Page 30 of Plus-Size Bratva Possession (Vadim Bratva #12)

My heart hammered against my ribs. Ricardo’s promise to make us suffer hangs in the air like poison.

My head, knees, and wrists hurt beyond belief, but it was nothing compared to the terror of watching Gastone offer himself up for me.

I'd never seen him like that before, and it scared me more than any knife against my skin because I knew how capable he was of foolishly dying for me.

“Take them to the back room,” Ricardo ordered his men. “I need to make a call to our friends. They'll want to know we have Ajello.”

They marched us through the warehouse to a small office at the back, before throwing us inside and slamming the door shut.

“Are you okay?” Gastone asked, shifting to face me despite his bound hands.

“I'm fine,” I lied. “You?”

“Been better.” He gave me a tight smile that didn't reach his eyes. “I'm so sorry, Elena. This is my fault.”

Even now, in a situation so bad, he blamed himself. “This is not your fault,” I said, ferociously. If he didn’t defend himself, I decided, I would defend him.

He moved around until his back touched mine, and I wondered what he was up to. “Listen to me,” he whispered urgently. “Dom knows we were taken. Help will come, but we need to buy time.”

“How?” I whispered, feeling hope flicker on.

“See if you can reach into my back pocket. I have a pocket knife. Pity they didn’t pat us down.”

I felt utter relief and let out a snort. “Amateurs.”

Gastone chuckled. “Hurry,” he said.

I searched awkwardly with my bound hands until I found it. “Got it.”

“Good girl,” he breathed. “Now cut my ropes.”

I fumbled to open the knife, and with my back against his, I began sawing at his bindings as best I could without risking him or myself injury.

“If we get out of this,” I whispered as I worked, “I'm never letting you out of my sight again.”

“Is that a promise?”

“Yes,” I said, meaning it with everything in me. The rope finally gave way, and Gastone quickly turned and took the knife from me.

When I was free, he cupped my face gently, his thumb brushing away a smear of blood. “I meant what I said out there. I'd die for you, Elena.”

My throat tightened. “If you talk like that, I’ll kill you myself.”

Gastone shook his head, beaming from ear to ear, before pulling away and moving to the door. “I can hear two guards talking.”

He pulled away and scanned the room, but didn’t tell me what he was thinking. “Here's what we do. I'll make noise, like you're hurt. When they come in, I'll take them out.”

“That's your plan?” I whispered, incredulous. “There are at least a dozen more men out there, plus Ricardo.”

“We only need to get past these two to have a shot at the exit,” he said, already breaking off a chair leg to use as a weapon. “Trust me.”

I did, God help me. I nodded.

Gastone positioned himself behind the door while I sat on the floor, ready to play my part. He gave me a nod, and I began to moan loudly.

“Help!” he cried. “Please! She's bleeding badly!”

I heard shuffling outside, and the door opened. And one of the men stepped inside.

“What's—”

Gastone struck fast, bringing the chair leg down on the back of the man's head. He went down hard as the second guard rushed in. Gastone slammed the second guard's head against the wall, and the man crumpled.

“We need to move,” he said, taking one of the guard’s fallen guns. “Stay close to me.”

We slipped out of the room, and Gastone led the way with his gun raised. When we couldn’t find any doors, we realized we would have to cross the main warehouse floor to reach the exit.

“Ready?” Gastone whispered, and I nodded, though I was petrified.

We made it halfway across the open space, ducking behind crates and containers, before we were noticed.

“They're out! The prisoners are escaping!”

The next thing I knew, there were gunshots everywhere. Gastone returned fire, pulling me along toward the exit that now seemed impossibly far away.

“Run!” he shouted. “I'll cover you!”

I sprinted for the door with heart in my throat, when Ricardo stepped out from behind a container directly in my path. I skidded in shock, and he grabbed my arm.

“Going somewhere?” he asked, yanking me against him and putting a knife at my throat.

“Ajello!” he shouted. “Drop the gun or I'll cut her open right now!”

I saw Gastone freeze as he lowered the gun slowly.

“Let her go, Ricardo,” Gastone said calmly, buying time.

“Drop. The. Gun.” Ricardo pressed the knife harder against my skin, and I felt a warm trickle of blood.

Gastone placed the gun on the ground and raised his hands. “You have me,” he said. “Let her go.”

Just then, one of Ricardo’s men came and forced Gastone to his knees.

Ricardo laughed, the sound harsh and unhinged. “Why would I do that when this is so perfect? You, watching helplessly while I hurt her. Just like I had to watch Adriana choose you over me, again and again.”

“Please, no…” Gastone cried.

He shifted the knife from my throat to my cheek, the point digging in. I closed my eyes, bracing for the pain while Gastone roared with fury.

A gunshot rang out, and Ricardo's grip on me loosened. More shots followed in quick succession. I opened my eyes to see chaos erupting around us. Men were pouring into the warehouse from all sides.

Our families. They were here.

