51. You Saved Me
CHAPTER 51
YOU SAVED ME
A ntonio
“ Porca puttana. Maledetto pezzo di merda !” The avalanche of curses erupts from my clenched teeth as I watch Serena collapse, and there’s nothing I can do but struggle uselessly against the damned cuffs biting into my wrists. I’ve been trying to force the lock open with the tip of the knife but so far, my efforts have been in vain. My gaze dips to her motionless form splayed across the floor, and a wave of fury crashes over me.
Then a ray of light erupts from the darkness…
Was I imagining it or had she told me she loved me right before she blacked out? Dio , I have to know.
“When I get loose, I’m going to fucking annihilate both of you,” I growl. “Then I’ll drag your flayed corpses across the entire city of Roma for all to see what happens when you fuck with what’s mine.” I glare at Santiago then Federico. “And just so that we’re clear, Serena Valentino is mine.”
Her friend barks out a laugh, but the strain across his features gives away the true state of his wound. “Maybe in the afterlife. You two can live happily ever after together in the hell you deserve.”
“I’ll gut you with my bare hands before I ever let you touch her again.” Dio , I just need to get to her. Drawing in a steadying breath to still my manic heartbeats and frantic movements, I position the knife’s edge into the locking mechanism. If I can just disengage the ratchet…
“You’ll both be dead long before you ever get the chance.” Santi smirks as he folds down onto the couch.
“Take me instead then. I’ll surrender and let you do whatever you want to me. Just let her go.”
“I already have you, Ferrara.” He grins, and I can’t wait to rip that cocky smirk of his face. “Besides, I just need to keep Serena alive long enough to lure Isabella, Matteo and Alessia here. I’ve heard Alessandro is barely alive as it is. His arrival was a happy coincidence I couldn’t pass up. The Valentinos and Rossi’s stole my mother’s life, so now I’ll have their children’s lives as payback.”
He’s a lot of talk considering he could bleed out at any moment.
“You’re such a cliché.” A harsh laugh bubbles out as I eye the bastardo while furiously working on the manacles behind my back. “You killed my mommy, and now I’m going to kill you,” I scoff in a whiny voice. Then I tick my head at Federico. “What’s your excuse?”
“I hate you.” He shrugs, pressing a towel to the wound in his upper arm and wincing. “Always have. There’s just something about you that irritates me.”
“I appreciate the honesty.” I wiggle the tip of the knife, and something clicks. Hope kindles deep in my gut, and I cut a quick glance toward Serena. Her chest rises and falls slowly, the slash on her head still dribbling blood.
“And with the old man retiring,” Federico continues, his breaths ragged, “taking over the crumbling Ferrara empire is the perfect way to cement my position as the new capo of the Sartoris.”
“How very ambitious of you, Fede, and here I thought you were simply a spoiled brat, cowering behind your father’s tremendous shadow.” Just one more twist… another click, and the lock disengages. Pain lances through my wrists as I finally slip one hand free from the cold metal of the handcuffs. Gripping the bracelets between my fingertips to keep them from clattering to the floor, I eye the pair then my gun on the floor by the door. It’s a little too far to reach, but both men are nursing gunshot wounds thanks to Serena’s sharp shooting skills, and I’m just a little banged up, plus I have a knife they know nothing about.
I like my odds.
I'm on my feet in a heartbeat, adrenaline masking the faint ache in my joints from the time spent bound and immobile. Federico and Santi are hunched over on the couch, their focus on tending to their wounds instead of me. Their guns are splayed across the coffee table just within their reach.
I fist the knife, its handle fitting snugly in my palm, a familiar and comforting weight, and inch closer.
Santi's head snaps up, his eyes widening in a mix of shock and fear. "Antonio, you—" he starts, but his words cut off as I step closer, the blade catching the light.
“I think we've had enough talk,” I interrupt. Federico fumbles for his gun, cursing under his breath as his injured arm slows him down. I don't give him the chance to aim. With a swift move, I kick the weapon out of his reach, sending it sliding onto the floor.
Santiago lunges at me, his larger frame a weapon in its own right, but not as good as mine. I sidestep, using his momentum against him, and he stumbles past. Then I lunge again, and my knife finds its mark, a shallow cut across his thigh. He howls and staggers back, hitting the wall.
