Page 1 of Lines Drawn
“What do you mean?” I rush out of the bedroom, my body hurting from the punishment I’ve just gone through. Hurrying to throw on clothes did not help the pain.
Master shakes his head at me as he issues sharp commands over the phone. He shifts the phone to his shoulder as he grabs my hand, tugging me with him. By the time we hit the foyer, I’ve managed to catch that the Amatos are under attack; their mansion is on fire, and they're surrounded by gunfire.
Fuck.
Marcus is waiting at the bottom of the steps, pacing. On our arrival, he exhales in relief before stiffening. “No. You are not allowed to go, Padrone. I am taking Lio, and Benjamin is on his way. I’m keeping Ignacio here, as he’s helped Dr. Ranlen with surgeries before, and I don’t know what we’re facing.”
“You can take him,” Dr. Ranlen calls out as she hurries toward us. She’s barely made it into the mansion where we’re all assembled, dressed to the nines in what she wore to the charity dinner. I hope to fuck she takes the time to get out of that evening gown before she has to go into the operating room—it can’t be comfortable. “I have a team coming that can assist. Everything is being set up. I heard they hit Doc’s clinic, too. We’re going to have a lot of incoming.”
“I’m going, Marcus. Get out of my way.” Master storms toward the front door with me on his heels.
Marcus grasps his arm, pulling him back. “No. You need to stay here. It’s too dangerous, and we can’t lose you again.”
Growling, Master turns on him, grabbing him by his throat and steps closer to him. “You will not stop me. Cristian is there. I did not almost lose him in that fucking cell, only for him to die in his own home. I will dig through rubble with my bare hands if I need to, but I will get him. If he’s not fine, the devil had better be prepared because I’ll go to Hell and get him back. Do you understand?”
Marcus’s face turns red from the pressure Master is using, and I shift uncomfortably. Finally, Marcus manages a small nod and Master lets him go. I breathe out a sigh of relief, even if I agree that it'd be better for Master to be safe. But he’ll never lead from behind, and Marcus should know that by now.
“Let’s get out there. Now.”
At Master’s command, we burst through the front door, diving for the bulletproof Stretch Hummer. It may be ugly, but it’ll work. The driver barely waits for us to get in before pulling out when Master shouts.
I swallow, my hands shaking from the desperate need to be there. I clasp them into fists, hoping everyone is safe, because the world will fall if they’re not. Master makes a disgusted noisein the back of his throat, and I glance over to see him tapping on his phone.
“Any update?” Ignacio asks, sounding stressed.
Master shakes his head. “Not about how they’re doing. The Fire Department refuses to assist. Jenna assures me she’ll be on the phone with the Chief, reminding him that we can, and will, sue, and that the media can be encouraged to see it our way. If it was just people shooting at them, I wouldn’t ask for interference, but we need the fucking firefighters.”
Ignacio pales, and I know we’re both thinking the same thing. All the times he’s been the one to start the fire…fuck. “Can we move anyone else?”
“I’ve already sent soldiers that way. They should have it subdued by the time we get there,” Marcus states grimly. “Ely also loaned us some people, and I’d assume some of the Bratva will be there. Maybe. Fuck knows, Hollis sent out a SOS to everyone.”
“Thank fuck Sarah spent the past month upgrading the hell out of the medical suites,” I throw in.
Master nods absently as we continue racing to the Amatos. If anyone tries to pull us over, I almost feel sorry for them. Any LEO getting in our way right now would have a death wish. I lean into Master, trying to give him comfort—and to steal some for myself.
He wraps his arm around me and I relax slightly. I glance at Benjamin, hoping he’s holding steady, and frown at his paleness. I want to tell him to stay back, but I know there’s no way he’ll do it. Not with Tennant in there.
I cringe when I notice that he and Ignacio didn’t get time to shower. It's clear they’ve both fucked recently. I hope to fuck Tennant doesn’t notice. It sounds like we have more than enough going on. The last thing we need is to deal with anexplosion about that. But Tennant’s eyes catch everything. Even I know that.
We pull into the driveway at the Amatos’ and all of us lean toward the windows, hoping we can see what we’re getting into. The driver slows down, as the smoke is too thick to navigate easily. It appears the soldiers were successful, because while there is still shouting—mainly for help—there’s no gunfire.
Fuck.
As we pull further up the drive, I realize the dark smoke was covering something I wish I never had to see. I stare in horror at the mansion. Well, what’s still left of it, as fire continues to consume, to destroy. Fear crawls up my throat, choking me.
“How could anyone survive this?”
“I don’t know, but they’d better have,” Master says grimly as we come to a screeching stop.
The driver coughs as smoke begins to infiltrate the vehicle. “This is as far as I can get you.”
Master doesn’t bother to reply, he just gestures for us to get out. Marcus is the first to exit, trying to prevent us from going forward until he’s checked out the situation, but Master isn’t having any of it. With a grunt, he forces Marcus away from the door and steps out. He glares at the surrounding areas, before striding toward the burning mansion. I dive into the foray, hoping like hell that the firefighters get here soon.
“Over here!”
Tennant’s voice is barely recognizable from the way he coughs, and Ignacio breaks into a dead run at the sight of who he’s holding in his arms.Oh shit.
“Where the hell are those ambulances?” Master snarls as he continues to glance around, looking for Cristian.
