30. Chapter Thirty Adriana
The air felt different, charged with an ominous electricity as Tristan and I moved through the dark corridors of the Callahan estate. He still had his hand in mine as he pulled me away from the study.
The silence was a thick blanket, smothering any sense of safety. I knew better than to let my guard down; this place was a fortress, yet somehow, impossibly, there had been a breach.
“Stay close,” Tristan murmured, his voice barely above a whisper. His eyes darted around the shadowed hallways, the blue in them almost swallowed by the encroaching darkness. I could feel tension radiating from him, a rigid line of worry that connected us as he held my hand with a firm grip.
I didn’t need telling twice. My heart hammered against my ribs, each beat screaming a reminder that we were trapped, and not even the walls of the Callahan stronghold could guarantee our safety.
“Tristan, are you sure?” I asked, trying to keep my voice steady despite my racing thoughts.
“No, but I think someone’s here,” he said, his words clipped and short. “We’re not alone.”
Before I could press for details, about how he knew this from just a smashed window, he tugged me back toward the study, where the rest of the family should have been hashing out the mundane details of estate planning—anything but dealing with intruders.
We burst into the room, my breath catching as we interrupted the heated exchange amongst Kieran, Liam, Carmen, and the lawyer, whose name I didn’t know. They stood scattered, their argument halting abruptly at the sight of us, the tension of their words now paling in comparison to the urgency in Tristan’s face.
“Everyone, listen up,” Tristan commanded, his voice low but carrying an edge that sliced through the confusion. “We’ve got a serious problem. There’s been a security breach.”
Kieran’s expression darkened, his natural aloofness giving way to a sharp alertness. Liam’s youthful features tightened, the gravity of the situation etching lines of concern across his forehead. Carmen’s fiery hair seemed to bristle with her rising alarm, and even the lawyer clenched his jaw in silent understanding.
“Are we sure it’s not just a false alarm?” Carmen asked, her voice betraying no hint of the fear I knew she felt.
“Positive,” Tristan replied, his gaze never leaving mine. “We need to be ready to defend ourselves.”
Panic fluttered in my stomach, a stark reminder of the danger we faced. But there was no time for fear. Not now. Not when every decision could mean the difference between life and death. With Tristan leading, we prepared to face whatever—or whoever—threatened the fragile peace of the Callahan empire.
Liam paced back and forth, a restless energy about him that was as wild as his reputation suggested. He stopped abruptly and turned toward the sleek panel on the wall, his fingers flying over the touchscreen.
“Come on, come on...” he muttered under his breath, frustration mounting when the screen remained unresponsive.
“Anything?” I asked, watching as he jabbed at the display with increasing irritation.
“Nothing. It’s like we’re completely cut off,” Liam said, shaking his head. “I’ll call Alan; he’s patrolling the perimeter tonight.”
He whipped out his phone and dialed. The call rang through the tense room, each tone echoing like a countdown. But there was no answer, only the hollow sound of a call going to voicemail.
“Damn it!” Liam cursed, throwing his phone onto the couch. His young face was etched with worry, the carefree attitude gone as if it had never been.
“Alan’s not picking up,” he reported, looking from one anxious face to another. “Something’s very wrong.”
“Okay, no time to waste.” Tristan stepped forward, his blue eyes hardening with resolve. “Kieran, we’re up.”
“Adriana, Carmen, stay in the study with Liam and Mr. Diamond,” Tristan instructed, his voice carrying the weight of a leader accustomed to giving orders. “Kieran and I will handle this.”
I felt my heart clench at the thought of him walking into danger. “Tristan, let me come with you,” I pleaded, my eyes searching his for any sign of him giving in.
He almost laughed. “No,” he said. “It’s safer for you here. We can’t risk anything happening to you or the twins.”
The protectiveness in his voice would’ve warmed me if the circumstances were different. Instead, I suppressed the urge to argue further, knowing that challenging him now would only waste precious time.
Carmen’s hand found mine, and I glanced at her, seeing my own fear mirrored in her eyes. Yet, she gave me a reassuring squeeze, silently conveying her trust in the Callahan men to handle the situation, despite how she clearly felt about them.
Tristan’s broad back, a symbol of unwavering strength, vanished from sight, leaving behind a heavy silence that echoed the gravity of our situation. The door closed with a definitive click, sending a shiver down my spine. I felt a knot tighten in my chest as I glanced at Carmen.
“Are you alright?” Carmen’s voice reached me through the haze of fear clouding my thoughts. I managed a feeble nod, but the dread in my eyes betrayed the facade of composure I tried to maintain.
