49. A Storm of Bullets
CHAPTER 49
A STORM OF BULLETS
M arco
“You’re loca, se?orita .” Batshit crazy, actually, if she thinks I would help her take over Esmeralda’s territory. I throw her a charming smile, the same one that has worked countless times before on many a beautiful, insane woman.
As she blathers on, I’ve been working on the ropes. Inch by inch, I’ve dragged the sea glass until the twine has frayed to a more manageable level.
“Why?” she snarls. “What makes Esmeralda more equipped to run La Sombra Boricua than me?”
“Nothing that I know of, but she knew her place. We maintained open lines of communication, worked well together, and she understood who ruled Manhattan. It certainly will not be La Sombra .”
“Because the Geminis and Kings are in charge?”
“Yes, exactly.” My smile grows more brazen. “Now you’re starting to understand.” I pause and sear her with a narrowed glare. “Not to mention you shot my wife at our wedding, and for that unforgivable sin, you will die.”
She tsks, shaking her head. “You and your brothers have grown weak. Don’t you think I’ve learned things coming in and out of Nico’s house? His head is too busy buried between Maisy’s legs to secure Lower Manhattan.”
“We’ve known about your treachery for months, Blanca. Everything you’ve learned since Maisy moved into the penthouse has been hand-fed to you by my twin.”
Her eyes widen in shock, ruby-red lips screwing into a pout. She hisses something in Spanish to one of the guards, but it’s too low and quick for me to catch. Still, a swirl of satisfaction rolls in at her expression. The guard stalks off the beach, heading toward the speedboat beached on the shoreline.
“Esmeralda would’ve known she’d been played… In fact, she almost took my head off a few months ago for the same reason.” I wave a nonchalant hand. “Maybe I’ll tell you about it one day.”
“Oh, you mean the video of you fucking her?”
My head snaps back, the impact worse than if she’d actually slapped me. There’s a video? Figures the little Latina vixen would film her sexual encounters.
“Your wife was pretty pissed when she saw it.”
Fuck . “How dare you?” I roar and leap up, the fury compelling my arms to break through the binds around my wrists. My feet are still tied together, but not for long. I wrap my hand around Blanca’s throat before the guard can pull his gun out. I drag her closer, pinning her back against my chest.
“Let go of her now!” the guard barks, finally cocking his pistol.
“Relax, amigo ,” I purr, keeping one eye on the other guard on the boat. He’s oblivious to what’s happening on the shore, but I doubt he will be for long. “I won’t hurt your boss, yet; I just want off this fucking island.” I twist my neck, my gaze swiveling to meet Blanca’s. “This is what we’re going to do. You’re going to tell your man to drop his gun, I’m going to relieve you of any weapons, and then I’m going to take that little boat of yours and be on my way.” I pause, flashing teeth. “ Comprende, se?orita ?”
“ Vete ala mierda, cojudo ,” she spits.
“Such nasty words from such a pretty little mouth.” I squeeze her cheeks, and her lips pucker. “Now tell him.”
The rumble of an approaching boat spins my gaze toward the sound. The other guard on the speedboat does the same, and all hell breaks loose. Gunshots echo across the sandy shores of the island as five familiar figures coalesce on the newly arrived speedboat.
“Jia!” Her name explodes from my lips, along with the chaos.
Blanca wrenches free of my hold because I’m too damned distracted by the sight of my wife. She turns on me, freeing a small blade tucked into her bathing suit beneath the sarong. Swiping the knife at my chest, she lands a hit. The blade slices through my shirt, but the cut isn’t deep, the sting barely forcing out a hiss.
A gunshot rings out just over Blanca’s head, and I barely duck in time. Jia stands on the edge of the boat, her gaze murderous as she trains it at Blanca. “Get the fuck away from my husband!” she shouts.
The air thickens with the acrid scent of gunpowder and the shouts of men as another boat appears on the horizon. Shit, we need to get out of here.
I reach for Blanca’s wrist and pry the knife from her grasp as bullets rain down from above. “I’ll take that, thank you.”
She snarls at me, her lips twisted into a furious scowl. But more bullets whiz by, forcing her and her guard to drop to the sandy ground. I run the blade across the ropes around my ankles and race toward the shoreline .
Bullets zip overhead, tearing through the palms and sending splinters of wood flying. Amidst the turmoil, the roar of the ocean serves as a grim backdrop, muffled by the pounding of my thundering pulse.
Nico and Dante stand side by side atop the front deck of the gleaming speed boat, a barrage of bullets spraying the air.
Luca’s at the helm, directing the others, a gun in one hand and the steering wheel in the other. “Let’s go, let’s go!” he shouts. “Incoming in five!”
