Page 63 of Sweet Retribution

Which means she went back to where they came from, or she’s deep in the forest. “Marco, you still armed?”

“Yeah.”

“Stay put. We don’t kill him until we have Gia. If he’s got her locked up somewhere, he’s no good to us dead.”

I think back to Lorenzo Parisi and how I tortured him for days, shooting a new body part or slicing a new gash every few hours until we found Gia. He never caved. We got lucky finding Rossi. He screwed up because he acted on impulse.

Much like I did with this plan. If Gia dies because of me...

“I’ll search the vehicle, Tio, you take the boat. Lucca, you’ve got eyes on the field and woods.”

They withdraw their weapons and scout their areas. I point my gun and open the back door to the SUV. Empty. I glance to the floor and see Gia’s shoes. It’s odd how they’re placed not like they were kicked off in haste. They’re next to each other, one lying flat, one still upright.

If she’d been yanked from the backseat they’d be strewn about, maybe on the ground instead of still in the vehicle. It’s as if she took them off intentionally.

“Yacht’s ready to bolt but no one’s on board.”

“Something delayed them.” I pick up one of Gia’s shoes and clutch it to my chest. “She ran. She’s in the woods.”

My woman has legs of fucking gold. Wrapped around my waist, resting on my shoulders, or running side-by-side with me through the vineyard, they’ve done their job beautifully. I have to believe they’ll get her far the fuck away from Rossi and his man.

I take a deep, calming breath and force myself not to react, not to barrel into the woods and shoot the shit out of anyone I see who isn’t Gia. It won’t do her or us any good. We’re in a small area that has service, once we go in, we’ll lose it.

“Can you read a compass?” I take out my phone and open the built-in app. My men nod and do the same. We spend a few minutes mapping out our directions, each taking a different area. We fill in Marco. We have three hours left of sunlight, and agree to meet back then, regardless of the outcome.

If Gia is still in the woods at dusk, we’ll need to reassess and make a new strategy. “Don’t kill them until we have her,” I warn my men. “Shoot their legs, shoot off their fucking balls, I don’t care, but I need them talking.”

I shrug out of my jacket and check my clips one more time.

“We’ll find her, Stone,” Tio says before jogging to the left.

“She’s a fighter,” Lucca says before going right.

I take a moment to breathe, to find my inner focus before racing into the woods. I make it about fifteen paces before I hear gun shots. I crouch and scan the area in front of me. I’m a sitting fucking duck in the tall grass while Antonio has the cover of trees. Dirt picks up next to me as another shot hits the ground, nicking my calf.

I crabwalk back to the SUV, using it as cover. Marco is already out of the vehicle, sitting by the rear wheel.

“Shots from head on. Tio and Lucca made it into the woods. Chances are they weren’t spotted.”

I peer out from behind the rear bumper and four more shots are fired. I don’t know what they’ve hit. No dirt flies, and they missed the SUV. Either Rossi and his man are the worst fucking shot, or they aren’t aiming for me.

I hear two screams coming from the woods. Not Tio or Lucca. I inch my way out from the bumper, suddenly feeling like a coward for hiding while my men are in the thick of it.

Rossi and his man are limping, then on the ground, crawling toward me. Lucca and Tio stand behind them, guns pointed at their backs. I make my way over to them and plant my foot in Rossi’s face.

“Where the fuck is she?”

“The bitch? What the fuck do you care? You got the girls. I came through on my end, and you double-crossed me.”

“Where is she?” I kick him again, and he falls face first in the dirt, blood spraying from his mouth.

“You killed my man. That wasn’t part of the deal.”

Yeah, Rossi was right about that. I had double-crossed him, and I’ll do it again and again to shut him away forever. Preferably six feet under. I point my gun at the other guy and shoot his shoulder.

He screams out in pain.That’s for Marco.“Where is she?” I hope the fuckface talks easier than his boss.

“She took off, man. The cunt ran. We lost her.”

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