“Tristan...” I began, my voice barely more than a whisper that struggled to traverse the room’s expanse.
“He’ll be back soon,” Carmen’s words were meant to reassure me, but beneath her brave front, I sensed the same undercurrent of anxiety that gripped me. “He always comes back.”
I nodded again, attempting a smile for her sake, yet it faltered under the weight of nausea threatening to overwhelm me.
“Let’s sit down,” Carmen suggested gently, guiding me towards the couch. The chill of the leather against my skin offered little solace for our frayed nerves.
“Everything will be fine,” she asserted firmly, more as a declaration than mere reassurance. With resolve etched into her features, she grabbed her phone from her purse and dialed 911.
Normally, that would have been verboten, but right now, we needed all the help we could get. We needed reinforcements urgently; our safety depended on it.
But as she attempted to make the call, frustration etched lines on her face—the phone refused to connect. No signal. A sinking feeling settled in my stomach as I recognized this sinister tactic—a signal jammer was at play. Familiar with these deceitful maneuvers and their implications all too well, I understood that someone was manipulating us by severing our lifeline.
Carmen cursed softly under her breath at this unforeseen obstacle. While the Callahans braced for confrontation, I berated myself for naively assuming things would proceed smoothly in this treacherous world we navigated together.
“We need a new strategy,” Carmen declared resolutely when our eyes met. A shared determination ignited between us; surrender was not an option for Orsini women—we thrived amidst adversity.
“You guys are right,” Liam said. “We need a new strategy.”
Liam had been a silent shadow, hovering at the edges of the unfolding drama. But now, as Tristan and Kieran’s footsteps faded down the hall, their urgent voices muffled by distance, he began to pace like a caged animal—back and forth, back and forth.
“Our priority is uncovering who obstructed our communications; then we ensure they rue the day they dared cross us,” I interjected firmly despite the fact that I was sure the pallor of my complexion betrayed just how scared and sick I felt.
“Tristan needs me,” he muttered under his breath, his youth painfully obvious in the stark lines of worry creasing his forehead. Each pass brought him closer to the door, his resolve hardening with every step.
“Hey,” I said softly, trying to catch his eye. “They can handle themselves. Let’s stay put and think this through, okay?”
He ignored me, hand reaching for the doorknob, ready to burst into the chaos outside. Before I could stop him, the lawyer was there—a man whose name I knew, Mr. Diamond, but had never really seen. Now, I saw him clearly: not just a suit, but muscle and sinew beneath it, surprising in its presence.
His very presence made my heart race with fear.
Fuck.
“Where do you think you’re going?” the lawyer growled, grabbing Liam by the collar and yanking him back with such force that the younger Callahan stumbled.
“Let me go!” Liam protested, fighting against the iron grip. But Diamond was immovable, a mountain of unexpected strength.
“Nobody leaves,” Mr. Diamond stated, his voice a low thrum of authority as he pushed Liam away from the door and twisted the lock with a decisive click. His smirk was almost amused as he turned to face us, the tension in the room thick enough to choke on. “Now, you three didn’t think you were going anywhere, did you?” Mr. Diamond taunted, leaning back against the door with casual menace.
I exchanged a glance with Carmen, one that spoke without words—we were in this together, whether we liked it or not. It was a standoff, and we were woefully unprepared. But we were also Orsinis, and surrender wasn’t in our blood. We’d find a way out of this; we had to.
“Think again,” I shot back, my voice steady even as my heart pounded a frantic rhythm against my ribs. “We’re full of surprises.”
Carmen nodded, her dark eyes smoldering with fierce intelligence. I was already sizing up Mr. Diamond, calculating our next move.
This might be a game of survival, but we weren’t out of moves yet. Not by a long shot.
And if I had to be the one to take him down…well, so be it.
****
The air turned thick as Kieran and I rounded the corner of the sprawling Callahan estate. We had our guns on us, of course, and it didn’t take us long to find the intruders.
Not that they were making themselves invisible.
There they were, like vultures perched on our gates, standing right by the door as if we had just invited them in—Nick Rossi with that smug grin, his mountain of a brother Gio looming behind him, and Killian O’Hara, the betrayal personified.
“Look what we got here,” Nick sneered, his eyes raking over us with disdain. “The Callahan princes out for a stroll.”
“Rossi,” I acknowledged with a nod, my voice tight. My gaze shifted to Killian, the man who had been like a brother to me. “Killian.”
