Chapter 11 #4
The two men rolled across the floor, and my Shadow quickly gained the upper hand, his face dark as he began raining punches down on the Italian’s face.
I fired at one of the Italians who had pulled a knife and was about to attack my Shadow from behind. He dropped dead instantly, my bullet striking him square in the forehead. The shooting sessions with Ashwin hadn’t been for nothing.
“What the hell ?” Paolo, Ava’s Shadow growled as he threw himself at two men, while Azad and Mason appeared in turn at the entrance of the warehouse, trying to understand what was happening before charging straight into the fight and I let out a breath of relief.
We stayed back with the girls, and after a few minutes it was over.
Some of the Italians had fled among them the oldest one who had tried to shoot me.
The others were on the ground, dead or unconscious, and our Shadows stood victorious.
“Pao,” Ava breathed as he pulled her into his arms. “We’re fine,” Esme reassured Azad, who took her face in his hands before kissing her.
“Almost fine, if we don’t count Ava’s ankle,” Diane sighed, while Mason wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
“You screwed up your last shot,” Kenji commented as he took the gun from my hand and slid it behind his back before removing my cap.
His gaze quickly scanned my face and body, searching for any injury.
His eyes lingered on my bleeding lower lip, but he said nothing.
When he saw that there was nothing serious, he grabbed my arm and yanked me sharply against him.
“You put your life and everyone else’s in danger,” he growled, leaning his face close to mine, “I didn’t think you’d be this stupid, Sienna.
” I took the hit, because he was right. Yes, we often went out as girls while ditching the guys but the situation was unstable lately, with the missing Stars we were trying to find, with this whole thing involving Edouard, with the Ivanovs roaming around the Mission District.
“No! We…” Ava started, but I raised my hand. “Go home. Stop by the hospital first if needed,” I said without turning around, without taking my eyes off my Shadow, because that’s what he was right now. Not Kenji. Not my friend.
“But…” “That’s enough, Ava. Let’s go home before your ankle swells even more,” Esme cut in. Their footsteps faded away while we stayed put, facing the idiot in front of me. “We just wanted to see a movie,” I tried to defend myself miserably.
“The last time it was to grab a drink, and when we found you, you were in the middle of a bar fight. And the time before that, it was an amusement park where Ava and Esme got stuck on the Ferris wheel while you were shooting at the guy behind the booth with a rifle because his game was rigged, according to you”.
“It was rigged,” I muttered, looking away.
He grabbed my jaw, forcing my face back toward his. “Stop taking your safety lightly, Sienna, because I don’t,” he said, his dark gaze locked onto mine. “Nothing must happen to you. Don’t forget, there is no Shadow without a Star.”
I pressed my lips together. He was right.
It was one of the basic rules of The Halo: if a Star fell, her Shadow was bound to fall with her.
They would die together. But it wasn’t fear of death that made Kenji say this, on the contrary, he would end his own life if something happened to me, and I would do the same if anything happened to him. He just wanted to protect me.
“I know,” I breathed, taking his wrist to gently remove his hand from my face, “I’m sorry…
I just wanted us to clear our heads with the girls, like we always do” but shook his head.
“You feel it, Sienna. Something is coming. The danger is closer than ever,” he sighed, stepping back as his gaze drifted to the unconscious Italians.
“We need to be more careful” I nodded, joining him above the fallen men.
“It’s Alia Rasili who sent them, to avenge her brother and her cousin,” I said, then my eyes widened, “Selina! I didn’t even call her to check if she got home safely!
What if she was attacked too?” I panicked, pulling my phone from my back pocket, then let out a furious cry when I saw the dead battery.
“Give me yours,” I demanded, knowing my sister’s number by heart but he grimaced, showing it to me. “Broken during the fight,” he sighed and I closed my eyes. Fuck.
“I need to go check on her,” I said, rushing toward the exit, Kenji’s footsteps followed close behind.
We exited the factory quickly, and he pointed at his car parked right in front of the entrance, hazard lights flashing.
“How did you know we were in this factory?” I asked as I climbed inside, while he started the engine and pulled onto the road, “I know how you think,” he answered simply.
And it was true. Sometimes, he knew what I was going to do before I did it myself. A psychic link.