Dom was at the front, shooting at the men at the back. Caspian, Federico, and Dante were right beside him, while Carlo and Dino ran in from another entrance we must have missed. Ricardo held on to me tighter, taking me hostage.

“Stay back!” he screamed. “I'll kill her!”

In the confusion, Gastone had taken down the man guarding him and was now on his feet.

“Ricardo!” he called. “Let her go and face me like a man!”

Ricardo laughed. “You think I'm stupid? You think I'll just—”

I didn't stop to think. I brought my heel down hard on his foot and jabbed my elbow back into his stomach with all my strength. He grunted in pain and loosened his grip, and that’s when I managed to pull myself out of his grip.

The next thing I knew, Gastone was on him. He punched Ricardo right across the face, and Ricardo stumbled, before he found his footing and flung his knife wildly in Gastone’s direction. Gastone tried to avoid him, but I screamed when I saw Ricardo manage to cut into Gastone’s arm.

I panicked at the sight of that blood. His blood.

Around us, our brothers were fighting with the Espositos, but I couldn't tear my eyes away from Gastone and Ricardo. Gastone, even with his injured arm, pounced on Ricardo.

Ricardo managed to kick Gastone off him and scramble to his feet. “You took everything from me!” he screamed, lunging at Gastone.

Gastone sidestepped the attack, grabbed Ricardo's hand—the one which held the knife—and twisted until his wrist snapped. Ricardo howled and dropped to his knees. Gastone picked up the knife within seconds and towered over Ricardo.

“You killed an innocent woman you claimed to love,” Gastone said in a voice that promised vengeance. “You killed your own child. You framed Elena's family. You don’t deserve to live. I made a mistake letting you go the last time.”

Ricardo backed away, clutching his broken arm. “Wait, please—”

Ricardo made one last desperate lunge, trying to tackle Gastone. In a blur of movement too fast to follow, Gastone drove the knife up and into Ricardo's chest.

My stomach twisted into a knot as I watched him do that. Part of me wanted to look away, but I couldn't. This man had caused so much pain, had tried to kill us both.

Time seemed to slow. Ricardo's eyes widened in shock, and then he went limp, dropping to the floor.

It was over in seconds. Gastone turned immediately, seeking me, and when he saw me watching, something in his expression softened.

“Elena,” he said, reaching for me.

I ran to him, throwing my arms around him. He clutched me just as tightly, his face buried in my hair.

“The Espositos are retreating!” I heard Caspian shout from somewhere.

Sure enough, the remaining men were falling back, abandoning their dead and wounded. Our families had them outgunned and outmanned.

“Let them go,” Gastone bellowed at the others. “We'll deal with them later.”

He turned back to me, brushing hair from my face. “Are you hurt?”

I shook my head, though my entire body ached and the cut on my temple was throbbing. “You're bleeding,” I said, gesturing to his arm.

“It's nothing,” he insisted, though the gash looked deep.

My brothers and Gastone's approached us, all looking worse for wear but alive. There was an uncomfortable moment where no one seemed to know what to say—these two families who had been enemies for so long, now fighting side by side.

“You came,” I said to my brothers, my voice thick with emotion.

“Of course we did,” Federico said, as if there had never been any question.

“Dom tracked your phone,” Carlo explained to Gastone. “Called us both.”

“Smart man,” Gastone nodded, his arm tightening around my waist as if he couldn't bear to let me go.

“We should go,” Dino said, eyeing the dead bodies around us. “Police will be here soon with all that gunfire.”

Gastone nodded. “Elena comes home with me,” he said, his tone leaving no room for argument.

To my surprise, my brothers didn't protest. Gio just nodded. “We'll clean this up,” he said. “You two get those injuries looked at.”

***

Once home, we made our way to the bathroom where the first aid supplies were kept. The bright lights revealed the full extent of our injuries—my temple was still crusted with blood, and the knife had left a shallow cut on my neck. Gastone looked even worse.

“Sit,” I ordered, pointing to the edge of the bathtub. For once, he didn't argue.

I wet a washcloth and gently began cleaning the blood from his face. He winced as I dabbed at his split lip, but didn't pull away.

“You need stitches for this,” I said, examining the cut on his arm.

“Later,” he said, his eyes never leaving my face. “Let me take care of you first.”

“Gastone—”

“Please,” he said softly. “I need to do this.”

I relented, sitting on the toilet lid while he tended to the gash on my temple. His touch was impossibly gentle as he cleaned away the dried blood and applied bandages.

“I thought I was going to lose you,” he said, his voice low and raw. “When Ricardo had that knife at your throat, I...”

“But you didn't,” I reminded him. “We're here. We're okay.”

He shook his head. “It was too close. If our families hadn't arrived when they did—”

“But they did,” I interrupted, placing my hand over his. “Because of you. Because you made sure Dom could track us.”

He leaned forward, resting his forehead against mine. “I can't lose you, Elena. I won't survive it.”

“You won't have to,” I promised. “I'm not going anywhere.”

We finished patching each other up in silence, the simple act of caring for one another saying more than words could.