“Tristan,” Killian replied, his tone cool and detached. It was a punch in the gut, hearing my name come out so foreign from his lips.
“Never thought you’d lower yourself to these snakes,” I spat out, the anger boiling beneath my skin.
“Turns out they value loyalty more than your dear old dad ever did,” Killian shot back, his words slicing through the last shred of hope that this was all some misunderstanding.
“Is that what this is about? Money? Power?” I could hardly recognize the friend I once knew in the hard lines of his face.
“Let’s just say Rossi knows how to take care of his men,” Killian answered, a shadow crossing his features. “Something you might want to learn now that you’re calling the shots, boss.”
I didn’t miss the heavy sarcasm in the way he said the last word.
Kieran stood beside me, silent but coiled tight like a spring, ready to strike. I could feel the weight of his presence, his support without needing to look at him. We were Callahans; family meant everything, even when it seemed like the world was crumbling around us. And right now, that was more clear than it ever had been.
“Enough with the cryptic crap, Killian. If you’re here, you’re here. You aren’t who I thought you were but I’ll come to terms with that. Right now, what I want is answers. What does Silvio Orsini have to do with any of this?” I demanded, my voice laced with a mix of confusion and rage.
“Think about it, Tristan,” he urged, his eyes flickering with something that might’ve been regret if I didn’t know better. “Malachy’s gone. Adriana’s carrying your kids. The Callahans have a new stronghold but you’re more exposed than ever.”
“Exposed? We can handle our own,” I growled, the implication setting my blood on fire.
“Sure you can,” Killian sneered. “But it made you vulnerable. And vulnerability in our world is like blood in the water. That’s why I made the deal with the Rossis—prompted by none other than Silvio Orsini himself.”
The words hit me like a bullet, straight through the chest. Vulnerable. Adriana. Twins. My mind raced, piecing together the treacherous puzzle that was our lives. The betrayal stung, worse because it came from someone we’d once trusted with our lives.
“Rossis and Orsinis...” Kieran muttered under his breath, disgust evident even in his whisper.
My fists clenched, my nails digging into my palms as I fought the urge to launch at Killian. This wasn’t just business; it was personal—a stab at the heart of our family. The weight of my father’s absence bore down on me, leaving a void where his guidance should have been.
“Traitor,” I spat, losing the battle against my fury. I lunged at him, propelled by a reckless need for retribution.
“Tristan!” Kieran’s voice broke through my red haze, but I was past listening.
Killian dodged, and before I could grasp him, hands grabbed me from all sides. The Rossi brothers, their grips like vices, forced me back against the cold wall. The metal of their guns pressed against my skin, threatening without words. I stood there, pinned like an animal caught in a trap, the rage within me raging against the cold steel aimed at my head.
“Easy, Callahan,” one of the Rossis sneered, his breath foul against my face. “Wouldn’t want to ruin that pretty boy face of yours.”
Nick and Gio released me from their hold against the wall. Kieran was beside me in an instant, an unspoken promise in his eyes that they’d have to get through him first. But we were outnumbered, outgunned, and the realization that this was a fight we couldn’t win—at least not here, not now—coiled in my stomach like a snake.
“Let’s talk,” Killian said, and despite the chaos, his voice was calm, controlled. It made my skin crawl.
“Talk,” I repeated through gritted teeth, glaring daggers at him. “You call this talking?”
“Business, Tristan,” Killian corrected with a shrug. “I’m sorry you’re upset, because I love you just as much as you love me. But this is just business.”
“If that’s true, why are you doing this?” I asked as I backed away from him.
“This has more to do with your father than it does with you,” he said. “But I don’t want to speak for Nick, so…”
“Alright then, Rossi. What the fuck do you want?” I growled, chest heaving, every muscle coiled and ready to strike despite Kieran’s warning grip on my shoulder.
At first, Nick Rossi’s lips curled into a smirk, his eyes dancing with malevolence. “Initially,” he began, circling like a shark scenting blood in the water, “I only wanted a twenty-five percent cut of the Orsinis and Callahans’ business deals going forward.”
“And now?” I snapped, impatience crackling through me like a live wire.
“Now,” he said, stepping closer, invading my space as if he owned it, “it seems things are far more precarious than I realized. I want it all.”
“Define ‘all,’” I demanded, my voice low and dangerous.
“Everything.” His gaze flicked over my body, assessing, calculating. “Every deal, every asset, every territory...And let’s not forget your pregnant girlfriend. She’s become quite the sight for sore eyes, hasn’t she? Hasn’t looked hotter, really. And she’s always been stunning.”