“You should have stayed down, imbecille .” I circle him, clutching the knife, my other eye on Federico as he tries to prop himself up against the wall. “No, it wouldn’t have mattered, I’m going to make this painful for you either way.”
Federico makes another grab for his gun, desperation etched into his features. I close the distance between us, my kick sending sharp pain up my leg but knocking the breath out of him. He collapses with a groan, clutching his side. I kick him again, this time going for his head. No mercy for anyone today. Not when Serena’s life is on the line. His head cracks against the wall, spattering blood across the pristine white. His body immediately stills.
Spinning back to Santi, I catch the bastardo staggering across my peripheral vision. I follow his line of sight to the gun sitting at the edge of the coffee table. I lunge for it at the same time he does, and we crash midair, the hit squeezing the breath from my lungs.
I pound into the floor with a smack, but somehow, I find the cool metal of the gun clenched in my fist. Santiago rushes me, reaching for the gun with his injured arm. Wrapping my fingers around his bicep, I squeeze, crushing the wound, and a stream of crimson pours out.
“Motherfucker!” he grits out as I stab my finger into the bullet wound again.
“I’m torn here, Santiago,” I hiss as I flip us over, so he’s flattened against the floor. I bring the knife’s blade to his throat, the gun clutched in my other hand. “I would like to fulfill my promise of a long, torturous death, but the other part of me just wants to kill you so I can get to Serena.” I hazard a quick glance over my shoulder to ensure she’s still where I last saw her.
“Fuck you,” he snarls.
“Not in this lifetime or any other, figlio di puttana .” I slowly drag the blade across his throat, leaving a thin line of crimson. “The only person I’ll be fucking is Serena Valentino. For the rest of my life, if she’ll allow it. So you know what? I guess I should be thanking you. Because if you hadn’t burned down my house and interfered with the kidnapping, I’m not sure we would have ended up here.”
I twist the knife, following a path down his throat, then carve into his chest. The pressure is light, only enough to sting but not enough to kill. Fuck, I really do want to draw out his torture. The monster I’ve kept locked up since Serena fell into my life is ravenous. Santiago hisses out a curse, squirming beneath me. “You betrayed her, testa di cazzo , then you tried to kill her, not once, not twice, but three times. And that is unforgiveable, a punishment worthy of the most gruesome death.”
“I hope you and Serena burn in hell,” he rasps.
“Antonio…” That whisper of an angelic voice has my head spinning over my shoulder.
“Serena!” My weight shifts, my entire body helpless but to move toward the sound of that melodic timbre. And I realize my mistake an instant too late.
With my attention diverted, Santiago rips the knife from my hand and jabs it into my thigh. I bite back a scream and level the barrel of the gun at his head and squeeze. The trigger jams, and he squirms out from beneath me, crawling across the floor on hands and knees. I spot Federico’s discarded gun under the coffee table a second before Santiago’s fingers curl around the grip.
Merda .
The next few seconds move in slow motion.
Serena’s cry echoes from behind me, and the pain in her voice is worse than the gunshot that I know is coming. Kneeling on the floor, Santiago points the gun at my chest. The air thickens, everything narrowing to this one moment. All my regrets, all my fears, all my mistakes rush to the surface. Then I see her face, Serena. Despite all the shit, she made the last few weeks worth it. With a sense of peace settling over me, I wait for the searing pain of the bullet.
“I love you, Serena,” I shout.
Piercing shots ring out in an angry symphony. Bang! Bang! Bang !
All the air siphons from my lungs, and I’m numb, ice running through my veins. Santiago slumps back, blood blossoming in rivulets across his chest. I run my hands over my own, searching for the warm crimson liquid, only there’s nothing.
I whirl around and meet a fearsome blue-eyed gaze peering over the barrel of a Beretta. Beneath the wild tumble of blonde hair, dried blood stains her forehead, but the hint of a smile curves the perfect bow of her lips.
“Serena…” I whisper as I crawl toward her.
She throws her arms around me, tugging me into her chest. “You’re okay,” she murmurs against my mouth.
“You saved me, tesoro .”
In more ways than I could ever imagine.