Page 48

S arah

The seconds tick down to my live podcast.

I’m still holding Lea when it flashes on, but I scramble to the bars.

“It’s a trap! It’s a trap! Don’t come in!” I scream.

Lea rushes to my side, holding her arm and gritting her teeth. She can’t get as close to the cage as I can.

“Massimo, don’t! They’re going to blow up the entire bunker!” she yells.

I hold my breath and stare at the live feed on the laptop, then down at the jet engines underneath us. I’m not close enough to make out how many people are watching us right now. I usually have a few comments when I’m live, but I don’t see anything popping up on the screen. Maybe they’re in shock.

My arms and legs tremble as I look down, waiting for the machinery to roar to life. Waiting for columns of fire to engulf us. Waiting for the bunker to explode.

“Did they hear us? Maybe they didn’t come in,” Lea whispers.

“Maybe…” I swallow hard.

Then I hear footsteps. Voices, shouting. Heavy doors being forced open. They’re getting closer. They didn’t hear us, or they ignored it. Either way, it’s only a matter of time now. I lean forward, tears streaming down my face as I clutch Lea’s hand.

“I’m sorry, Sarah,” she whimpers. “They were only after me. If you hadn’t been there…”

“Don’t you dare apologize,” I mutter. “You’re my best friend. I’m not looking forward to dying, but… at least we’re together.”

Lea nods, sniffling away a few tears as she hugs her stomach with one hand, the other squeezing mine tight. The wheel starts to move, and I brace myself. For the pain, if there is any. For death. And whatever comes after. I never settled on a deity. I guess it’s too late now.

The door flies open, and Massimo rushes into the room, Big Boyd on his heels, but I’m not happy to see either of them. This is not a happy reunion.

“No! You have to go!” I scream. “There are explosives! There are jet engines underneath this floor!”

“Cadence cut off their access!” Massimo yells. “But we don’t have much time!”

“We’ll get you out of there,” Boyd growls.

Massimo runs to the side of the cage, reaching out for Lea. They join hands and I let go of her. Boyd slams his body into the cage door, groans, and spins around.

“Rowan! Need the bolt cutters!” Boyd yells.

“Dante has them, lad,” Rowan calls out.

Several members of the Morandi family push their way into the room. They take the camera, laptop, and everything that isn’t bolted down. At least I’m not live anymore. My listeners turned viewers aren’t witnessing this part.

Dante cuts the chain on the front of the cage and pulls it open.

Boyd nearly knocks him out of the way to get to me.

I push myself up and meet him with a hug while Dante cuts the shackle off Lea.

Boyd drags me closer to Dante, but doesn’t let go of me.

I don’t protest, even when it makes my ankle hurt. I’m too happy to be in his arms again.

Then a whirring sound echoes beneath us, and I see an orange glow. All of the jet engines are powering on.

“Boyd, leave me. You have to go!” I groan.

“I’m never leaving you, Sarah,” he snarls, tugging on the shackle.

“They’re in!” Cadence calls out over Massimo’s phone. “Hurry! I’m cutting off their access again, but they’re going to lock me out before long!”

The whirring stops and the glow fades. Dante moves to me and the bolt cutters grind through the shackle.

Then I’m free. Boyd pulls me into a tight embrace and carries me toward the door.

I look over and see Lea nestled snugly in Massimo’s arms. Her eyes are closed.

She’s leaning against his shoulder. My best friend and godson are both safe.

For now. Because I can hear the jet engines again.

I can tell Boyd is in pain, but he just grits his teeth and carries me through the bunker, not even stopping for other members of the Morandi family that are in his way. He pushes them aside like they’re nothing, and keeps going, until I see daylight.

“Massimo! I’m locked out!” Cadence’s voice calls out.

“Hurry!” Massimo yells.

We spill into the desert with the Morandi family hot on our heels. We don’t get more than a few feet before an explosion rocks the ground. A lot of members of the Morandi family go down. Several get caught in a column of fire that erupts from the bunker—I close my eyes when I hear the screams.

But Boyd doesn’t go down. He staggers across the shaking ground, tightening his grip on me until it hurts, but I don’t care. I’m safe. I force my eyes open and see Massimo behind us. They’re still safe. Rowan. I even see Leo and Emilio, which confuses me, but they’re on our heels.

“There’s more trouble!” Cadence warns, her voice echoing from Massimo’s shirt pocket. “Helicopters! I’m pretty sure it’s Solitude or the Bratva.”

“Has to be,” Boyd grunts.