The words hit me like a punch to the gut, igniting a firestorm of protective rage that blazed through my veins. My vision tinted red; every rational thought evaporated. This was about respect—about family—and now he’d brought her into it.
“Touch her and you’re dead,” I promised, the threat a low rumble in my throat.
“Tristan, don’t!” Kieran’s hand tightened on my arm, but I was beyond reason.
In a flash of motion, I shook off his hold and charged at Rossi with the full force of my fury. I barely registered Kieran’s shout of warning, the scrape of our feet on the marble floor, or the sharp crack of a gunshot splitting the air.
Nick wasn’t quick enough on the draw when it came to firing his gun, but he still squeezed the trigger. The bullet whistled past my ear, a harbinger of death gone awry, embedding itself with a thud into the wall behind me.
Time slowed as adrenaline surged, pumping through my bloodstream. I tackled Nick to the ground, ready to pummel him into oblivion for threatening the three people I loved most in this world. Kieran was somewhere close, shouting my name, trying to pull me back from the edge where violence teetered on the brink of savagery. But I was already gone, lost in the heat of battle.
My fists found their mark again and again, the sickening crunch of bone under my knuckles punctuating each blow. Nick’s face was barely recognizable, his blood slick on my hands as I drove him further into the ground, my rage a living thing.
“Tristan, stop!” Killian’s voice cut through the red mist in my mind. He was close, but I didn’t care. I wanted to end Nick, make him pay for every threat, every fear he’d ever instigated against us.
“Think, lad! Why are we here? Where’s Adriana?” Killian’s words were like ice water, shocking me back to reality. My heart plummeted. Adriana. This wasn’t just about retribution; it was about her safety.
I released Nick, who lay gasping like a fish out of water, and scrambled to my feet. I had to get to her. I turned toward the study, and sprinted.
Before I could reach the door, a force collided with me from the side. Gio. His tackle sent us both crashing to the floor, his weight pinning me down. We grappled, our struggle a tangle of limbs and curses. I fought to push him off, desperate to reach Adriana, but he was relentless.
“Get off me, Gio!” I shouted, throwing a punch in his direction, trying to dislodge him. But he was like a damn leech, sucking away precious time I couldn’t afford to lose.
“Calm down, Callahan,” Gio growled, trying to subdue me. But there was no calming the storm inside me—not until I knew she was safe.
My world narrowed to the hard thud of my heart, the hot breath against my neck, and the iron grip of Gio’s arms around me. With every ounce of strength, I tried to shove him off, my muscles burning with effort and fear for Adriana.
My world narrowed to the hard thud of my heart, the hot breath against my neck, and the iron grip of Gio’s arms around me. With every ounce of strength, I tried to shove him off, my muscles burning with effort and fear for Adriana.
“Damn it, get off!” My voice was raw, my mind a single track to get to her.
Kieran’s boots thudded across the floorboards as he joined the fray, his hands gripping Gio’s jacket, trying to drag him away from me. “Gio, back off!” Kieran’s command sliced through the chaos, but Gio held on like a man possessed.
“Protect the family,” Gio grunted, mistaking my desperation for madness.
The room spun, a vortex of flailing limbs and curses. I could feel the blood pulsing just beneath my skin, adrenaline fueling my struggle. Then, out of nowhere, a fist connected with my face—a sharp crack that splintered through my skull.
“Tristan!” Kieran’s shout sounded distant, muffled by the ringing in my ears.
The punch had come from nowhere, blindsiding me. My vision blurred, darkness creeping into the edges as I fought the pull of unconsciousness. One more hit would send me under—I knew it.
“Ade…” I gasped out, the name a talisman against the void.
But the darkness was relentless, swallowing sound and sense alike. My last thought before succumbing was a silent plea that she was safe, that all this wasn’t for nothing.
And then, nothing at all.
****
The crack of a gunshot split the air, and my heart lurched. I lunged toward the door, each muscle in my body coiling to sprint, to find Tristan, to find the source of that ominous sound. But before I could reach the brass handle, an iron grip clamped down on my shoulder, spinning me back into the room.
I mean, it had been stupid. I knew it was stupid before I did it and I still found myself doing it anyway.
“Where do you think you’re going, Adriana?” Diamond’s voice was like gravel, heavy and cold. He was wearing such a nice suit, but steel toed boots. I should have noticed the way he was dressed when we were first came in, but I hadn’t.
I didn’t have much time to think about it because his hand shoved me against the oak desk, his weight pinning me down as effectively as any chains.