Jia leaps off the vessel, sinking into the brilliant blue waters, and races toward me. My heart kicks a desperate beat against my ribs as I take her in. Dio , for a terrible moment, I thought I’d never see her again. I reach the water’s edge and drag her into my arms. She feels so strong, so alive against my chest. I capture her lips for a quick kiss, and salty tears mingle on my lips.
“ Dio , I love you, spitfire,” I murmur against her mouth.
“No, I love you, Marco. So, so much.” Tears flood her eyes, spilling down her cheeks. I’ve never seen her so gorgeous. She steps back, her eyes scanning every inch of me, mirroring my efforts. “You’re bleeding!”
I press my hand to the wound across my chest. “It’s nothing, she barely nicked me.”
“Marco…” Fear flashes across those expressive spheres.
“I swear it’s nothing.” As if to prove it, I claim her lips once again, reveling in her sweet taste. Dio , if anything had happened to her…
“Come on, you two, get over here!” Nico yells. “There will be plenty of time for that when we get home.”
Dante and Nico jump off the bow of the speedboat, peppering the beach with bullets. I scoop Jia into my arms and spring into the shallow water. Bullets fly past our heads, a deadly assault between my brothers and Blanca’s guards. If it wasn’t for their precise cover, we never would’ve made it aboard .
I toss Jia onto the boat, then pull myself up. Nico and Dante climb up next, still shooting. Luca revs the engine and pulls back off the shore.
“Hurry,” Dante hisses at his brother, throwing his thumb over his shoulder.
The other speedboat filled with La Sombra Boricua is on our ass. I hold Jia tight against me as Luca maneuvers the vessel out to sea. “Thanks for the assist, gentlemen.” I glance at my twin, then my half-brothers. I never thought they’d show up today. Never thought I’d be thanking them for reuniting me with my wife.
“You can thank us when we get back to Manhattan safe and sound, coglione .” Dante tosses me a cheeky grin. “ My wife is going to kill you if I don’t make it back by dinner.”
“Hold on!” Luca spins the steering wheel and the speedboat careens to the right. With one arm around Jia, I grab onto the sleek white siding, then drop down to a crouch. The second boat filled with Blanca’s men races after us, a cacophony of bullets resounding across the tranquil blue.
“Go faster,” Dante shouts at Luca.
“I’m going as fast as this thing will go, minchione . You should’ve gotten a better damned getaway vehicle.”
As my half-brothers bicker in Italian, I keep Jia tight against my chest, using my body to blanket her against the storm of bullets. I can barely feel the cut across my chest now that she’s safe in my arms again.
“How the fuck are we going to get out of here?” I bark at Nico over the wind.
“Your wife took care of that.” He turns to Luca and grins despite the hailstorm of projectiles. “As long as Luca can get us back to the airfield.”
“I’m on it, bastardo ,” Luca growls back as he swerves across the whitecaps.
My gaze swivels to Jia and I cover her head with my hand. “What did you do? ”
A mischievous grin tips up the corners of her lips and damn, I cannot wait to get my wife home and bury my cock into that naughty little mouth. Then every other place she’ll have me. I’ll have her coming so hard she’ll forget all about this little unfortunate incident.
My thoughts flicker to the video with Esmeralda… how pissed is she about that? I thank Dio I made the right decision telling her all about it before any of this happened.
“So?” I prod when she doesn’t answer right away.
“I enlisted the unwilling help of the Triad. Blanca should be getting a call from her associates in Manhattan any minute now.”
“She’s being modest,” Nico cuts in. “Your bride called a meeting of the Triad Council and strong-armed all three syndicates to stage a three-pronged attack on La Sombra in Lower Manhattan. They’ll never come back from this.” He shrugs. “I almost feel bad for Esmeralda, but she dug her own damned grave when she let Blanca steal her throne right out from under her nose and forced us to clean up her mess.” My twin casually leans against the back of the captain’s chair as if the air wasn’t riddled with bullets.
An explosion rings out, the sharp keening sound vibrating the brilliant blue around us and sending our boat tumbling forward on a tsunami-sized swell. “What the fuck?” I shout, clapping my hand over one ear while tightening my hold around Jia with the other.
With the deafening sound of the detonation still ringing across my eardrums, it takes me a second to notice the bullets peppering the boat have halted. I glance over my shoulder and find nothing but a fiery mess where the Sombra boat was.
“And you can thank me for that one.” Luca throws me a grin over his shoulder. “I convinced Esmeralda it would be in her best interest to remain on our good side if she ever hopes to show her face in Manhattan again. ”
“Which I hope she doesn’t.” Jia’s lips twist into an adorable pout.
A stupid grin melts across my face as I regard this fierce, beautiful woman who allowed me to make her mine. “Well done, lǎodà. I would expect nothing less of the fearless leader of the Four Seas.” I capture her lips in a swift, fiery kiss. “Or anything less from my wife.”