24. Lily
CHAPTER 24
LILY
“S ergio! Are you fucking crazy?” I hiss, grabbing the arm that didn’t just fire his gun. The enormous guy, a bodyguard of some sort from the looks of it, goes down hard and fast like a cement block to the bottom of the ocean. He was the first guard we stumbled upon when we crept into Route 66 Fuel.
“Listen, Lil,” he says in a low gruff voice. “That’s how you get shit moving. These assholes will scatter like roaches if they hear a shot. They’re gonna come running and boom! That’s when we take them out, one by one. Now get the fuck down unless you want to be the next one to get your head blown off.”
Bruno pulls me back so that I’m next to Chloe, shielded by his back. She squeezes my hand tight like she’s afraid someone is going to reach out and snatch her.
“Lily,” she whispers, pulling her shirt down from her nose because this place has the stench of death lingering in the air. That thought alone makes me want to gag. “Maybe I should have stayed in the car with Vito. I don’t want to get shot. Or killed.”
“I know, me either,” I whisper back, squeezing her hand tight.
She is still staring at me with wide eyes. “You know you shot someone today…twice.”
“I know. I think I was just really angry and upset.”
Chloe nods. “Noted. I’ll just remember to never piss you off again.”
Gunshots ring out in the still air and Chloe gasps, diving to the ground. “Oh my God! They’re coming!”
I yelp, my body flailing backward as a strong hand yanks my hair.
“No,” a deep voice growls. “We’re already here.”
“Sergio!” I shriek as I’m dragged along the dirty, grungy floor away from my friends, away from anyone with the power to save me.
Shit. I really intended to do that part myself.
The saving, that is.
More gunshots ring out, ricocheting off the walls. I cringe, waiting for one of them to hit me before I have the chance.
The goon who palmed my head picks up the pace to avoid the bullets and pulls me into a dimly lit room down a short hallway. My ass is killing me from being swung into walls, and then finally into a doorway decorated with rotting wood and plenty of splinters. He finally lets go of my hair, smacking my head against the ground for good measure. I squeal, already feeling the grapefruit-sized lump form on the back of my scalp.
“Leave her alone,” a voice bellows.
Zeno? I bring myself up to my knees, swiveling around to see who is behind me. I blink fast because white spots dot my vision after that head-bash to the concrete.
Holy shit, it is Zeno!
And he’s chained to the wall…like some beast. His arms are suspended, and his ankles are locked. But he isn’t alone. There’s another guy lying on the floor, also cuffed.
Then my eyes lock with Messina’s son…the one who is still alive but thanks to me, one eyeball short. Blood coats his bludgeoned eye socket. He lunges for me, and seconds before his body is about to land on top of mine, a hand drags him back.
“Stick to the plan,” an older, heavier man grunts, pulling him away. “You can punish her later, I promise.”
“Who the fuck are you?” I whisper through clenched teeth.
The man steps toward me, a sinister grin on his face. “Domenico Messina. I believe you’ve heard of me? And my son? The one whom your father ordered to have killed?” His thick Italian accent makes my breath hitch.
“Because you’re a sick sonofabitch who tried to kidnap me! To send a message!” I shriek, scrambling to my feet. “You’re lucky you escaped with your own life!”
Messina lumbers toward me and I back up into the splintery doorway, clenching my teeth as the shards of wood scratch the back of my neck. He reaches out, gripping the side of my jacket and yanking me toward him so that his breath is hot against my face.
“Do you have any idea what it’s like to lose a child? Of course you don’t, you weak little bitch. But your father is going to feel the same pain and grief I’ve been living with for the past year. Your whole family is going to witness my wrath and my vengeance.” He tightens his grip on me, the smell of stale liquor making my stomach roil. “You got lucky that night, escaping from my son. But you won’t be that lucky today. I can promise you that.”
“You know, you’re punishing a lot of people for your own mistakes,” I seethe. “You’re punishing Zeno and his brother for righting a wrong against their family business. And you’re punishing me because my father had the good sense to decline a business deal from you. The death of your son is on your head, not ours!”
