Page 86 of Falling for the Enemy

Sticking her arm out the window as I step on the gas and pull back onto the unpaved road, she signals for the SUVs of Kings to follow.

They obey and fall into line behind us creating a six-car convoy, with Casper and Nikolai hugging our bumper.

Together, we drive straight for La Famiglia.

* * *

A head-on assault.

With numerous security cameras surrounding the farm and guards posted at the only entrance, the hard-nosed attack strategy Manzana chose is resulting in chaos.

Plumes of dust surround the vehicle, making visibility next to nil after we bust through a dilapidated wooden fence, destroying it entirely and crossing the barren pasture it protected. Reaching the agreed-upon checkpoint, our convoy splits, each SUV heading in a different direction.

In moments, La Famiglia will be surrounded.

Pulling her warm hand from mine, she lifts a two-way radio to her lips, the stitched cut on the bottom one already showing signs of healing. The injury doesn’t seem to faze her.

Just as her side doesn’t.

“Start firing and take out everyone you see!” she shouts into the device, the earplugs I forced her to wear tucked inside her diamond-adorned ears. “Everyone except Stefano!”

Pulling a pistol from the console, she racks it, chambering a bullet before slipping it into a small holster that’s velcroed to her ankle. Then she grabs her rifle from where she placed it on the dash before climbing in the car, holding it close against her.

“Krasavchik, drive straight to the front door. I want that cowardly mudak to see exactly who it is that’s coming for him.”

Rounds fired from the direction of the farmhouse hit the windshield, deflecting off the bulletproof glass. “Sniper on the second floor, far right side!” Benito shouts from the backseat, already rolling down his window. “Jefe, take a hard left, I’ll handle the hijo de puta!”

I nod. “Say when.”

“Now!”

Pinning Ari to her seat with my right arm, I jerk the wheel to the left with my other, whipping the rear end of the SUV around. One shot. That’s all it takes for my lieutenant to eliminate the target.

“Hold on!”

The vehicle jumps a ditch, our landing jarring. Manzana hisses and grabs the back of her neck. Before the fear that her concussion will worsen can take hold, she shakes it off. With her injuries, she shouldn’t be here.

The point is a moot one to make.

Even if she were on her deathbed, my woman would show up to lead her men into battle. It’s who she is, and I have no desire to stifle that. My only concern is keeping her stubborn ass alive.

Along with free of bullets, if possible.

“Almost there!”

I slam on the brakes, locking the Suburban’s tires, and turn the steering wheel again. Coming to a sliding stop thirty feet in front of the farmhouse’s front porch, I pop open my door and pull Manzana out behind me, shielding her from the gunfire that’s hitting the opposite side of the vehicle.

Benito and Christian follow suit.

“What’s the plan?” the latter asks, back pressed to his now closed door. “Are we going to return fire or sit here like ducks—”

“I need you to attract their attention.”

His eyes widen. “What?”

“You heard me,” I reply, nodding toward a wooden shed that’s one-hundred feet away. “¡Corre!” Red clay kicks up as a bullet hits the ground six feet to my right. “Now!”

“You’re loco! I’m not running—”

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