Page 66 of Twisted Fate

The blond jerks and spins, then falls to the deck.

I hear the roar of a second motor and see a boatload of men speeding toward us.

The remaining gunmen race for the boat that brought them, leaping across the distance as the motor revs. Their boat speeds away.

“Leo!” Sabina yells, struggling to her feet and staggering to the spot where Leo went into the water. She crumples to her knees.

“Get his gun,” Damian orders, then dives into the waves.

Sabina crawls to where the blond gunman lies and grabs his weapon. He doesn’t move. I don’t know if I killed him. And I don’t know what to feel if I did.

Seconds crawl by with no sign of Leo. Damian surfaces for air then dives again.

I glance down at my flowy sundress. It will be dead weight in the water. I set down the gun and peel off my dress. Then I run down the stairs and dive off the swim deck into the cold ocean.

An hour ago—was it only an hour ago?—Leonardo Russo threatened me with a knife, strangled me until I blacked out, and I’m am fairly certain he would have killed me.

But he’s Damian’s brother and Damian loves him.

Losing his father gutted him.

I don’t want him to have to grieve another person he loves. I don’t want him to suffer. I can’t bear it if he suffers.

I surface and gasp another lungful of air, then dive again. As the water closes over me, I realize just how dangerously deep I’ve fallen.

25

Damian

“Alina!” I roar, treading water, searching the surface. What the fuck is she doing in the water? I’m torn between searching for Leo and searching for her. “Leo!”

“Damian,” Sabina calls to me from the swim deck. “He’s here. Leo’s here. He’s safe.”

I glance over and see my brother pulling himself from the water. He staggers to his feet, his clothing drenched, a bloodstain stretching down his right pant leg. Behind him is Luca, his hair matted and bloody. But they’re both alive and upright. I’ll take it.

I scan the surface of the water. “Alina!” Where did I last see her? Where did she go down? “Alina!”

“Here,” she says surfacing in front of me, breathing hard. “I can’t find him, Damian. I’m so sorry. I can’t find him.”

I don’t waste breath on words. I grab her and yank her to me, dragging her through the water toward the swim deck. Leo reaches down and offers his hand as I push her toward him.

She looks startled for a second, but takes his hand, then clambers up the ladder. I follow.

“Leo,” I snarl at my brother as I climb the ladder to the swim platform, tamping down the emotions that threaten to swamp me. Anger. Fear. Joy. Relief. Too many feelings to tease apart and name.

“You must be pissed that I saved myself,” he says, ruffling my hair like I’m a five-year-old. “You wanted all the glory, right?”

His words are light, but his expression is anything but.

Sabina throws herself against me and I pull her close in a one-armed embrace, but my eyes are on Alina where she stands to one side, hugging herself. She shot a man to protect me. She dove into the ocean to save my brother, the man who only this morning threatened to kill her, put his hands around her throat, strangled her.

She stands in only her bra and panties, her blond hair wet and tangled, her body shaking.

For an instant, we stare at each other, saying nothing.

Then I set my sister aside and yank Alina against me. My mouth is on hers before I can even think about it. She sags against me and I scoop her in my arms. Without another word, I carry her to our stateroom, cradling her against me.

I slam the door behind me and carry her to the shower, turning on the water and stepping under the pounding, hot stream with her. But I don’t let go of her. I hold her against my heart, half afraid that if I let her go even for a second she’ll disappear.

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