Chapter 11
Rosie
My sight blurs with tears, and my chin quivers.
God, this is it!
Closing my eyes again, I just listen to Enzo’s harsh breaths. “Rosie!”
“I love you,” I whisper, my heart beating fast and faster.
One of the men grabs hold of my arm, and out of time, I do the only thing I can to protect everyone I love.
I drop my phone while I press the button on the central remote.
BOOM.
A monstrous roar rips through the fortress. With the bombs detonating and the gases being pumped into the air, an inferno is about to devour everything.
It should be quick.
Oh God! Oh God! Oh God. This is it!!!
A scream tears from my throat as I try to brace for death.
“Davai! Davai!” The man hollers. “Bystro!”
The ground shakes violently, and I’m hauled off my feet, the central remote slipping from my grasp.
BOOM.
Scorching heat blasts through the air, enough to singe the hair on my body as I’m thrown into the SUV.
“Poshli! Poshli!”
Another explosion detonates behind us, making a bright yellow light come right at us like a tsunami of fire as the SUV swerves sharply before speeding over the rubble.
The SUV lurches forward from the blast, but somehow the driver keeps control.
The final explosion rips through everything with a resounding blast.
My arms fly up to cover my head as dust and fire engulf us. A strained shriek escapes me as I wait for a world of pain to rip through my body.
It doesn’t happen, though.
The SUV races away while a thunderous roar chases us. I twist around just in time to see a wall of dust erupt from the base of my fortress while the ground shudders ferociously beneath us.
Jesus!
Balls of fire burst through the windows, one floor after the other, before vanishing behind rolling clouds of debris. Chunks of concrete rain down from the sky, some slamming hard into the roof of the SUV.
“Davai!” the man beside me shouts.
The vehicle swerves again, throwing me against the door. Dust swallows everything, my fortress disappearing behind a towering gray cloud while the sounds of metal bending, glass shattering, and concrete giving way tear straight through me.
My life’s work collapses behind me.
My safe place.
My servers and mainframes. So many years of working non-stop.
Every wall I built to keep my family alive and safe.
My chin quivers, and for one broken second, I can’t breath past the heartache ripping through my chest.
The next instant, something is yanked over my head, and all the light is blocked out.
No!
My arms fly up, but strong hands easily restrain me, and metal cuffs are locked around my wrists, a chain rattling and restricting my movements as I continue to resist.
No!No!No!
I lurch to the side, trying to hit the asshole, but he uses his body weight to force me down, then pressure is clamped over my mouth and nose.
“Let me go!” I scream, my words smothered against whatever he’s holding to my face. Panic explodes through me, wild and violent, and I buck beneath him with everything I have. “Fucking asshole! My family is going to kill you.”
Enzo.
The fortress is gone.
Mom and Dad.
Adriano, Christiano, Georgi, and Augusto.
Gianna.
The fight lasts all of five seconds.
A sweet chemical scent floods my lungs, and I jerk my head from side to side, trying not to breathe, but panic steals the air from me. My chest burns, and I gasp, which is the worst mistake I could make.
The smell invades my senses, thick and sweet, stirring a wave of nausea deep in my gut while an ungodly fear crashes through me.
Don’t pass out, Rosie.
Whimpering, I cling to consciousness with all my might, but the strength drains from my muscles, and my thoughts begin to blur.
You have to warn everyone.
I keep fighting, or at least, I think I do. My arms don’t feel connected to my body anymore, and the roar of the engine fades in and out around me.
Enzo.
Voices blur, muffled and distant, as if they’re speaking from beneath water. “Easy, Rosie. Stop fighting. You’re only making it worse.”
Tears burn behind my eyes because being taken is the worst possible thing that could happen to me.
I can’t let this happen.
I can’t disappear.
Fighting to remain awake, I squirm and hit blindly at anything within reach, but consciousness keeps slipping away and time warps around me.
“I’m coming,” I hear Enzo say.
“No,” I mumble. “Don’t.”
“I’ll always come.”
“Enzo,” I groan.
“Shh…” The voice sounds all wrong, and I try to shrink away from it. “Nobody’s going to hurt you.”
Darkness swallows me.
When I resurface, the SUV takes a turn so sharp that I fall against someone. Arms lock around me, but they feel wrong. Too hard. Unfamiliar.
“Dad,” I croak.
Something is pressed to my mouth again, and as the chemicals flood my system, I drift back into the darkness.
The next time I surface, heavy sluggishness weighs down every part of me and nausea rolls through my stomach.
It feels like I’m being carried, and for a blessed moment, I think it’s Enzo, and I’ve overworked myself again.
“Don’t be angry with me,” I mumble.
Then a strange scent gets through to me. Sweat, gunpowder, and soot.
Not citrus, sandalwood, and spices. Not Enzo.
Not Dad either.
When I pry my eyes, and the blurry sight of a balaclava gets through to me, my body stiffens.
“Don’t fight, Rosie,” the man says, his tone professional.
I’m put down on something soft.
A chair?
I try to glance around, but then there’s a prick in my bicep. As I struggle to lift my head, everything wobbles around me.
Enzo.
The roar of engines gets through to me, and it feels like I become weightless.
Don’t come, Enzo. It’s too dangerous.
Stay away.
Stay safe.
I love you.
The world wobbles again, time warping and stretching until I can’t hold on anymore.
Then everything goes dark.