“Let me go!” I spat, but he only sneered, twisting my arm behind my back in a move that screamed of practiced cruelty.
“Carmen,” he barked without taking his eyes off me, “tie her up.”
I twisted my head to see my sister, her fiery hair all the brighter against the dimness of the study. Worry lined Carmen’s face, but there was resolve too. “Be reasonable…”
“I’ll do much worse to her than slamming her around if you don’t,” he said, then turned to Liam, who was sitting there, his wide eyes glancing desperately between all of us. “And if you even so much as move a muscle, kid, I will kill you.”
“Is this necessary?” Carmen asked.
Diamond nodded, using his chin to point at some rope that he just…seemed to have there. I wondered how long he had planned this for and the very knowledge of that made my stomach twist.
“Ade, I’m sorry,” she whispered, her fingers trembling as she pulled my wrists together and wound a length of rope around them.
“Just…be careful,” I hissed through clenched teeth, trying to kick out at Diamond, but he just pressed down harder, his knee digging into my spine.
“Enough.” The word was a whip-crack from Diamond, silencing any further resistance. He turned his attention to Liam, who had been watching with the sort of horrified fascination that seemed to be his default these days.
“Callahan,” Diamond commanded, “you tie her to Adriana. Make it tight.”
Liam’s face was pale, the youthful carelessness that usually danced in his eyes snuffed out by fear. Yet, he approached, his hands more steady than Carmen’s as he bound my sister to me. Our backs pressed together, our breaths mingling, we became unwilling partners in this macabre dance orchestrated by a man neither of us knew.
“Good.” Diamond finally stepped away, circling us like a shark scenting blood. With a swift motion, he yanked Liam down to the ground and secured him with the same ruthless efficiency.
“Listen up,” he said, standing tall, his silhouette framed by the bookshelves. “If any of you tries to get out of here, I’ll kill you. Except you, Adriana.” His gaze lingered on me, a promise veiled in threat. “You, I’m not allowed to kill.”
“Who are you really working for?” I demanded, my voice laced with venom.
“Aren’t you supposed to be the smart one?” he asked me.
“C’mon,” I said. “Give us something.”
But Diamond only smiled, a predator baring his teeth, and backed away, leaving us in a tangle of limbs and despair, fighting against ropes that refused to give.
The room fell into a tense silence, broken only by the sound of our strained breathing. Desperation clawed at my insides, but I forced it down. I had to think. I had to be the one to get us out of here.
“Ade,” Carmen’s voice was a whisper against my ear, as if she feared even the walls had ears. “You okay?”
“Been better,” I responded dryly, just as quietly, trying to shift my weight and relieve the pressure on my wrists. “Do you know who that Diamond guy is? He seems to know his way around.”
Carmen was quiet for a moment, her breath hitching slightly as she racked her brain. “Now that you mention it,” she murmured, “I might’ve seen him around. Could be one of Dad’s enforcers, though I never knew him to go by Diamond.”
“Great,” I sighed heavily, the ropes digging into my skin as a reminder of our predicament. “Just what we needed—Dad’s own hitman babysitting us.”
“Kid,” Carmen’s voice held a hint of steel, “you can’t blame yourself for this mess. Tristan...he’s got his own demons with Dad. He would’ve been in Silvio Orsini’s crosshairs with or without you.”
I let out a long breath, her words landing like punches in my gut. She was right, of course. Tristan and I were tangled in a web far larger than just the two of us—a web woven with threads of power, deceit, and family bloodlines that demanded loyalty above all else.
Once Malachy Callahan died, of course my dad would have tried to kill his heir apparent. That just made sense.
“Doesn’t make it any easier,” I confessed, the truth bitter on my tongue. “If anything happens to him because of me—“
“Stop,” Carmen interrupted firmly despite the volume, the fight in her voice grounding me. “We’re going to get out of this, and we’ll figure it out together. But first, we need to get these damn ropes off.”
“Wait,” I said. “What about Dad? What else do you know? What does this have to do with the financials?”
Now that she was literally tied to me, I thought that it was the perfect opportunity to make sure she didn’t weasel out of it.
She sighed heavily.
“Okay, fine. You want to know that now? I’m going to tell you now,” she said. “But I wish we were getting out of this.”
“Well, unless you have a couple of brilliant ideas,” I whisper shouted back. “Then I don’t know what we’re going to do beyond talking to each other.”
“Fine. Look, Adriana,” Carmen’s voice was a low whisper, filled with urgency. “The truth is, there was embezzlement. And it wasn’t Dad. It was me.”