Massimo starts yelling orders. Rowan, Leo, and Emilio peel away from us. Dante runs ahead, barking Massimo’s orders to the rest of the Morandi family. They take fighting positions, drawing weapons, getting ready for what is obviously going to be a fight.

Boyd gets me to his waiting SUV. He yanks the back door open and puts me down in the back seat. I still cling to him, even when he tries to pull away.

“No, don’t go,” I beg. “Please, I don’t want to lose you.”

“Then let me deal with these fuckers once and for all,” he growls, his lips crashing into mine.

Boyd’s kiss tells me exactly how much he’s missed me.

How worried he’s been. That the love I feel for him is far from one-sided.

I reluctantly let go of him when our lips part.

This is what he does. And if anyone is going to be able to stop Solitude’s mercenaries and the Bratva, my money is on Big Mafia Boyd.

“Be careful,” I whisper, my fingers falling away from his shirt. “Please.”

“I will be,” he mutters, slinging his assault rifle around and gripping it.

Helicopters darken the sky and the Morandi family opens fire.

A few go down, exploding when they hit the sand, but a lot more land.

Men in black tactical armor and masks pour out of them.

I’ve never been in the middle of a battlefield, but this certainly seems like one.

Every time I peek, I see more bodies on the ground—on both sides, but I’m more worried about the ones in front of the smoldering bunker.

Jeeps and SUVs appear on the horizon, bearing down on our location. I’m assuming those aren’t more members of the Morandi family, because Massimo’s guys open fire on them. Grenades get launched and explosions rock the Morandi family’s position.

It seems like the gunfire rings out for hours, but I’m not sure how much time actually passes. I split my time between ducking in the back seat, covering my ears, and peeking out to see if I can spot Big Boyd. Every time I see him, still firing at the men in black, I feel a slight tremor of relief.

Then the shots start dying out. The men in black are retreating.

They try to get a helicopter off the ground, but bullets shred through the exterior until it erupts in flames.

Solitude’s mercenaries and the Bratva are in full retreat now.

The SUVs and Jeeps start vanishing into the desert with the Morandi family giving chase.

Then it’s quiet. So quiet I slowly get out of the SUV and look around. There’s a lot of smoke. Sand has been kicked up. It’s hard to see clearly.

“Boyd!” I scream.

The smoke slowly dissipates, and I see him. He walks toward me, holding his stomach, and when I see blood, I start running, stumbling across the sand and almost losing my footing, but I get to him.

“You’re hurt!” I say hurriedly, trying to move his hand. “How bad is it?”

“Just a bullet,” he groans. “I’ve had worse.”

“Rowan got hit!” Dante’s voice rings out and I look past Boyd to see the mean motherfucker in a kilt bleeding on the ground. “So did Leo!”

“Get them back to Salvalagio!” Massimo orders. “Now!”

“I’ll take care of Leo,” Emilio says, dragging his brother off the ground and shouldering most of his weight.

“I can’t believe Leo’s here,” I whisper, glancing at Boyd.

“After you, Lea, and Cadence saved his life?” Boyd asks. “Man may be a priest now, but he wasn’t going to miss the chance to return the favor.”

“Emilio too?” I question as he walks back, guiding Leo toward one of the SUVs.

“Guess he’s back.” Boyd shrugs.

“Let’s get you to Salvalagio,” I say, motioning toward Boyd’s vehicle.

“I’ve got their location,” Cadence’s voice crackles. “They’re not far. I was able to use a satellite to trace where the helicopters took off from. It’s an old abandoned military base. Same one that used to operate the bunker.”

Boyd pulls away from me and staggers over to Massimo.

“Come on, boss. Let’s finish this,” Boyd urges.

“You’re not going anywhere except back to Salvalagio, Big Boyd,” Massimo says firmly. “I know you can take a few bullets without going down, but the rest of the guys can clean up what’s left. Besides, I don’t think Sarah will forgive me if I let you go.”

“No, I won’t,” I mutter, glancing back at Lea, who is still sitting in the back seat of the other SUV. “And your wife needs you, Massimo, so I hope you’re not planning on leaving her sitting over there all by herself.”

Massimo sighs and nods. He turns and gives the order for Dante to lead the attack on the military base. Dante looks thrilled with the plan and quickly rallies the men who will be going with him. After they mobilize, Massimo motions for us.

“Put Big Boyd in the front seat,” Massimo commands. “I’ll drive.”

“Wait, don’t leave my SUV here,” Boyd protests, clutching his stomach. “I can drive.”

“One of the guys will take care of it,” Massimo insists. “Come on.”