Page 14 of Salvatore

“No. My parents’ place.”

Confused but in no position to argue about needing to get out of here, I accept. Whatever she’s collecting must be important, but the sly smirk on her face tells me Silver’s cooking up a plan of her own.

Here’s hoping whatever it is won’t have to come to fruition.

9

SILVER

Dense trees, still covered in last night’s snow, tower around me as I drive down the long, narrow road leading back to the Lion’s Den.

Against my wishes to drive together, Salvatore insisted we take separate cars on the off-chance something happened to him on the road. After a lengthy back and forth outside my parents’ place, I relented and accepted his wishes.

He knows what we’re walking into, after all, and this is new to me.

“There’s a roadblock up ahead,” Salvatore’s voice comes through my car’s Bluetooth system.

We started a call the second we got into separate vehicles. The rational part of me understands that it’s so we can keep in contact and make sure we’re moving along smoothly.

“Police?” I ask, gulping nervously.

“Black cars. No lights.” His brake lights shine as the cars come into my view. A heavily armed man waves his arm towardSalvatore’s car, motioning that he get out of the road. “I want you to keep on driving. Go to the Lion’s Den and find Dante Vitorri. He’ll know what to do.”

“Sal, I’m not—” He kills the call as I drive by, and I watch two of the armed men approach his window with raised guns.

I continue staring at them through my rearview mirror as I continue down the road. Terror nips at my heels, and every inch of me wants to turn away as my greatest fears start to become a reality.

What if they shoot him where he’s sitting? How could I live with myself if I watched it through the tiny mirror hanging above my head?

I need to do something. I can’t just leave him here alone.

And I’ve got the perfect solution to our problem. I keep the men in their black cars in focus until they become nothing more than tiny ants moving Salvatore from his car to their trucks. When they’re barely visible, I pull my Jeep off the road and hide it inside the tree line.

Shoving my hand into the backseat, I grab the leather-bound rifle I collected from my parent’s place.

“Alright, Bucky,” I whisper to the gun, feeling almost crazy doing so. “Let’s see why Dad loves you so much.”

Jumping out of the driver’s seat, I take my position among the trees. I train Bucky’s scope down the length of the road until I find my targets. The last few heavily armored men get into the back of the car, and it starts to move toward me.

God, the things I do for love.

Wait a second. Is that what this is? Having it play in the back of my mind is one thing, but actually using the L-word makes my cheeks burn so hot, even the frigid cold can’t permeate them.

I could’ve never guessed it would come my way under such peculiar circumstances, either. Shut in from a snowstorm, meeting a man trying to escape his own past, only to find myself training a scope on the black, hulking monstrosity of a car heading my way.

Gotta love life’s little treasures, even if they aren’t always easy to grab.

“Okay,” I draw a long breath and exhale it into a thin white mist. “Time to be brave.”

Bang!

The first shot rings out, and birds instantly squawk overhead as they rush to fly off to safety.

Bang!

I fire a second in case I missed my target with the first. But I’ve always been a pretty good shot, and Salvatore’s abductors start swerving ahead, coming to a sudden stop when their vehicle smashes into one of the huge blue spruce trees on my side of the road.

My victory is short-lived as three of the four men who escorted Salvatore into the car emerge from the front seat. They use their doors as cover, aiming the barrels of their assault rifles in my direction, and open fire without hesitation.

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