Page 28 of Pen Pal

“We need a plan,” Luca began. “We can’t just go in there with guns blazing.”

“Speaking of guns…” Vitali snorted, tossing each of us the guard’s guns, tasers, and batons. “This is a good start, but we’ll need more. Let’s go home and round up the boys.”

“That’s where the police will look for us first,” I shook my head. “We’ll have to call them and tell them to meet us there. They just kidnapped the Ricci mafia princess. There’s no way they’re not already en route to get her back.”

Luca grabbed the phone I used to call Amara, and he quietly dialed a set of digits before putting the phone to his ear. “Yeah, Ivan? It’s the Solokovs, they have Sofia. Round up all the boys. This means war.”

I smirked as I sped up. They wouldn’t go down without a fight, but killing is what I lived for. They’d have to cut off my arms and legs to keep me from eliminating them all now.

“What’s a couple more life sentences?” Vitali shrugged. “Ludovic might get out in a few years, but us three? We’re lifers. Might as well make it worth something.”

I gave him a curt nod as I reached the highway, nearly deserted at night. With Amara burned in my brain, I knew I couldn’t take as many risks as I used to. I needed to keep her safe from whatever danger she faced, as that cop proved. I wasn’t allowed to die today. Not as long as she still breathed air.

I could feel my heart pounding in my chest and the blood roaring in my ears. The road blurred before me as I sped up, racing downthe streets to get to my sister. Rage bubbled up inside me, and my knuckles turned white on the steering wheel.

“Maybe I should drive,” Luca mumbled as he observed me. “Don’t get us killed or caught before we even get there.”

“He won’t,” Vitali assured him. “He’ll do whatever it takes to save Sofia. Besides, we’re almost there.”

He was right. I wasn’t sure how long I was raging at the wheel, but a few more minutes and we’d be there. I glanced at some cars nearby and recognized some of them. We weren’t going in alone.

“That was fast,” Vitali smirked as he recognized our henchmen. “No one fucks with the Ricci family.”

I floored the gas, shooting through the night as fast as this car could, and didn’t stop until we reached the Solokov safehouse. I skidded the car to a halt, parking it before all three of us jumped out. Several cars pulled up behind me, the drivers coming out with guns drawn, machetes in hand, ready for anything.

I motioned for the others to go in the front door and make a lot of noise while Luca, Vitali, and I crept toward the back. That’s where they’d run out to escape, and we’d be ready.

My henchmen banged on the front door before busting it down, and I heard multiple gunshots as they pushed their way through.

I heard thundering steps moving toward the backdoor, and I smirked, kicking it down in one fell swoop. The door crashed into the house, and a dozen Solokov minions stared at me in horror.

I launched myself at a man, pressing the taser in his neck as he shook violently, foaming at the mouth. Another man jumped on me, and I flipped him, pressing my gun in his face, and shot him between the eyes.

Luca and Vitali were spraying bullets, mowing through the Solokov men, their expressions grim and serious.

I was smiling, laughing as I aimed and fired, taking down as many of the Solokov fuckers as I could. My senses sharpened as I heard muffled screams, and my gun clicked, empty.

“Bullets,” I called, and one of my henchmen threw something at me, but it wasn’t bullets, I realized as I caught it.

It was a fucking machete.

I grinned, let my fury take over, and dashed towardthe screaming.

It sounded like a woman, and I prayed that it was Sofia.

I burst through the door, and a man was holding a gun to my sister’s head, the other hand on her mouth.

But I was too fast.

Before he could say anything, I sliced, cutting his fucking hand off that held the gun. He screamed, his blood spraying all over Sofia as she shouted, ducking as I stabbed through the man’s throat, cackling as his blood sleuthed down my blade.

“What the fuck, Enzo!” Sofia shouted, trembling in her crouched position. “He could’ve shot me!”

“Nice to see you, too, sis. It’s been a few years,” I taunted, turning and slicing through another man rushing me. “How have you been?”

“Fuck off,” she spat, standing on shaky legs as she held on to the wall.

“You good?” I asked, looking up and down the hallway to ensure it was clear. All I could hear were echoes of gunshots on the other side of the safehouse.

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