Page 49 of Forbidden Vengeance

The third car’s windshield explodes as I put two rounds through it.

“Mario!” Elena’s scream makes me duck back inside just as we take a corner on two wheels. A bus horn blares as Vincent cuts across four lanes of traffic.

“You good?” I check Elena again, noting how she’s gone pale beneath the blood spray on her face.

“Been better,” she manages through clenched teeth.

“Your driving’s worse than your mood swings.” I bark out a laugh, but more headlights in the side mirror cut it short. Two more cars joining the chase.

“Vincent!”

“Working on it, boss!” He takes another corner so sharp I have to brace against the ceiling. “But we’ve got a problem.”

“Besides the obvious?” I ask sarcastically.

“They’re herding us toward the bridge.” His voice is grim. “Where Matteo’s men will be.”

“Fuck that.” I grab Elena’s purse, ignoring her protest as I dig out her iPhone. Without hesitation, I chuck it out the window.

“Are you insane?” she shrieks, wind whipping her golden hair across her face. “That was my?—”

“They can track your GPS,” I snap, pulling her down as more bullets shatter what’s left of our back window. “Use the burner I gave you.”

“You could have just turned it off!” Elena argues, her face red with anger.

“You really want to argue about this now?” I fire three more shots at our pursuers. One catches a driver in the shoulder, sending his Escalade careening into a hot dog cart. “I’ll buy you ten new phones later.”

Vincent takes us down a service alley, scraping paint off both sides of the car. The move cuts off two of our pursuers, but three more are still on our tail. Bullets rain against the car’s armored panels like lethal hail. Elena clutches the overhead handle as Vincent executes a move that sends us up on two wheels.

“If we survive this,” she grits out, “we’re having a long discussion about your definition of ‘discreet clinic visit.’”

I can’t help but grin at her attempt at sass even while pale with fear. But then more headlights appear ahead of us—Matteo’s signature black SUVs blocking the bridge approach.

“Options?” I demand, reloading my Glock.

“I’m thinking,” Vincent mutters, then suddenly yanks the wheel hard right. We crash through a construction barrier, sending workers diving for cover. “Boss, you’re really not going to like this next part.”

“What—” Elena’s question cuts off in a scream as Vincent aims our car straight for the river. “Mario!”

I grab her close as Vincent accelerates toward the water. “When I say so, take a deep breath!”

“You have lost your fucking mind!” Elena screams but she’s already yanking off her Louboutins, ready to follow my lead despite her terror.

Bullets pepper our car from both directions now—Calabrese behind, DeLuca ahead. The river rushes up to meet us as Vincent floors it, and I notice Elena’s hand has found mine, squeezing hard enough to break bones.

“Now!” I shout, and we all gulp air just as the Mercedes becomes a submarine. The impact hits like a concrete wall. Water rushes in through the bullet holes as we sink into the murky Hudson.

But Vincent’s already triggering the emergency releases, and the doors pop open against the pressure. Elena kicks free like she was born to it, proving once again she’s more than just a society planner.

I follow her sleek form toward the surface, toward the boat I know Marco has waiting nearby. We break the surface gasping, the sounds of chaos on the bridge above us oddly muted by the water in our ears.

“I’m going to kill you,” she sputters, but lets me pull her toward the waiting boat. “Slowly. Painfully.”

“Get in line, little planner.” I hoist her onto the deck where Marco rushes towards us, face pale as he throws a blanket at Elena. “Your ex is trying to kidnap you, my brother wants me dead, and O’Connor’s probably got a price on both our heads by now.”

Her laugh holds a touch of hysteria as she wraps the blanket tightly around her, her teeth starting to chatter. “Just another Tuesday then?”

17

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