I don’t know exactly at what point my teeth began to chatter, but it’s impossible to stop them now even though it’s hotter than hell in this dungeon. Beads of sweat form along the back of my neck, trickling down my spine. My heart is damn-near ready to explode through my chest while I glare at Messina, daring him with my eyes to challenge me.
He can’t because he knows it’s true.
Only problem is, he’s the one with the guns right now.
So this weak little bitch better come up with a killer plan.
Oh, wow.
Killer.
How ironic.
Messina’s expression turns decidedly more evil as the words tumble from my mouth, but I square my shoulders, never once giving him an indication that I’m the weak little bitch who backs down, even in the face of death.
Because I’m not that girl.
Maybe I was before, but I’ll never be again.
“You have a smart mouth on you,” Messina mutters. “I think I’ll cut off your tongue first.”
Strong hands grab my wrists, throwing me against a wall before wrapping cable wire around them.
Messina frowns at the guy. “Where are the chains?”
The guy shrugs. “We used them on the other guys. This is all we have left.”
“Wire?” Messina yells, kicking over a nearby chair. “Fucking wire?”
“She ain’t a magician. It’ll hold her.”
I struggle against the guy, shoving my shoulder into his arm because it’s the highest I can get. He doesn’t even budge. My head twists in Zeno’s direction, his dark eyes telling me something.
I peer at him, trying like hell to figure out what kind of telepathic message he’s trying to send when I catch the slightest head nod toward the doorway. I don’t even have time to react before I hear Sergio’s booming voice reverberate in the space.
“Hey, Messina, I think you forgot about one thing when you decided to execute your plan today.” He walks into the room, his gun pointed at the back of Rayleigh’s head, his other hand dragging her along the floor. “This traitorous bitch is your niece, yeah? So, it’d be another serious loss if I say, blew a hole through her fucking skull?”
He shoves her into the room, her thighs caked with blood as she collapses to the floor and propels herself farther inside using her arms since her legs are pretty much useless.
“Uncle,” she moans. “Please, help me.”
Messina’s jaw tightens as he regards her. “You had one job to do,” he says, walking toward her.
“Yes, I know,” she sputters, sobs wracking her body. “But they hung me over the side of a parking deck. And they shot me. And I?—”
Messina holds up his hand. “No more excuses, Rayleigh.”
“Uncle, I just wanted to help, to find the people who murdered my brother. I did everything you asked. We have control of their security system?—”
“Ah, not so fast,” Sergio says. “My guy Mike just found your fucking virus and exterminated it. You ain’t got shit anymore.”
Rayleigh’s face pales, every spot of color completely vacating from her cheeks. “No, I was able to get in. I crippled the network. I had complete control!”
Sergio leans toward her, a smirk on his face. “See, that’s the thing, Rayleigh. You never really have full control of anything when you live in our world. It’s a damn harsh lesson that your brother learned when Zeno popped him.”
Rayleigh screeches, swinging her fist into Sergio’s midsection from her position on the dirty floor, but he’s smart enough and fast enough to jump back before it connects with his gut. “Fuck you, Sergio!”
“Enough!” Messina shouts, his face so flushed, he looks purple. He grabs Rayleigh by the chin and tugs her face in his direction. “Is he saying that we no longer have access to the security feeds at the Excelsior?”
“That’s what I’m saying,” Sergio confirms with a grin, his gun still on Rayleigh.
Messina looks at him. “Why do you still have a gun on my niece? She doesn’t have a weapon.”
“Because I don’t want you to make any dumbass moves. She’s my?—”
A loud blast makes my eardrums shatter and my brain rattle in my skull.
The gun in Messina’s hand is still smoking when Rayleigh’s body goes limp as an overcooked spaghetti noodle, falling to the floor in a pool of blood.
“You were saying?” Messina spews at Sergio, turning his gun toward him.