My heart thudded heavily in my chest as her words sank in. “What?” I asked, disbelief lacing my tone.
Carmen nodded, her fiery red hair a stark contrast to the grim set of her jaw. “Yes. I was livid because, fuck, because Dad tried to force me into marrying Nick Rossi. After Tristan backed off from marrying you, he wanted to solidify his position. He didn’t know you were pregnant, and he thought this meant that there was a Callahan attack on the horizon. So he thought he would cover his bases, get me to marry Nick Rossi. Like I said, babe, this was after Tristan pulled away from your engagement.” She paused, her green eyes searching mine. “I wanted to tell you when you got back, but... I wasn’t sure if you’d believe me. And with everything so uncertain between you and Tristan, I didn’t want to pile on more for you to question.”
A mix of appreciation and annoyance swirled within me. “I wish you had told me,” I said, the edge in my voice sharper than I intended. “I could’ve been more cautious. Prepared.”
As we spoke, Liam had been quiet, his young face shadowed with thoughts far too heavy for his age. Suddenly, he chimed in, breaking the tension. “Hey, guys, I know you have a lot to sort out, but maybe you can continue this conversation later?”
I rolled my eyes. “What do you suggest we do?”
“I don’t know. But I’ve got a blade in my jeans pocket.”
Our heads snapped toward him, hope surging through me at the possibility of escape. “Can you reach it?” I asked, trying to mask the desperation in my voice.
“No, but you should be able to,” Liam murmured, shifting discreetly. “It’s small, but it should do the trick.”
“Good,” I breathed out. “We’ll need every advantage we can get.”
With careful movements, we strategized our next move, knowing that freedom—and the chance to right the wrongs entangling our families—was now glinting within reach, hidden in the fabric of Liam’s denim.
The room was quiet, save for the soft tap of fingers on a phone screen. Diamond seemed engrossed in his device, shoulders hunched over as he texted someone likely oblivious to our plans. His guard down, it was our chance.
“Slide it out slowly,” I whispered to Liam, whose eyes were fixed on Diamond, watching for any sign of detection. He nodded once, subtly reaching into his pocket.
I leaned closer under the pretense of comfort, my hand sneaking towards his waist. My fingers brushed against the stiff denim, feeling the outline of the blade tucked away. It took every ounce of control not to rush, not to let my urgency betray us.
“Got it?” Carmen’s voice was barely audible, her gaze locked onto the supposed lawyer who continued to tap away at his phone.
“Almost.” The word came out strained as I fiddled with the blade, struggling with the angle. But finally, the cool metal slid into my palm, and I let out a silent sigh of relief.
“Careful,” Liam muttered, shifting his weight to obscure Diamond’s view as I maneuvered the blade towards the rope binding my wrists.
As I began to saw through the rough fibers, the fear of getting caught sent a spike of adrenaline through my veins. The rope resisted, each strand stubbornly clinging to the next.
Then, Diamond’s movements stilled, and I froze. He lifted his head, his sharp gaze scanning the room like a hawk. Panic flared within me, but before it could take hold, Liam coughed loudly, drawing Diamond’s attention to him.
“Got a problem with the accommodation?” Diamond’s voice was laced with sarcasm.
“Could use a drink,” Liam said with a crooked grin that didn’t quite reach his eyes.
“Ha,” Diamond snorted, seemingly satisfied with the distraction. “You’ll get nothing from me.”
“Was worth a shot,” Liam replied, easing back into his casual facade.
Carmen jumped in, her tone light, but her words carried an edge. “Really, Diamond, loosen up. We’re all friends here, right?”
His smirk was thin as he turned back to his phone, his focus shifting away from us again.
I resumed cutting, the blade now slicing more urgently against the rope as I worked through the tension. Beside me, Carmen kept up her chatter, filling the silence with trivialities that somehow held Diamond’s fleeting interest.
After what felt like an eternity, the rope gave way, fraying until it parted under the pressure of the blade. A wave of triumph washed over me, but there was no time to savor the victory—not with freedom so close, yet still hanging by a thread.
“Got it,” I whispered, more to myself than Carmen or Liam. The ropes around my wrists fell away, the last fibers tearing apart with a silent snap of triumph. My hands were free.
“Ade.” Liam’s voice was a low murmur, his eyes signaling me to stay calm, stay smart. I nodded, rubbing at the red marks where the rope had dug into my skin. “You guys stay here. I’m going to run to him and see if I can stab him.”
“Don’t!” Carmen said, a little too loudly for the situation.
