Page 90 of Dark Mafia Vows

And then Dario’s voice breaks through, raw and desperate. “This isn’t fucking goodbye, Ginny!”

Then the chaos ensures.

Something clatters to the ground. There’s a sudden hissing sound, and I hear someone yell. My eyes fly open just as thick, white smoke explodes around us, swallowing everything in an instant.

“What the fuck?” I hear Rinaldo growl just as the world around us explodes into a blinding, choking haze of white.

Everything is chaos. Men shout and stumble, blinded by the smoke. There’s shouting, cursing, and confusion all around me. I can’t see anything, and I can’t hear anything but the pounding of my own heart.

Rinaldo and Rafe’s voices overlap each other, barking commands and curses. Just then, I feel Rinaldo’s grip on my arm loosen. I don’t think. I wrench myself free, falling to the ground in a heap. Pain shoots through my body as my knees hit the dirt. But I don’t care. I’m coughing, choking on the smoke as I crawl blindly away from Rinaldo, away from death.

“Dario!” I scream, my voice hoarse and desperate. He must be looking for me. My tied hands scrape against the rough ground as I grunt, using my legs to push my body forward.

I can’t see him. I can’t see anyone, but I hear the shouts and the panic of men stumbling around in the smoke. My body aches, every muscle burning as I struggle to get on my feet. Desperation fuels me as I get on my knees in an attempt tosteady my body. I plant one foot forward before propelling the rest of my body to stand up.

Hope blossoms in my chest as I begin to move. I can be with Dario again. We can survive this. But first, I have to find him, and we have to get out of here.

“Not so fast,” I hear Rinaldo growl somewhere behind me.

His rough hand grabs my ankle, yanking me back to the ground. I scream as sand and dirt fly into my open mouth. Panic surges through me as I kick out wildly...

And then—BANG.

38

DARIO

The gun slips from my hand, clattering to the ground as I surge forward, desperately searching for Ginny through the thick smoke. I’d heard her scream my name before that cry of fear pierced the chaos.

In a moment of panic, I fired into the sky, hoping to instill terror in her captors. My heart races in my chest as I wonder if any of them had gotten to her again.

The smoke is thick, burning my lungs and stinging my eyes, but all I care about is finding her. I release a sharp, relieved breath as her voice rings out again. She’s still safe. She’s still here. My heart pounds as I push through the haze, my hand waving the smoke away so I can see clearer.

That’s when I see her.

Her body is slumped on the ground, coughing and struggling against the ropes binding her hands together. My breath catches as I rush towards her, dropping on my knees beside her.

“Dario?” she asks as I immediately lift her into my arms. She doesn’t wait to see my face before a relieved sob escapes her lips. “Oh my god, Dario. I thought...”

“You’re okay, Ginny,” I say through gritted teeth, something cracking within me at the sound of her broken voice. “We’re okay.”

I cradle her fragile body in my arms as I carry her out of the smoke. She rests her head against my chest, and my heart clenches painfully when I feel her tears soaking through the light material of my shirt. We reach where my car is parked. I open the back door, place her in a sitting position to face me by the door, and sink onto my knees before her.

A mixture of anger and pain cuts through my chest as I observe her face. She’s pale, her face streaked with dirt, blood, and tears. My hands tremble as I tear at the knots I realize are still tied around her wrists. She looks different—malnourished, weak, broken...

But she’s still alive. Relief floods through me, but my anger still burns right beneath it.

I open my mouth to speak, to tell her I’m sorry for having her dragged into my mess and for making her life miserable since the moment we met. But my throat feels heavy, and I’m seconds away from breaking into tears. Because I can’t resist, I pull her into my arms again, holding her tight as if she might disappear. She clutches me, shaking, her fingers clutching at my shirt as if she’s afraid.

“Dario,” she whispers again, her voice weak, but I hear the relief in it.

“I’m here, baby.” My voice cracks as a lone tear slips down my eyes. “You’re safe now.”

I press my forehead to hers, trying to calm the storm inside me, but anger still burns in my chest.

Before I can say anything more, another panicked voice breaks through the smoke. “Dario!”

I look up to see Lorenzo pushing through the smoke, his eyes wide with panic as he spots us. He hurries over, his gazeimmediately locking onto Ginny. As he reaches us, she pulls away from me and turns to look at her brother. There’s a fleeting hesitation, a moment where he almost stops, as if unsure how to approach his sister after everything.

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