Page 142 of My Sweetest Obsession

“Never turn your back on your enemies.”

Stone frowned, shaking his head vigorously. “I’m not your enemy, Nico.”

But Nico ushered him forward with a determined shove.

I stepped into something slick and nearly lost my balance, but Nico wrapped an arm around my waist before I could hit the ground. I glanced down and felt my stomach drop.

A pool of blood had spread out from under the door of the room next to us.

“Don’t look,” Nico warned, but it was too late.

Three nurses lay sprawled on the floor, their faces frozen in shock, each with a bullet wound to the head. In the bed nearby, a patient had three bloody holes marring his chest.

Tears pricked at the corners of my eyes, but I couldn’t afford to break down. We had to keep moving.

As we pressed on, more bodies came into view, scattered down the corridor like forgotten dolls.

Just as we were about to round a corner, a crack of gunfire echoed through the hall. Bullets whizzed past us, one almost clipping Nico’s head. He ducked, pulling me down with him.

“Stay low!” he whispered. There was no turning back now; we had to find a way out.

Nico glanced over my shoulder at Miguel, panic etched on his face. “We need to retreat. They’re coming from all sides, and there are too many of them.”

Miguel dashed backward as we sprinted toward the stairwell. We shut the door behind us with a loud bang and charged up the flight of stairs.

A startled cry escaped my lips as the door burst open and masked men flooded in. We raced up to the fifth landing, and Nico positioned himself in front of me.

“Get in the corner, Gigi,” he instructed.

I rushed to the closest corner and held my gun out.

Suddenly, gunshots were going off like crazy, and I feared this would attract shooters if there were any. A big, lumberjack looking man tackled Nico to the ground while Miguel and Stone traded blows with the other attackers.

“The girl is on the fifth landing hallway!” a voice bellowed.

“Gigi, run!” Nico grunted, delivering a powerful punch to the man’s jaw, sending a spray of blood across the room.

“No!” I protested, my finger tightening on the trigger. I aimed at the large man advancing toward Nico when he roared, “Go, damnit! Fucking go!”

The frantic expression on his face compelled me to obey. I raced up to the sixth floor, heart pounding, and flung open the door. I searched for any sign of danger before I bolted down the dimly lit hallway.

I spotted an ajar door and dashed inside, slamming it shut and locking it with a click. I backed away until I hit a metal rack, my breath coming in sharp gasps as I scanned the cramped utility closet.

Gunshots shattered the silence, and I dropped to the floor as bullets whizzed through the air. I pressed my head against the cool tiles, clutching my gun. Voices rumbled outside, deep and menacing, followed by the crackle of a walkie-talkie.

Time seemed to stretch as I lay there thinking about Nico, my father, Liam, Dante, Malik, Miguel—worry gnawed at my insides, each face a reminder of what was at stake. The doorknob rattled, and I went still. I held my breath, every muscle tensed, waiting for whatever would come next.

Shit. I didn’t even know how many bullets I had left.

“Damn it,” a low grunt echoed from the other side of the door.

It sounded like Stone.

“Gigi?” He called from behind the door.

I shot up from my hiding spot, moving toward the door, but hesitation gripped me. How could he possibly know I was in here? Where were Nico and Miguel? I backed away, gun still trained on the door, heart pounding.

“Gigi, listen. It’s Stone. Open up.”