34. Luca
Luca
Dante kicks the door open and we’re all on the move. It doesn’t take us long to work through the front of the store as it’s just an empty waiting area filled with a couple of display cases and a check-out counter.
Already hearing a shuffle in the back I know we have to move quickly.
I signal for Josephine, Dante, and Sebastian to fall in line behind me. We move through the door to the back and make our way down the short hallway. There are a couple of rooms with some cheap folding tables and chairs, each scattered with empty take-out containers and soda cans.
Finally, we get to a large door at the end of the hallway, one that was obviously put here after the shop closed down.
“Ronan?” I ask through our comms.
“Ready on your call.”
I quickly look behind me, and as much as I want to drag Josephine out of here, I have to trust that she knows she can handle this. Sebastian too.
I know Dante’s thinking the same thing I am because when I look at him, towering behind Josephine and Seb, for the first time during a mission, I see genuine worry.
Dante and I have a silent conversation, each of us resonating with the fact that this just might be one of the biggest risks we’ve ever taken. But if we don’t do this, we might lose him.
And that is a risk I know none of us are willing to take.
Facing the door, I tighten the grip on my gun. “Move.”
Channeling all of my strength I manage to kick down the door, and a moment later I hear the back door being thrown open.
And then they all appear out of nowhere. I don’t know how they fit so many rooms in the back of this building, but before my very eyes, members of the Bratva seem to pop out of every nook and cranny.
Trusting that the three of them behind me can handle themselves I work toward the direction of where I assume Mac, Ronan, and Finn are.
A door opens to my left, and while they try to be fast, I’m faster.
I pop off three shots, and three Russians drop like flies. I quickly look around, finding at least a dozen different rooms in this hallway alone, when I finally see my new step brothers round a corner. Each of them are panting heavily, but Ronan says, “That hallway to the back door is clear.”
Then, another door opens to Ronan’s right and out runs one of Novikov’s men. Mac steps forward, grabs the idiot by his neck, and throws him to the ground. In one quick motion, Mac snaps his neck before standing back to his full height. “That room’s clear.”
It’s suddenly quiet behind me, and I’m almost afraid to turn around.
But when I do I find Josephine, Dante, and Sebastian all standing tall, and unharmed.
“Everyone good?” Dante asks, and we all nod. “Anyone see Andrei or Maxim?”
All of us shake our heads.
“Anyone look behind this one?”
“Enzo!” I yell, hoping if he’s in there he will answer me, but there’s no response.
But if he’s not in there I don’t know where the hell he would be.
Being the closest to the closed door, Sebastian raises his weapon with one hand and reaches for the handle with the other. Dante draws his weapon behind him.
“Go,” Dante says quietly.
Sebastian kicks open the door, and I watch as they quickly look at whatever is in the room before they each lower their weapons. And when each of their faces drop, I immediately want to fall to my knees.
“Sebastian,” Josephine says his name like a prayer. “What is it?”
“Jesus christ,” he says as he covers his mouth. But neither of them move so much as an inch.
“Dante!” Josephine is already sobbing, likely as terrified as I am to see whatever it is that they see.
Finally, Ronan moves toward them and looks into the room. “Fuck,” he hisses before he looks over at his brother. “Mac. Finn. Come here and help me.”
Dante and Sebastian still don’t move. I’ve never seen either of them so still. So… afraid.
Finally I get my feet to move toward the door, petrified of what I’m about to find. As I move past her, Josephine reaches out and grabs my hand. I squeeze it as tight as I possibly can.
The two of us slowly make our way toward Sebastian and Dante, and they each look at us.
“Is it him?” Josephine asks.
“Luca, don’t let her see him like this.”
Suddenly I feel like I want to vomit.
“He’s got a pulse!” Finn yells from inside the room.
All four of us run inside without a second thought.
“Oh my god,” Josephine sobs as she looks between Mac, Ronan, and Finn huddled around Enzo.
Except… it doesn’t even look like my Enzo.
He’s lying on the cold cement ground. His shirt is long gone and so are his shoes.
His face is so swollen and covered in blood that if I couldn’t see his tattoos I wouldn’t even know it was him.
More cuts and burns cover his torso, and even beneath his tattoos I can see countless bruises marring his skin.
He also has what looks like several dislocated or broken toes and fingers, and the gash that’s still pooling blood from his head is likely what made him pass out.
Either that or the intense pain I can only assume he’s in.
“We have to get him to a doctor,” Josephine pleads.
“We can’t take him to a hospital, Joe,” Mac reminds her. “We will have our doctor meet us back at your place.”
“Let’s get him up,” Ronan says as he starts to slide his arms under Enzo’s limp body.
“No,” Dante snarls. “Let me do it.” Ronan steps aside, allowing Dante to have enough room to pick him up off the ground.
“I’ll call Harper and let her know we’re on our way back and to get a room ready for the doctor,” Finn announces to the group.
We all move quickly to the front of the building and out toward the car. Not taking time to consider the fact that people may see us putting Enzo’s bloodied body in the car.
That’s a problem for tomorrow.
Right now we just need to focus on him living.
“Give me the keys, Josephine.” She’s in no condition to drive, and if he wakes up I know her being back there will be what he needs.
She nods between broken sobs and hands them to me. Sebastian climbs into the passenger seat, and Dante and Joe are in the back with Enzo.
“I’ll call Doc and have him meet us at your building,” Ronan says through Sebastian’s open window.
“I’ll let security know to expect him. Just tell him to go on up,” I tell him. He nods and I speed away, not wanting to waste any more precious time.
“Where the fuck are they?” Dante seethes. I look at him through the rearview mirror as I speed through the streets of New York to find him gently stroking his thumb along Enzo’s blood-stained arm.
“I don’t know. But I do know that when we find them they are going to pay for this.” My grip tightens around the wheel. “They’re going to pay for what they’ve done to our boy.”
Lorenzo Santoro can’t fucking die. Because if he dies, then a piece of me will die with him.