like that makes something dark rise from the pits of hell that calls my soul home.
The landing is illuminated by a crystal chandelier, and as my eyes lock on Nina, I see the ungodly horror on her face. My arms fly up, and I train the barrel of my gun on a man who has a little girl half over the banister, one arm clamped around her waist as her legs kick over open air.
Christ, the fall will kill her.
Silent tears form tracks on her terrified face, her eyes wide and glued to Nina.
“Please, Ivan!” Nina begs again, slowly inching a careful step forward. She’s not aware that I’m here.
If I shoot him, he’ll drop Simi.
Fuck.
Suddenly, a woman appears in the doorway, and not noticing me, she says, “Let go of the kid, already. We have to get out of here.”
My mind switches over to a higher gear, and not wasting another second, I shoot the woman in the head while running forward. Dropping the weapon near Nina, I grab hold of the banister and throw my body over it just as the fucker releases Simi.
“Noooooo!” Nina screams.
As we both fall, I catch Simi against my chest and lock my right arm around her tiny body. Just as we hurtle toward the second floor’s banister, I slam my left forearm over the railing and hook it hard around the steel.
Pain explodes through me as my body crashes into the metal while a gunshot rings through the air above us, and the blood on my arm from the bullet wound makes it fucking difficult to hang on.
“Simi!” Nina cries, looking down at us with a horrified expression I won’t forget as long as I live.
Suddenly, I hear men shouting, and recognizing their voices, I holler, “Hurry the fuck up! Second floor banister. About to fall to my death.”
“Jesus fucking Christ,” Dad shouts, and the sound of his voice fills me with intense relief.
I’m not surprised when he gets to me first with Augusto and Adriano right behind him.
Dad leans over the metal railing and grabs my torn-up wrist and forearm. Augusto and Adriano work to pull him back while Dad keeps a tight hold of me.
Santino joins them, and I use the last of my strength to push Simi up so he can take her.
Before he can lift her to safety, Nina is there to grab Simi, sobs bursting over her lips.
“My heart,” she cries, the sound heartbreaking as Dad and my friends haul my ass to safety.
“Ma-ma,” the little girl hick-ups through her tears.
As I drop to the floor and Dad wraps his arms around me, my eyes lock on Nina.
She takes one look at all the men, and as she spins around to run away, I shout, “Stop her! She’s coming with us.”
Santino moves fast. When he grabs hold of Nina, she lets out another harrowing scream, and it has me forcing my exhausted body to move.
Dad helps me to my feet, then he growls, “Fuck, son. We need to get you to a hospital.”
“I’m fine.” My eyes flick to his, so he can see I mean it, then I focus on Nina again and limp closer to her. “It’s going to be okay. You’re coming with me.”
She yanks her arm free from Santino’s hold and shakes her head wildly, looking like a cornered animal.
I tip my head at Simi, who’s the spitting image of her mother, then say, “You need to calm down for your daughter’s sake.”
Nina’s tears dry up instantly, and as her face grows even paler, she looks at me as if I’m the one who betrayed her.
“Grounds are secured,” Lorenzo, Augusto’s guard, shouts from the first floor.
“There’s no sign of Boris,” I hear Atanas Petkov growl angrily.
Glancing over the banister, I see the head of the Bulgarian mafia and his men, fully armed.
Not wanting to hang around a second longer than needed, and knowing Nina isn’t thinking rationally because of the rape and watching her daughter almost die, I turn my attention back to her and say, “You’re coming with me, Nina, even if I have to carry you out of here.”
When Santino takes hold of her arm again, she jerks hard, and it has me ordering, “Let go of her. She’ll come on her own.” Nina’s eyes dart to mine, and I tilt my head as I ask, “Right?”
She quickly nods and takes a step away from Santino.
I hold my hand out to her and gesture with a curl of my fingers for her to come to me.
Still looking wild and out of it, she slowly inches closer.
“No one is going to hurt you,” I say, hoping the words sink in. Noticing the scared expression on the girl’s face, I switch to Bulgarian and smile at her. “You’re safe now, little one.”
“Mama…” The mini version of Nina gives me a curious look. “Why is he so dirty and bloody? I thought he would be clean and have a sword.”
“Shh…” Nina’s hand trembles terribly as she places her palm against Simi’s cheek. Her voice is hoarse and filled with fear as she tries to smile and look brave for her child. “We’re going on a little adventure. Okay?”
“Tell Santino where Simi’s room is so my men can get her belongings.”
Nina’s eyes snap to me, and even though she gives me a pleading look, she says, “On the third floor. The one by the bodies.”