Diamond’s head whipped towards us, an eyebrow arched in question. Carmen recovered quickly, offering him a smile that was too tight to look genuine.
“Nothing,” She said, almost flippantly, “We’re just bickering like usual. Right, Ade?”
I nodded, playing along with a sigh. “Yes, Carmen loves making mountains out of molehills.”
Diamond eyed us suspiciously for another moment before he shrugged and returned to his phone. Once he wasn’t looking, I shook my head at Liam.
“We can’t risk it,” I murmured, “If you get caught, we’d lose our only weapon.”
I didn’t tell him that he would die. That seemed…unnecessary, given the situation.
Diamond was a menace; even with the blade, taking him down would be risky. But we couldn’t just stay here, not with Tristan and Kieran out there. Not when we’d heard gunshots.
“So what do we do?” Liam asked.
“Well, we wait for him to stop paying attention,” I said, the words tasting bitter on my tongue. “And then we kill him.”
****
My eyes darted to Liam, whose fingers had deftly worked free of his own binds. The blade he had hidden was our hope, our chance to turn the tables on Diamond. I could almost taste the anticipation, a bitter tang at the back of my throat.
“Got any ideas?” Carmen’s whisper was a brush of sound against the tension-filled air.
“Wait for—“ My words snagged on a breath as the door swung open and Nick Rossi barged in, dragging the limp form of Tristan Callahan with him. Blood matted his blond hair, a stark map of injury across his once-charming face. He was so bloody.
So so bloody.
I could hardly see his features, and it made everything in me scream.
“Tristan!” Instinct overrode caution, and I lunged forward, every other thought evaporating.
“Adriana, no!” Carmen’s warning came too late.
Diamond’s gun snapped up, its barrel cold and unforgiving against my temple. “Not so fast,” his voice was deceptively calm, a serpent’s hiss.
“Let me go,” I said. “Where am I going to go? Please, just let me see him.”
Diamond’s gaze must have caught someone else’s because he removed the barrel from my temple.
My gaze whirled around the room, taking in Kieran, another casualty of violence, bruised and battered. Anger roared in my chest, hot and wild. Nick Rossi stood with that smug certainty that made me want to rip it off his face. Killian O’Hara and Gio Rossi were there too, walls of muscle and menace.
“What the hell is this?” The words clawed out of me, raw and desperate as I knelt by Tristan.
“Business.” Nick’s reply was dismissive, but I barely heard him.
Tristan was so still, too still. My fingers trembled as I felt for his pulse, a thrumming beat beneath the chilled skin. His chest rose and fell, a shallow dance with death. Tristan was dying.
The man I loved was dying.
The father of my unborn children was dying.
And I had no idea what the fuck to do.
“What do you think you’re doing?” My question was more plea than demand, my voice breaking over the nameless terror clutching my heart.
“Settle down, Orsini.” Killian’s tone held a warning, but it was lost amidst the chaos churning inside me.
“Fix this,” I begged anyone, everyone. But mostly, I begged Tristan to open those blue eyes, to be okay, to be anything but this broken figure before me, my hands on his chest, on his stomach, under his nose so I could feel his breathing. “Tristan, I’m right here. Tristan…”
The tension in the air was like a live wire, crackling with the promise of violence. I was on edge, every nerve screaming, when chaos erupted with the suddenness of a storm breaking.
Liam, the youngest Callahan with youth’s brash confidence and none of its caution, surged into motion. He’d been playing the part of the captured lamb, but now he was a wolf, all fury and fangs. With a swift, practiced movement, he had a blade in his hand—a blade that found its home in Nick Rossi’s side.
I could see him from the corner of my eye, but I was too worried about Tristan to say anything.
“Jesus, Liam!” Carmen yelled, but my voice drowned in the cacophony as Nick hit the ground, a gurgling sound escaping him, not quite dead but so close it hardly mattered.
Bullets began to fly, and everyone scattered, seeking cover where there was none. In the hail of gunfire, Gio lunged for Liam, who dodged with the slippery grace of someone who knew just how to twist away from trouble.
“Tristan!” I cried out as I saw him stir, his eyes fluttering open, those blue orbs clouded with pain and confusion. Gio turned toward him, malice in his gaze, a foot raised to silence Tristan once more.
“No!” My body moved without thought, propelled by fear and adrenaline. I shoved my way between them, taking the blow meant for Tristan. Agony exploded in my arm, a giant bruise blooming beneath the skin.
