Page 10 of Fierce Protector

When I cast my gaze his way, he dips his head, acknowledging my words, but as I turn back to look out the window, I swear I hear him whisper, “Always.”

The buildings whizz by the window so fast and yet our pace feels glacial. When Stefano finally pulls the car to a stop, we find ourselves in the middle of a makeshift command centre. There are multiple panel vans and SUVs parked up with men congregating, ready for their orders. From memory, we’re not far out from the De Luca compound.

I head towards Sin—Enzo’s tech specialist—who’s already reiterating Stefano’s orders as I stop in front of him. “No fucking way you're going in with us.”

“Of course not, you prick. I’m here to triage any casualties and help when you get Aurora and Nico out of there.”

He gives me a ‘I’ll believe it when I see it’ face, and I hold up my hands. “Scouts honour. I’ll be in the van with my father’s crew backing me up. Besides, this fucking guard dog you sicked on me is making it really hard to have any fun at the moment.” I cock my head sideways at Stefano, who ignores my teasing.

“Less talk, more getting in the van, Katerina,” Stefano instructs.

I shake my head and make a move towards the vehicle. “That’s Doctor Mancini to you, old man.”

Sinclair mutters quietly to Stefano under his breath, “So, she’s glad of the protection, then?”

“I’m not above shooting you, Sinclair,” I threaten. I don’t hear Sin’s response, but I don’t need to. I have other things to be getting on with. I start sorting through the med kits and checking what I’m working with.

Leo, my father’s right-hand man, hands me an earpiece so I can listen in on the action, before he closes the doors and moves us into position on the perimeter.

We’re waiting for what feels like forever, and every time Stefano’s voice rings out over the comms, updating his location, my heart beats a little more evenly. I’ve never been in the field like this before, but then, there’s not been an assault like this in my lifetime. It’s unprecedented.

Chatter erupts, and I heave out a sigh of relief when someone announces that they’ve found Nico and are bringing him to me. I start readying myself, laying out what I can for triaging trauma patients, but as I listen, I hear exactly what I don’t want to hear.“Fuck, Zo, we’re sitting ducks out here!”

I look up at Leo as we process the back and forth between Enzo and Sinclair.

“They’re pinned down. We need to get in there,” I plead.

“No way, Doc. I have my orders and you’re staying put. Your father would have me shot,” he says, shaking his head.

I pull myself forward between the front seats and lean close so the rest of the team can’t hear. “Don’t test me, Leo, or I’ll tell my father about the time I caught youfucking my aunt in the guest room at his fiftieth birthday party.” I lean back, crossing my arms over my chest and daring him to test me. “Your call.”

“She came on to me,” he mumbles before turning the engine over and putting it in gear. “You will stay in the fucking van.” He guns it in the direction of the compound and pulls up in an alley at the rear. It’s chaos in the courtyard. Even with the windows closed my ears are assaulted with a cacophony of gunfire and breaking glass. As I look out of the windscreen, Enzo bursts through a window on the second floor onto a flat roof, dropping low and focusing his weapon on taking out any unfriendlies. It probably takes less than a few minutes for him to neutralise the threats, but my heart is in my throat the whole time. There is a thunder of boots on the ground heading towards us before we see Sin, and his team hauling a pale-looking Nico our way. They throw open the rear doors and I blanch under Sin’s glare.

“Thank fuck you’re here, but you’re on your own when Stefano finds out you went rogue.” He looks exhausted and more than a little concerned to see me so close to the action, but I can also see that he’s relieved to see me.

“Fucking coward,” I say with a wink. Trying to reassure them all in some way with my usual attitude. I glance down at Nico and bang on the side of the van. “Close it up and get moving. I need to get him out of here. Now.”

He’s pale and despite the field tourniquet on his leg, it’s obvious he’s lost a lot of blood. I cut his pant leg open to get a better look, finding that the culprit is a gunshotwound above his knee. It’s a through-and-through and appears to have missed the artery, but it’s made a mess.

“Get me back to Zo’s safe house. They have what I need to treat him there. I can’t take him to the hospital. The city will be crawling with police looking for any injured stragglers they can pin this clusterfuck on,” I bark out over my shoulder as I pack the wound with gauze.

“On it, Doc,” Leo replies, his voice steady and even. Every one of my father’s men are calm under pressure, which I appreciate now more than ever.

The further we move away from the compound, the weaker the signal in the earpiece gets. The last thing I hear before it cuts out is Stefano.“Ground floor front room. Lay down cover fire. Aurora is the priority. Enzo is do?—”

“What isit about you lot? Always fucking up my masterpieces. Every time I patch you up, you go and break yourselves all over again.” I’m talking to myself since my patient had to be sedated when we got back to the safe-house, so I startle when I get a response.

“We don’t mean to, and in this case, the De Lucas started it.” I smile at the familiar rich tenor of my father’s voice, and when he crosses the room to stand behind me, I lean back into him and let his arms wrap me in a hug. “How are you doing, my brave girl?”

There’s nothing like a parent's love and support to smash through your carefully crafted defences. I open my mouth to dismiss him and insist I’m fine, but all thatfalls out is a cascade of gentle sobs. I don’t know where the surplus emotions have come from, but they wash over me like a river bursting its banks.

“Sh-sh-shhh. It’s okay. I came down to tell you they’re on their way back.”

I turn in my seat and look up at him hopefully, but as soon as I meet his eyes, I know there’s bad news. “Tell me. Please Dad, just tell me,” I plead softly.

“They got Aurora out, but Enzo didn’t make it.” My father’s words hit me with a force that drags the air from my lungs in a raw and strangled gasp. He squeezes me tight before dropping into a crouch by my side.

Dead? That can’t be. He can’t be gone. Enzo’s one of the best of us. An ache settles in my bones, and it feels like it won’t ever let go of its grip on me. I’ve known Enzo my entire life. We grew up together and grew even closer when his brother fell in love with my best friend. That feels like a lifetime ago now.

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