Chapter 25
Chapter Twenty-Five
RHETT
I pace back and forth in front of the arena. I know I said I’d give her thirty minutes, but I can’t wait that long.
She has five minutes before I march my ass inside and demand Arturo do something.
My phone dings with a text message. Looking at the screen, I see her name. I quickly unlock my screen and read her reply.
I’m safe, just figuring some things out. If I need to talk, I’ll call you.
I immediately respond to her text.
Where are you?
She takes a few minutes to respond, but her reply doesn’t calm me down.
At the restaurant eating dinner. I’ll see you after the game.
I don’t know what I was expecting, but it wasn’t this. My fingers hover over the buttons, but I don’t reply.
Is she trying to work another job with her uncle and cousin?
Should I tell Arturo where she is?
Maybe this is what she needs to calm down and regroup before coming home tonight. I’ll have a nice dessert waiting for her and her favorite bottle of chilled wine.
I greet the security guards at the front door before heading back up to the suite. I stop at the food and beverage table and grab some finger foods before sitting down on the couch next to Arturo.
I should be down in the locker room, but fuck it. Chessie is more important to me, and I’ll quit the team if they make me choose.
I watch the game and eat. We’re playing like shit. We’re playing like we have the past two years, and that’s not going to cut it. If we have another losing season, then the league may interfere with our operations.
It won’t be good for the team, and it sure as fuck won’t be good for Arturo.
A phone rings and Arturo pulls it out of his pocket to look at the caller ID. He doesn’t stand and walk away like he normally does. Instead, he turns it toward me to show me the screen.
“Lorenzo’s calling.” He says before answering the call.
Shit. This isn’t good. There’s no reason for Lorenzo to be calling. He knows the ins and outs of the security system at Arturo’s house .
He knows what to do in practically every situation. There’s never been a time that he’s had to call Arturo.
Is it Francesca? Did something happen to her?
Arturo jumps up and ends the call. “Fucking Hell. She’s going to be the death of me.”
“What happened? What’s going on? Is Francesca okay?” I stand and try to shake the effects of the pain pill away.
“Francesca’s fine. She broke Jax out and they are on their way to the Rossi family home.”
“What the fuck is she doing?”
Fuck. Why would she do this? What is she hoping to accomplish by freeing the man that was trying to kidnap her?
Neither Arturo nor I speak as we head to his office and load up. We each grab our pistols, extra magazines, and an extra pistol, just in case.
I grab my normal two knives and strap one to my ankle and clip one to my belt.
“Are we really going in there, just the two of us?”
He grabs a can of gas and several other items from a drawer before throwing everything into a black duffle bag.
“I’ll have the others meet us there. No survivors. It all ends tonight.”
I follow him down the stairs and out to my truck. I’m much slower than I would prefer, but I’m not going to let my knee slow me down.
I speed toward the Rossi estate, eager to get to Chessie.
If something happens to her, everyone will pay. No, I can’t think like that. Chessie is strong and fierce. She knows how to take care of herself. Besides, she has her uncle and cousin with her.
I push the pedal down and ram through their gate. Several of the shipyard guys follow me down the driveway. I stop and park before we get to the house.
Arturo glances at every man. “In and out as quickly as we can. No survivors.”
I pull my gun out from the waistband of my pants as gunshots echo through the quiet night.
“What the hell?” I ask as my gaze moves over the front yard.
Several junk cars come screeching to a halt before several men wearing all black jump out, yelling toward the house.
They throw something at the front door, and a few seconds later, an explosion rips the door off its hinges.
Who are they and what do they want? Are they here for Jax? Or are they here with Tony and AJ?
Several of our men sneak around our cars to get closer, but the intruders spot them and start firing.
One of their men yells and the men immediately scatter. Some men run around the house while some continue to fire at us.
Damn, I guess the Rossi’s have all sorts of rivals.
Arturo pulls me to the side. “We can go through the front door and split up. When we are done with our sweep, we can exit through the staff entrance on the left side of the house.”
“How do you know where the staff entrance is? ”
“Alexandra and I have been studying the blueprints for the house.”
What the fuck? Has he been planning this for a while? Did he think Francesca would do something like this? Is this about his wife?
I can’t throw a tantrum right now for not being in the loop, so I follow him to the far side of the house.
“It’s quiet over here. Too quiet.” I whisper as I look around for any bodies.
“The staff entrance is just around the corner. Come here when you find her.”
Gunshots and explosions sound all around us, but they are on the opposite side of the house.
“Maybe we should head to that side of the property. We might have a better chance of finding everyone.”