“Adriana!” Tristan’s voice, ragged with effort, cut through the mayhem. And then, with the kind of strength born of desperation, he was standing, towering over me, protective despite his own injuries.
“Stay down,” he ordered through gritted teeth, but I could barely process his words.
Liam and Gio were locked in a tangle of limbs and grunts, the floor beneath them slick with blood and spilled secrets. I tried to keep track, to make sense of the tangled web of bodies and allegiances, but it was impossible.
“Damn it, Callahan,” Gio spat, straining against Liam’s hold. But Liam was tenacious, clinging to Gio with the ferocity of someone fighting for more than just his own life.
Tristan,“ I murmured, reaching for him, needing to know he was real amid the surreal nightmare unfolding around us. His large hand enveloped mine, his grip a lifeline in the roiling sea of chaos.
“Stay with me, Adriana,” he said, and though his voice was weak, his resolve was steel. “Don’t get yourself killed. If you do, I’ll never forgive you.”
And then Gio had thrown Liam away from him, and Carmen and Kieran were fighting Killian and Diamond–I thought, I honestly wasn’t sure. But Gio had Liam’s bloody blade in his hand and he was approaching Tristan with as much purpose as I had ever seen in my life.
“Tristan, I—“ my voice caught in my throat as I saw the malice etched on Gio’s face. In that moment, I knew what I had to do.
With a quick movement, I wrapped around the cold metal of his gun tucked in the back of his pants. It was heavy, unyielding, and so very foreign in my grasp. But this was no time for hesitation; lives hung in the balance, and I couldn’t let fear dictate our fate.
Gio lunged, a blur of unchecked fury, but before he could reach Tristan, I pulled the trigger. The gunshot echoed in the room, a sharp retort that seemed to freeze everyone in place. Gio’s eyes widened, surprise overtaking his features as he stumbled backward.
“Ade!” Tristan’s voice broke through the haze of my shock. “What the fuck?”
“He was coming for you, Tristan,” I said, watching the blood blossom across Gio’s shirt like a dark rose unfurling its petals. He reached for his brother Nick, both of them heavily injured as they tried to make their escape.
“Nobody moves!” Killian’s command reverberated through the room, followed by the deafening sound of a bullet slamming into the ceiling. Plaster rained down upon us as the ricochet sent everyone diving for cover.
In a swift motion, Tristan pulled us down, pushing me beneath him, his body a shield against the threat of stray bullets. His breaths came in ragged gasps, each one laced with pain and determination. We lay there for a bit, the dust settling around us.
“Are you okay?” Tristan’s voice was soft, but it cut through the silence like a knife.
“Y-yeah,” I managed to reply, the terror of the moment still clawing at my insides. “You?”
“Alive,” he said with a wry smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.
We stayed like that for an eternal second, his weight both a comfort and a reminder of the danger we were still in. When the room finally stilled, and it seemed the immediate threat had passed, Tristan helped me to my feet. Our gazes locked, and without a single word, we understood each other perfectly.
Everyone’s attention was now riveted on Killian, who stood in the center of the room with an unwavering gaze. His voice cut through the chaos like a scythe, “We’re going to talk and there are going to be negotiations, whether you all want to or not.”
My heart hammered against my ribcage as I watched Killian’s expression harden. Before anyone could react, his arm lifted, steady as a rock, gun pointed directly at Diamond. A split second later, the sharp crack of a single shot pierced the silence, and Diamond crumpled to the ground, a lifeless heap. Blood pooled rapidly, staining the expensive carpet beneath him.
A cold void opened up inside me, and my heart plummeted into its depths. This wasn’t some show of intimidation; this was real, irrevocable violence. Around me, muffled gasps and horrified whispers filled the void left by Diamond’s fall, but I barely heard them. My mind spun, caught between revulsion and the harrowing understanding of what we were all part of.
“Everyone, shut up!” Killian’s voice boomed, pulling me back to the grim reality. The room fell into a heavy silence, the kind that speaks louder than any words ever could. “Can you just stop acting like animals for a second? Let’s talk.”
Then, just as Killian was about to speak again, the door swung open with a resounding thud.
And there he was.
My fuckin father.
Silvio Orsini, the man whose name commanded respect and fear in equal measure, stepped into the study. His salt-and-pepper hair was a stark contrast to his dark, tailored suit, and his warm smile belied the steel in his eyes.
I had been scared before, but right then, I was fucking terrified.
“Sorry for the theatrics, children,” he said, his voice smooth and calm, as if he hadn’t just walked into a scene straight out of a nightmare. “But Killian is right. Right now, we need to talk.”