A flicker of confusion shadows Sergio’s face before he dives at Messina’s ankles, knocking him to the floor. Bruno shoves Chloe out of the room before emptying a clip on Messina’s crew. I crumble to the floor, sliding toward Zeno on my elbows as gunfire erupts into the stank air.
“Take this,” Zeno murmurs, dropping a nail into my hand. “And get me the fuck out of these chains.”
My hands tremble as I back against him, trying to fumble with the lock. I finally feel the nail slide into the cuff and I pull it apart, freeing him. He wastes no time before running over to Gallo. I crouch low to the ground to stay out of the line of fire, spotting a gun on the floor a few feet from the doorway. There are so many shots being fired, and I have no idea who is shooting whom at this point.
All I know is that I need to get in on the action. Messina has Sergio underneath him, smacking the side of his face with the barrel of his gun before pointing it at his forehead. I reach out and grasp the gun, ready to pull the trigger when a loud scream echoes in the room.
“Get off of him!” Chloe shouts, darting toward Messina with a white spray bottle of bleach in her hand. Her trigger finger works incessantly to empty the content of the bottle into Messina’s eyes. He lets put a guttural roar, his hands flying to his face before collapsing backward. Sergio jumps out from under him and fires three shots to his head.
Huh. How do you like that?
The bleach really did kill him.
Sergio grabs Chloe and shoves us both over toward Zeno and Gallo before joining Bruno in eliminating the rest of Messina’s crew. I search the room, relieved that everyone seems to be accounted for. I count the thugs to make sure we’ve taken care of all of them.
My eyebrows furrow.
Wait…
A final shot rings out and I fly backward against the wall. Chloe screams, racing toward me. Flames engulf my flesh as the bullet blasts through skin, muscle, and bone. I grit my teeth, tears springing to my eyes. I glance down, blood pouring from the wound. Numbness sets in fast and I can no longer feel my fingertips.
Actually, scratch that.
I can’t feel my whole arm right now. Oh Christ, it hurts worse than any pain I can imagine. A whimper slips through my lips as I roll away from the person walking toward me with the gun in his outstretched hand. I cannot cry! I refuse to be the girl he thinks I am.
No, I want him to see me for who I really am, not some pathetic girl who relies upon her family for everything. I rely on nobody but myself, dammit.
“This isn’t on my family,” Messina’s son growls. “It’s on you. You’re the reason why my brother is dead, why my father is dead. And I’m the reason why you’re about to be?—”
Bang!
“For fuck’s sake, was he ever gonna shut the hell up?” Sergio mutters, walking up behind me as Messina’s son crumbles into a heap at my feet. He winks at me. “I got your back, badass bitch.” He peers at my wound. “Looks pretty superficial to me.”
“Thanks, Doc ,” I say with a roll of my eyes, squinting at the hole in my shoulder. From what I can see, he’s right, not that I’d ever give him the satisfaction of agreeing. “No offense, but I’d like to have a real medical doctor give me a second opinion.” I can’t help but snicker, even under these insane circumstances as I’m losing blood by the second and my head is beginning to feel a little woozy. Zeno runs over to me, stripping off his shirt and wrapping it around my shoulder to stop the bleeding. I sway into him, my balance completely off. Although, I have to say it feels pretty good to have his arm wrapped tight around me. “Are you okay?”
“Ugh, people really do suck, you know?” I groan. My lips stretch into a tight line as I wince from the searing pain.
“So I hear.” Zeno laughs and helps Gallo out of his restraints. I frown at his beaten body. “Looks like you need a doctor, too.”
Gallo groans. “You’re fucking right about that.” He narrows his eyes at me. “So, you’re the one who was almost kidnapped, huh? The reason my brother almost got his ass handed to him, twice now?” He winks at Zeno, giving him the thumbs-up sign.
Zeno flips him off in response, draping an arm around my good shoulder. “Looks like we’re gonna need to work around your little shoulder issue later. You know, at bedtime,” he murmurs against my ear.
I giggle. “I’m sure you can come up with some pretty creative ways for us to get around a bum shoulder.”
“Trust me, the wheels are already turning at warp speed.”