Page 93 of Dangerous Deception

Rolling over, I twist my head into my shoulder and start trying to use the pressure of my shoulder to dislodge the gag. If they take me out of here, I’ll never see him again!

Just as the gag finally slides past my lips, my captor grabs a fistful of my hair and hauls me upward, drawing a scream of pain from my mouth.

Raffaele freezes, his fist poised over the bloodied, slack mouth of one of Pascal’s guards. His head snaps up and somehow, despite the darkness of shadows surrounding me, he looks at me.

Right at me.

Our gazes meet, and my racing heart jumps painfully in my chest while I renew my struggles against the guard fighting to drag me away.

“Raffaele!”

“Adelina!”

The guard under his fist is kicked away into Pascal, causing him to stumble and fall. Then Raffaele is sprinting toward me at full speed. His jacket trails behind him, his hair catches in the air and streaks back, and his shirt becomes like a second skin with how fast he’s sprinting.

The guard dragging me gasps in alarm and drops me. I fall like a rock, landing on my shoulder with a pained grunt, but I roll over immediately.

Then a gunshot rings out like a bark, echoing all around the warehouse, and Raffaele drops like a rock to the ground.

He doesn’t move.

“No!” A deeply pained, agonized scream tears out of me in my next breath and I force myself up onto my knees.

Pascal stands a few feet away, surrounded by the bodies of some of his guards with his gun raised and pointed at where Raffaele was a moment ago.

“No! No, no, no! You son of a bitch!” I screech as hot tears flood my eyes and blur my world. Sharp grief cracks open my chest as I stare at Raffaele’s unmoving body. “I hate you! I’m going to kill you, Pascal. I’m going to rid this world of your?—”

“Ow.” Raffaele plants one hand on the ground and slowly picks himself up, cutting off my furious tirade toward my father. My captor charges forward with his fist raised and he tackles Raffaele just as he makes it back to his feet.

“Raffaele!”

I look away to scan the darkness, seeking anything that will help me free my hands, but there’s nothing. Only cardboard, old crates, and some upturned, rusted paint cans.

“Fuck!” I have to help him. I have to! Kicking around in the dirt, I scramble about scanning the darkness for anything that can help me while Raffaele and my captor brawl against the shelves. Then, a sudden deafening crash erupts in the warehouse and I instinctually throw myself to the ground, fearing the worst.

I close my eyes and my mind runs rampant.

This is it. This is the end. This is how we die, and my father will walk out of here with his head held high and yet another lie on his foul lips.

“Adelina.”

Raffaele’s voice sounds so clear and loud in my mind that it’s almost like he’s right next to me. My chest throbs at the notion and I rack my brain for anything Caterina ever told me that can help me slip out of my bindings.Dislocating my thumb, maybe?

“Adelina.” His voice is louder, and warmth touches my cheek. I flinch away, and my eyes snap open only to come face to face with Raffaele.

“Raffaele?”

His lips crash into mine and he kisses me fiercely, cradling the back of my head with one hand and winding his other arm around my body. He pulls me up against him, kissing me like it’s our first and last kiss all wrapped up into one.

I can’t breathe. My head spins from exhilaration and confusion while everything else is drowned out by the thundering racing of my pulse in my ears. I curl my hands into fists, digging my nails into my palms and kissing Raffaele back with all the power of every unspoken feeling I hold in my heart.

If there’s not going to be time, then hopefully, the kiss tells him everything I never got a chance to say.

The kiss breaks but Raffaele remains in my space with his forehead pressed against mine, panting softly.

“Raffaele.” Tears flood my eyes once more and his handsome face blurs. “I—” Suddenly, the rapid pop of gunfire catches my attention. I look past Raffaele to see what feels like hundreds of his men pouring into the warehouse led by Vito, who’s currently gleefully forcing Pascal to his knees.

“Are you alright? Did they hurt you?”

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