Santino gives orders over a radio, and once he’s done, I lock eyes with him. “Go to the basement. The first room is Nina’s. Bring everything.”
“There’s no time for this,” Dad snaps. “You need medical care right now.”
“Nina will patch me up at the hotel,” I mutter as I gently place my hand on her side, nudging her toward the stairs.
She walks stiffly beside me, holding her daughter tightly. Simi’s eyes keep drifting all over my face, and when I meet her big brown eyes, a hopeful smile curves her mouth.
I return the smile, then wink at her.
She scrunches her nose. “You stink.”
“We have to keep quiet, my sweet one,” Nina whispers.
“She’s just being honest, Mama,” I say with a chuckle. “Let her be.”
Nina gives me a surprised look, but it disappears as quickly as it came when we reach the front door.
Atanas glances at Nina and Simi before meeting my eyes. “Christ, you look like shit.”
“I’ve been better.”
“After you were taken, I moved Raya and your men to my place. I hope you don’t mind.” The instant my expression darkens, he lets out a chuckle. “Don’t stress. I didn’t touch her.”
“Raya is safe,” Dad says to set my mind at ease. “Atanas has been a great help, letting us all stay with him.”
Feeling less worried, I give Atanas a grateful look, and knowing my sister is okay, my thoughts instantly turn back to Nina.
The memory of Anton forcing himself on her shudders through me, and I growl, “I want to see all the bodies.”
“Why?” Dad asks.
“I’m looking for a specific man.”
Nina stiffens even more beside me.
Atanas gives me a questioning look. “Who?”
“Anton.” I search my memory, then add, “Belinski.”
“He isn’t here,” Atanas assures me. “I already checked the dead, hoping to find Boris.”
“Fuck!” I snap, and holding my hand out to Dad, I say, “Give me your phone.”
Dad digs the device out of his pocket and hands it to me. “Call your mother while you’re at it. She’s sick with worry.”
“Let’s go,” Atanas says, signaling with a wave to all the men that we’re leaving.
I dial Rosie’s number and wait as it rings.
“Hi, Uncle Renzo. Is Georgi okay?”
“It’s me,” I say. “I’m fine. I need you to use every fucking skill you possess to find Anton Belinksi.”
“On it.”
I stop at the nearest SUV and open the back door, then tip my head, indicating for Nina to get in while I end the call with Rosie and press dial on Mom’s number.
As I climb in beside Nina and Simi, the call connects, and Mom answers, her tone exhausted and emotional. “Any news?”
“Hey, Mom. I’m fine. I’m with Dad.”
“Oh my God!” she cries, then she dissolves into a fit of tears, and while she sobs, my tone is comforting as I say, “I’m okay, Mom. Just a little banged up and down a few pounds. Once I’m home, you’ll need to feed me.”
“Anything you want. Jesus, Georgi.” Her voice disappears.
Dad gets into the front passenger seat, while Fabrizio, one of Dad’s guards, slips in behind the steering wheel. He’s like a second father to me, and I’m glad to see he came along.
“I love you,” I murmur affectionately to Mom, and it only makes her cry more. “I’m okay.”
“Did…did they…” She clears her throat. “How badly are you hurt?”
“I still have all my body parts,” I say to ease her worst fears. “Just two bullets and a few beatings. Nothing serious.”
The SUV begins to move, and as we leave Boris’ property in a convoy, I don’t look around but instead glance down at my forearm. Even though the bleeding has slowed down, I’m starting to feel very lightheaded.
“I want you to come home now,” Mom whimpers. “I need to see you and hold you.”
“I just have a couple of things to wrap up this side. Two or three days at most.”
“I love you so much, Georgi. For the sake of my sanity, keep Dad and Santino with you all the time.”
I grin at the back of Dad’s head. “I don’t think Dad will let me out of his sight anytime soon. Don’t worry. I’ll be home before you know it.”
“What is he saying?” I hear Simi whisper to Nina.
“He’s telling his Mama he loves her,” she replies softly to her daughter while gently rubbing the little one’s back.
“I have to go, Mom. Talk to you soon.”
“Love you!”
“Love you too.”
I end the call, and as I lean forward to hand the phone back to Dad, it slips from my hand, and my vision tunnels.
“Uhm…he’s lost a lot of blood. Is there anything I can use to tie around his forearm?” Nina asks as she moves Simi to sit beside her.
I slump back against the seat, my head lolling in Nina’s direction so I can look at her.
Her lips move, and she scoots closer to me. I feel her soothing touch as she takes hold of my left arm, and I think the corner of my mouth lifts.