—
Samy opened the gate as soon as he recognized the car from a distance, and we drove in quickly.
Kenji stopped in front of the entrance, and I got out before the engine was even cut, rushing up the steps leading to the Ivanov villa.
“Selina?!” I shouted in panic as I pushed the door open, voices echoing from the dining room.
I burst into the room, breathless, and saw the entire Ivanov family seated at the table in the middle of a meal, now staring at me as if I were some lunatic who had escaped from an asylum.
Which was probably exactly what I looked like.
My gaze immediately found my sister. She was staring back at me, surprised and unharmed.
I let out a breath of relief. “Thank God,” I murmured as I rushed toward her while she stood up with Nikolai’s help.
“Sienna?” she called as I wrapped my arms around her, her rounded belly pressed between us, a comforting warmth grounding me.
I heard Kenji’s footsteps behind me and, when I turned, saw him standing in the doorway, relaxing visibly at the sight of my sister.
“What’s going on, Sienna?” Selina asked, confused but before I could answer, hands grabbed my shoulders and spun me around. My gaze met blue. Cold. Peace.
It had been almost a week since I’d last seen those eyes, and damn it, I’d missed it.
“Who hit you? What happened?!” Sasha demanded, his worried eyes scanning every inch of my face while I struggled to catch my breath.
“Sasha, let her breathe,” Elif ordered, her voice firm yet gentle as she approached with a glass of water, Grigori standing behind her with a dark expression, while Roman pulled out a chair for me, visibly anxious.
I took the glass and drained it in one go as I sat down, fuck, I was thirsty.
I set the glass on the table and sighed softly, realizing everyone was waiting for answers.
My gaze shifted to my sister, whose husband had just pulled her chair closer so she could sit beside me.
I had to tell the truth. I couldn’t be everywhere at once. I had to protect my sister and who better than the Russians to protect her from the Italians? “I was attacked by about ten men outside the cinema earlier tonight,” I began, and my sister gasped, grabbing my hand.
“They were Italians. The man who tried to shoot me said Alia Rasili sent them,” I continued, turning toward Selina. “For the death of her brother and her cousin,” I added darkly, resting my hand over hers.
“I thought… I thought they’d attacked you too, and my phone was dead, I couldn’t call you,” I admitted and she shook her head quickly. “No, I got home without any trouble after we parted,” she reassured me and I nodded, trying to steady myself.
“The man who tried to shoot you…” Sasha repeated slowly, turning toward Kenji before turning his back to me and to my surprise, Kenji looked away.
Anger flared so fast my headache turned into a migraine.
“No!” I snapped, jumping to my feet and grabbing Sasha’s arm to force him to face me.
“I forbid you from blaming him”. He stared at me, his gaze dark, clearly furious but nothing justified how he was treating my friend, who already looked burdened with guilt. Idiot.
Sasha didn’t answer. He clenched his jaw and placed his hands on my shoulders, guiding me back into my chair and I let him.
I needed to stay calm. This wasn’t the time for alpha-male power games.
We had an Italian problem that needed dealing with, now.
“We haven’t received any intelligence suggesting the Cosa Nostra planned retaliation for the Rasili,” Nikolai informed us, casting a dark look between his brother and me while my sister watched anxiously.
“Yes, I spoke with Capo Marino just yesterday about a shipment, and he didn’t seem aware of anything,” Grigori added, nodding.
“So she acted alone, that bitch?” Elif mused, arms crossed, clearly angry.
“From what I saw during my captivity, I doubt she has a high enough IQ to plan something like this,” Roman added, scratching his chin.
After our arrival at the Ivanovs’, Antonio had kidnapped Roman to blackmail the family into handing over Selina and Rafael but we’d managed to get him back unharmed without giving in. Well… Rafael and Selina had.
“Roman’s right. I can’t see her acting alone,” Selina agreed, her gaze distant, “I know her better than anyone. She would never have dared do something like this on her own.”
So someone had helped her. Someone who knew our movements. Someone who hated me enough to work with the Italians. I slowly rose from my chair as my mind started racing.
The Master? No…too dangerous. If anything happened to me, he knew someone close to me would tell the Ivanovs everything. He’d never take that risk. The Mother? After all these years, had she found a final way to get rid of me? Enough to work with the Italians?