Page 97 of Knocked Up by my Best Friend's Brothers

“Then it’s the place to be,” I conclude. “Get ready to deploy. Three minutes. By now, word must’ve gotten back to the Mancinis that they didn’t kill us.”

Nathan checks his automatic rifle and gives me a cold look. “Oh, they know we’re coming. They just don’t know where and how.”

We get out of the car, carefully checking our surroundings. Under the cover of night, we head for the service entrance of the apartment building, keeping to the shadows and moving in single file.

One by one, we get past the small metal gate and slip between the walls. Once we’re in front of the door, we prepare for the first breach.

I signal to my brothers. Three, two, one.

I go in first, and they’re supposed to follow my lead. But I’m stopped in my tracks and forced to stare down the barrel of a sawed-off shotgun pointed right at my head. My pulse accelerates as I quickly register the unexpected.

They were waiting for us, after all.

“Nice of you to join us, gentlemen,” Vince Mancini says.

“Guess you assholes are smarter than you look,” River mutters from behind.

“Put the weapons down and you might get to spend an extra minute with your brother’s head before I blow it clean off.”

We’re surrounded.

Six men with semiautomatic pistols approach us from the sides and from the staircase. The smell of dampness and mold fills my nostrils and turns my stomach inside out as my mind starts to recalculate our odds of survival and rescue. They don’t look good.

But the fact that Vince isn’t eager to shoot us on sight tells me something.

“What are we doing, Vince?” I ask.

Nathan curses under his breath as Vince forces him and River to surrender their weapons. I thought we’d be one step ahead of them for once, but I guess they still had an ace up their sleeve.

“We’re going to have a reunion,” Vince replies.

Good. That buys us a few more minutes.

32

Christa

Ipush a piece of wire into the door lock, wiggling it around and hoping for the best. The bed is old and practically falling apart, so breaking off a piece of the spring wasn’t hard to do. But the sound of approaching footsteps makes me jump away from the door and back up against the cold window. I slip the wire in my back pocket, cutting my finger in the process.

Rain patters on the thick glass. Thunder rumbles in the distance, flashes of lightning dance across the sky. My heart is beating a million miles a minute as I wonder if this is it. I’d hoped I’d have more time to attempt an escape. I’m worried sick about Cassius, River, and Nathan. For the past couple of hours, I’ve been praying for their safety.

The door opens.

Alexandra walks in with a broad, sickening smile. “Did you miss me?”

“Not really, no.”

“That’s a shame. And I even brought you a present. It turned out way better than I had hoped, to be honest,” she says.

Vince comes in next, and he’s not alone. The Hawthorne brothers are with him, their hands up as Mancini goons keep guns pointed at their heads. I would jump for joy if it weren’t for my current situation, but I can still breathe a sigh of relief upon seeing them alive and in one piece.

“You’re okay,” Cassius says, giving me a soft smile.

I nod slowly, then frown at the wound on Nathan’s cheek. “Areyouokay?”

“Oh, yes, they survived Vince’s bombs,” Alexandra giggles, then looks at her brother. “I told you it would be a waste of good C4.”

“It got them here, didn’t it? It’s what you wanted after you changed your mind about twenty times along the way,” Vince grumbles as he leans against the wall, shotgun resting beside him. “Now let’s be done with it and get back to business. We’ve got damage control to deal with before Jonas hears about this.”

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