Page 64 of Sweet Retribution

I smile inwardly.That’s my girl.I believe him, but I need to be sure. “Where?” I shoot the bodyguard’s other shoulder. “The fuck.” I shoot his hip. “Is she?” I shoot his other knee cap.

He’s on the ground in his own pool of blood trying to grasp his knees, but the bullets in his shoulders and hips make it hard for him to move. He’s in too much pain to talk, so I reload my gun and point it at Rossi.

Rossi stares aghast at his guard. Fear and panic take over his face. Any second now, he’s going to shit his pants. Good. He’s right where I want him.

“I’ll ask one more time.” I shoot Rossi’s right shoulder. “Where?” I shoot his left shoulder. He screams out in pain, blood covering his shirt and face. “The fuck.”

I click my gun and he yells, “She fucking took off! What the hell do you want with the cunt anyway? You have all the pussy you can handle in that basement.”

My blood boils. For my mother. My sister. The innocent girls he’s ruined forever.

For Gia.

I press my gun against his forehead and force him to look into mine. “This is for Bianca.”

“Who the fuck is Bianca?”

“She was my sister.” I cock my gun. “Rot in hell, motherfucker.” I pull the trigger, and he falls to a bloody heap next to the other fuck. I shoot him in the temple, and he falls too.

I look up at my men. “Find her.”

***

The sun is setting, and it’s almost pitch black in the woods. I’m cold and I’m hungry, but mostly, I’m scared. A few hours ago, I heard a series of gunshots in the distance. They were faint, which means I’m far away from Antonio, it also could mean Stone found the SUV.

My heart races and wants to believe Stone is able to rescue me once again. He promised to keep me safe, and I believe he will. I stare out into the black of the forest and consider my options.

Continue moving, not knowing where I’m going or what’s on the other side, or retrace my steps the best I can, going back toward the sounds of the gunshots? If it’s Stone and his men and they’re able to bring Antonio down, then they’ll be out in the woods searching for me.

In my heart, I feel Stone’s presence. He’s coming for me. I climb out of the outcropping of rocks I’ve been hiding in and turn back toward the hill I’d shimmied down earlier. I have no idea if I’m retracing my steps or moving in a completely different direction. I reach the top and find a clearing I don’t remember from before.

Nothing looks familiar in the dark. I shiver and tug my skirt down to warm my legs, and also to cover the scratches and scrapes. My feet are so bloodied and cut that I don’t feel the pain anymore. I pull my blazer tighter around me and cross my arms as I walk through the unknown.

My throat is dry and scratchy. My face burns from the sting of branches. My body is weak from hunger, from thirst, and from running for so long. I trip over a rock, a root, a bear. I have no idea. My brain hurts, and I go dizzy with weakness.

I stumble to the ground and fall to my knees. I don’t have the energy to pull myself up, to keep walking.

“Stone,” I cry out in barely a whisper as my throat closes in. Beads of sweat form above my lip, even though I’m cold. My pulse races as a panic attack trickles through my body. I feel it swell in my chest and shoot through my arms and out my fingertips.

Curling into a ball, I clench my hands as the panic shoots down my spine and down each leg until I’m shaking from head to toe. Tears I can’t control spill as I tremble in fear. Fear I’ll suffocate and die from panic. Fear Antonio will find me. Fear I’ll die alone in the middle of the forest.

Fear I’ll never see my mother or Stone again.

I close my eyes and pray.

***

It’s been three hours. I’m supposed to stop my search and head back to my men, but I can’t leave Gia out here alone. My phone pings, finding service for a brief moment, and the blue dot indicates Gia’s location.I’m coming baby.I pick up my pace and run through the dark forest. I could use the flashlight on my phone, but I don’t want to wear out the battery.

She’s not far. A half mile at most. On a normal trail it would take me minutes to reach her. Here, in the thick forest, unable to see my surroundings, it takes closer to ten until I reach where the dot says she is.

“Gia!” I yell. “Gia, tell me where you are. You’re safe now.” It’s not a lie. She is safe. Her enemies are all dead. There’s no one after her but me.

Unless I’m the enemy. She lived a mostly safe life before I kidnapped her and brought her back into the world she spent eight years trying to escape.

The silence around me is deafening. There are no birds, no scampering of critters in the night. The tracking app shows her right here, feet from me. I scan the forest floor and see nothing. Turning on the flashlight, I shine it in circles around me.

“Gia. Where are you, baby? Guide me to you, sweetheart.”

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