I need to find Francesca.
I need to make sure she’s still alive.
She has to be.
I can’t do this without her.
I can’t live not knowing if she made it out or not.
We make our way to the front door. No one is around, but it sounds like yelling upstairs.
“I’ll go up. You go right.” I say before heading toward the stairs. Luckily, I remember the gist of the floor plan from my last visit.
Taking the stairs to the second floor, I freeze as I see blood everywhere. There’s blood splattered on the walls and a large red puddle on the carpet. Someone was shot here.
My knee throbs, but I push the pain to the back of my mind and follow the blood down the hallway to the elevator. Running back down the stairs, I follow the blood trail from the elevator down the long hallway.
Is this the staff entrance?
The door at the end of the hallway is opened halfway.
Did someone just walk out there? Or just came inside?
My heart pounds as I get closer to the open door. Francesca’s lifeless body is on the ground, holding the door open.
“No.” I say as my heart stops.
Dropping to my knees, I check for a pulse, praying that I’m not too late. It’s faint, but still there. We need to get her to a hospital now.
Movement out of the corner of my eyes has me jumping to my feet. Jax rounds the back corner of the house and narrows his eyes on me.
He stalks toward me, cracking his knuckles for a fight, but he’s barely worth any energy. I level my gun at him and pull the trigger, shooting him square in the chest.
I should have done that from the get go. Then Francesca wouldn’t be fighting for her life.
An older man sneaks around the back of the house, coming from the same direction Jax did.
I holster my gun and get ready to run after him, but Arturo wraps his hand around my arm and stops me.
“Save Francesca and get out of here. Take her straight to the hospital and ask for Doctor Matteo. Don’t answer any questions until I tell you to. We don’t need to be anywhere near this house in a few minutes.”
I can’t just leave Arturo behind. He’s the head of the family. The head of all operations. Francesca and Joey will kill me if something happens to him.
“What about you?” I ask as I glance down at the very pale Francesca. She’s losing too much blood.
He claps me on my back. “I’ll be right behind you. I’ll get a ride with someone else. Just take care of my baby girl.”
“Be safe and be quick.” I say before picking Francesca up and pulling her close to my body.
Her skin is ice cold, like I’m already too late. I walk as fast as I can to my truck. I open the back door and lay her on the backseat.
Remembering the cover under the seat, I spread it over her to try to get some warmth through her body.
I gently close the door before jumping in the driver’s seat and driving straight to the hospital.
I run every red light and every stop sign. It’s late, and no one is really on the road. Besides, my emergency flashers are on so they can see it’s an emergency.
Glancing at the rearview mirror at a lifeless Francesca, my heart shatters.
This was supposed to be an easy rest of the year for the team and the Marino family, but it’s been anything but since Francesca blew back into my life.
“Damn it. Don’t die on me, Chessie. Don’t fucking leave me. Not like this. Not before we’ve had a chance at a long, happy life together. Not before I’ve had the chance to watch you walk down the aisle to me. Not before we’ve checked off everything on your Fuck-It list.”
I chuckle to keep from breaking down and crying. I haven’t cried since I was a child.
“Yeah, I know all about your Fuck-It list that you hid in your hockey learning book. Thankfully, Joey and your dad have no clue about it because I intend to fulfill your every wish as soon as you are better.”
I pull up to the hospital and park under the covered emergency room entrance before gently getting Francesca out of my truck.
I carry her through the automatic doors, yelling for help. Several nurses rush over to me with a bed, asking what happened and who this is.
Remembering what Arturo said, I say, “We only want Doctor Matteo.”
The nurse glances at the nurse beside her before saying, “We can’t do that.”
I pull Francesca closer to my body. “Listen, ma’am, her father is Arturo Marino, and he has requested Doctor Matteo to care for her. I don’t think you want to be on his bad side. Now, how about you go get the doctor, and I won’t mention this to Arturo?”
The nurses nod.
“So? Do we have a deal?”
One nurse runs over to her desk to page the doctor as the others help me get Francesca on the bed and begin taking her vitals.
“You’ll have to wait out here while she gets looked at. She’s lost a lot of blood and her pulse is weak. The gunshot wound looks like it will need surgery.”
“I’m going wherever you take her. I will stand to the side and out of the way, but come hell or high water, I’ll be by her side every moment she is here.”
The nurse flashes me an annoyed look, but doesn’t argue. “Fine, but the moment you get in the way, you will be sent to the waiting room, where you will stay until the doctor is finished and she is in recovery.”
“Thank you.” I say, softening my hard tone. “Just please save her.”