Page 104 of Falling for the Enemy

I have to find my woman.

The dead gangster said Stefano had her. I pray he’s full of shit. But if he isn’t, I’ll stop at nothing and do anything to get her back. Even if it means taking her place beneath the guillotine.

“Ari!”

My twisting heart plummets, the darkness that resides in me quickly rising when I spot her rifle, along with two unspent magazines on the floor. The area she’d occupied by the destroyed window is vacant.

Stefano has what’s mine.

I feel it deep in my gut.

Needing to hold it together, I bite my tongue until I taste blood, forcibly stopping the string of curses that sit on its tip from rolling off as I pick up her gun, the grip still warm from her soft hand.

Adrenaline surges through me, numbing my pain as my pulse pounds, nearly deafening me. I was a mere boy when Melendez’s soldiers murdered my mother, trafficked my sister, and kidnapped me, stealing our futures.

Through pain and terror, they spent years sculpting me into the ruthless kingpin I now am—the vicious killer who’s about to use every skill he was taught as a feared cartel soldier to destroy the bastardo that has his woman.

I hope Stefano’s ready to feel the fire because Hell is where he’s headed. But just like Angelo did, the pendejo is going to spend some time with me before he’s sent head-first into eternal damnation, screaming in pain.

From beside the window, I scan the property. The side of the estate that faces the river is one I know well. With her seated on my lap, I’ve spent countless nights on Manzana’s peaceful balcony, the both of us watching the Ashley’s dark blue waters ripple as we talk, lost in each other’s company.

It’s where I soon plan to propose.

With a ring I’ve already bought.

What I see when my gaze hits the wrecked gate sends chunks of ice racing through my veins. A stunned Ari is being dragged across the gravel-covered ground, Stefano’s meaty hand clutched in her blonde hair, the slew of gold rings he wears glinting in the afternoon light.

Dress ripped, her vest is gone.

Instinct immediately takes over.

I race for the door, meeting Casper in the front hall. Rifle in hand, the murderous delirium etched on his face mirrors the derangement that possesses me, erasing every bit of control I ever harnessed.

My demons have fully taken the reins.

“He fucking has her.” I fall in step beside him, the sound of gunfire growing louder the closer we move to the door. “And he’s headed for a vehicle parked on the opposite side of the gate.”

With my chip still embedded between her shoulder blades, I have the ability to track her wherever Stefano may take her. But that won’t do a fucking thing to help me if he kills her before I can save her.

We stop at the closed front door.

Why Sergei’s men didn’t blow a hole into it versus the dining room window baffles me. Like La Famiglia, the pendejos clearly aren’t trained.

They’re the perfect match.

“Viktor is with the girls, and Nikolai is thirty seconds behind me. We’ll provide cover fire and clear your path.” Casper presses his back to the wall opposite the one I’m leaning against. “You just get to her.”

I nod.

“On the count of three. One, two—”

He jerks open the door and rushes outside. Doing just as he said, he fires one round after another, piercing enemy flesh and dropping bodies.

When I’m halfway to her, Ari’s dazed eyes seem to find me, her lips parting. She’s hurt. I don’t know how badly, but it’s clear the blast did more damage to her than me.

I’m coming, baby, I mentally tell her.

Just hang on.

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