Page 19 of Stefano
He’s right.The words taste like ash, but he’s right.
I nod once, then crouch by the door, listening.My heart stops when I hear it.Her voice.Faint.Shaking.But hers.
“Please, Stefano.Find me.”A sob follows.
The sound slices me open.My grip on the Glock tightens until my knuckles ache.She’s calling for me.She’s still fighting.And I swear to God I’ll answer.
Alceu signals the men into position.Severu and Mancuso flank the far side of the door, soldiers lined behind them.I take point.My blood hums, my vision narrowing as I focus on the task at hand.A single thought keeping me grounded.
Andrea.
I slam my boot into the door and the warehouse erupts in chaos.
Shouts and gunfire bounce off the walls.The sharp crack of rifles, the roar of pistols.Men scramble from their chairs, cards and bottles scattering.One lunges for his weapon, but I put two rounds in his chest before he can lift it.Another raises his rifle but Severu drops him with a shot clean through the head.
Chaos engulfs the room.Soldiers clash, bullets flying, blood spraying and bodies falling.The air fills with smoke and screams.
And in the center of the chaos is Andrea.Her body held against that of her captor, using her as a shield.Her eyes are wide and filled with terror, her face streaked with tears.Relief floods her features when she sees me.
“Stefano!”
The sound of my name on her lips is a weapon and a plea.I surge forward, cutting down anyone in my path.
Matías presses a pistol pressed to Andrea’s temple.He holds her tightly against his torso, his sneer sharp as he shouts over the gunfire.
“Stop, or she dies!”
My heart slams against my ribs.I freeze, my gun trained on his head.Every muscle trembles with the need to end him, but one twitch of his finger could take her from me.
Andrea whimpers, her eyes locked on mine.She’s terrified, but she’s strong.Always strong.
“Drop it, Cammareri!”Matías snarls, his accent thick as he presses the barrel of his gun harder against her skin.“Drop it, or I’ll paint these walls with her blood!”
I lower the gun an inch, just enough to ease his finger from the trigger.My voice is calm but lethal.“You don’t want to do this.”
He laughs, wild and bitter.“Oh, but I do.You killed my brother.You ruined everything.And now, I’ll take the thing that matters to you most.I’ll take your heart.”
Andrea squeezes her eyes shut, a tear sliding down her cheek.My pulse roars in my ears, my vision narrowing to the bastard holding her.
I shift my stance, subtle, but lining up the shot.One chance.One bullet.That’s all I need.
Severu’s voice cuts through the chaos, sharp.“Stefano...”
“Shut up,” I growl.My finger tightens on the trigger.
Matías sneers.“Do it, then.Kill me.But she goes with me.”
“Wrong,” I snarl.“You don’t get to take her anywhere.”
Andrea’s eyes snap open.They lock on mine, wide and wet, and in that moment I see it, the trust.The faith.The love she’s too afraid to speak.She believes in me.
I exhale.My world narrows to the trigger, the sight, his skull.
One shot.
The gun bucks in my hand.
Matías’s head snaps back, blood spraying the wall.His body crumples, Andrea stumbling free as his grip loosens.I lunge, catching her before she falls, pulling her against me.
