Page 121 of The Enforcer's Revenge

The first thing Brianna felt was relief. For a fraction of a second, the stabbing in her arm was gone, but then Carina screamed. Brianna opened her eyes to see the blood splattered on Carina’s face and chest, like she was caught in some weird paint gun battle.

“Oh my God.” Tino grabbed Brianna’s arm like it was an instinct, both hands clasped painfully over the cut as he called out, “Nova!”

Brianna stared at Tino’s hands, seeing the blood coat them, gushing in time with the pulse of her heartbeat, making everything seem very far away.

“Don’t let go, stronzo!” Nova was suddenly in Brianna’s face, shouting at Tino when he tried to back up, “Hold it tighter.” He was pulling at his shirt, fighting with the buttons. “Tighter! As much pressure as you can.”

“I’ll hurt her,” Tino argued.

“She’s got minutes. Hurt her,” Nova growled as he got one arm free of his shirt. “Get her to lie down, arm above her head, but don’t let go.”

Brianna heard the genuine fear in Nova’s voice and laid down on her own accord, letting Tino keep his grasp on her arm. “Am I dying?” she whispered to him in understanding.

“No, he’s just being Nova.” Tino shook his head frantically. “You’re not dying.”

“We have to call 911,” Carina said in a panic. “We were attacked. None of this is our fault.”

“We have my car,” Tony offered. “We parked it around the corner from the garages.”

“We don’t have time to drive her.” Nova wrapped the long sleeve of his shirt around her arm and pulled it so tightly that Brianna gasped. Nova ignored her and barked at the others,“Find me everything you didn’t give to Dr. Acciai. There are still a lot of emergency supplies down here. Get all of them and put them in front of me.”

All the while, Nova fought to tighten the shirt, so much so that Brianna was sure he was cutting the skin. Tino was still clutching at her arm, and she started shifting against his hold, trying to take a breath without the pain.

Tino kept whispering in her ear, “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. Oh, cazzo, I’m sorry.”

“You have to keep still, Brianna. Moving will make it worse. The nail ripped open an artery,” Nova coached. “We need to block the bleeding, and you’re going to stay quiet. If you scream, they’re all coming down here at once, and then we’re fucked. We can’t fight them and save you too.Capisce?”

Brianna nodded and whispered, “Okay,” while silently praying to get out of this basement. She steeled her body to stay motionless, making it a challenge, even if everything in her wanted to get away.

She bit her lip to keep quiet, so desperate she tasted blood. Tino kept pressing frantic kisses against her temple with more whispered apologies before he finally lifted his head, clearly looking at Nova.

“Tell me you’re fixing her. I need to hear you promise,” Tino growled at his brother. “Dimmelo!”

“You’re distracting me and upsetting her. Handle your shit, Valentino,” Nova snapped rather than promise. “That right there, Carmen. In that bag, those foiled packages. Open several of those. That’s what we needed. Grab that bottle of antiseptic and those wrapped packages of gauze. Merda.” His hand slipped while tightening his shirt around her arm. “Carina, call 911, tell them she fell out by the shed and caught her arm on one of the boards. Do it from the garages so the operator can’t hear what’s happening down here. We’ll meet you up there. Make sure theyknow to come to the back entrance. Don’t let them pull up to the front of the house.”

Brianna’s heartbeat was thundering, her breathing shallow. She blinked, seeing the pile of medical supplies scattered over the ground while Carmen started ripping open packages.

Nova’s voice was still barking in the background, only in Italian now. It was strange because it all seemed unreal. Like a cartoon or a game, not life and death. She kept thinking she should say something, tell them something, but she couldn’t think of what.

Tino was physically shaking over her as he growled at his brother, “I won’t make it out if you don’t save her, Casanova.”

“I’m trying, but this is going to be fucking horrific.” Nova pulled the shirt tighter once more. “Okay, we have to do this. Carmen, pour it over my hands and her arm. Tino, you’re going have to suck it up and keep her quiet. Tony?—”

“Do your thing,” a voice came from the stairs. “I got you.”

Brianna tensed, but in the next second, the pain was everywhere, razor-sharp and all-encompassing. She had been working so hard on staying quiet and calm, like Nova asked. She still screamed; she just couldn’t help herself. It was something raw, primal, and completely out of her control.

Then she was choking on the agony, silenced by the hand clasped tightly over her mouth. The smell of Tino, sweat, and blood flooded her senses, but it was too late.

The sound got out.

She barely noticed. It stopped mattering as she found herself fighting their hold on her. Her chest felt unbearably tight with Tino’s weight crushing her, and the hand on her mouth making the world turn gray.

In the end, quitting wasn’t as hard as she always thought it’d be.

Brianna gave up fairly easily.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR