Page 75 of The Bratva's Arranged Bride

The tarmac was littered with Gallo men when ours pulled up, immediately surrounding them.

With my pistol in hand, I moved with my brothers while flanked by a group of guards, taking cover when necessary while shots rang out.

Ducking behind a median as pure chaos broke out, I looked around the cement block to see the jet waiting there while Francesco was covered by Tommaso, who was firing at our forces as they rolled in to put the pressure on. It was clear they hadn’t anticipated the quick retaliation.

But just ahead of them, I could see her there—Tia, with her arms bound behind her back, was on her stomach to stay as low as possible while Andrey did the same beside her.

My blood went cold at the sight, kickstarting my determination. Anxious energy rippled within me, and I knew I had to get to her. I couldn’t wait…I couldn’t risk it.

The shoot-out was fast but violent, dropping quite a few on both sides, but it was clear the Gallo force wasn’t as big in numbers as it should’ve been to stand up to us. In fact, it seemed they didn’t have nearly enough of them ready while executing their plan.

Before long, able to see their dwindling numbers, Francesco reached forward in a brave move and grabbed Tia by the hair, yanking her up into a sitting position while he pulled out his gun and aimed it right at her.

I froze at once, able to hear his voice carrying through the last rounds of gunfire, “Shoot us and you shoot her, too!”

Panic coursed through me, and I stepped out, putting a hand up to make the others stop.

“Hold—stand down!” I yelled, able to feel as my brothers followed, approaching the scene head-on.

At once, our men stopped, keeping their positions with their guns raised despite not shooting.

With the Gallo forces being overwhelmed, few of them seemed to be left, while the others were scattered around the tarmac, bleeding out.

Even with that being the case, Francesco had Tia…and with her in his grasp, the tide was in his favor.

At the same time, Tommaso aimed at Andrey, panting while he took in the situation around him. It seemed he understood the upper hand they had immediately.

“That’s enough,” Francesco said, looking vaguely shaken up by the ordeal, but mostly angry about us intercepting them at the last moment. He straightened his back, shaking off the shock of it all.

Everyone on the tarmac seemed to go incredibly still, and a heavy silence filled the space.

As much as we had the numbers on them, Francesco had the one person I needed to make it out of there alive. If I had our men surge forward, then I had no doubt he planned on taking Tia down with them.

I hated to admit it, but I was at their mercy.

It made me furious, especially with how he was handling her, but I had to hold back. I had to contain that rage of mine and think it through for her sake.

Even if it was partially my fault for getting her in that position, I couldn’t dwell on it. Not when my entire focus needed to be on getting her out of there.

Chapter 28 - Tia

Not once in my life had I ever found myself in a situation like that.

Being tied up with my face pressed against the tarmac while bullets flew right above me, unable to flee without risking being shot. Having to listen to the fear in Dad’s breaths while he remained beside me, just as helpless.

I never wanted anything to do with the dangers Val was a part of. While I knew I couldn’t change it, and I wanted to be supportive of him, I needed that world to stay at a distance for my own sake.

Even if it had been a hurdle for me to get over, I was willing to do it for Val. But every worst fear of mine had materialized itself, and there was nothing I could do but face it.

I had never felt that kind of genuine fear before, to the point where it hurt to even breathe.

Every part of me was screaming to just keep my eyes closed and hope for the best; then, maybe if I did, I’d open them again and everything would be fine.

Yet, that wasn’t the case.

Instead, sparks of pain shot through my head as Francesco gripped my hair and pulled me into a kneeling position with my hands behind my back. I yelped, but the sound was mostly drowned out by the sound of the jet in the distance.

The electricity behind my eyes at his iron grasp was dizzying, but it forced me to see it all. To witness the gruesome scene ahead.

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