Page 126 of Immoral

I scowl but know he's right.

"Three more buildings then stop," Papà instructs the driver and returns to the call. "We're coming in. Give us an all clear."

A front door opens. I catch the brief outline of Aidan's brother Brody. He makes a quick motion with his hand and then steps back out of view.

My brothers and I get out of the car, quickly moving into the brownstone. Brody and Luca both step forward. Luca claims, "We need to go up to the roof. There's access to all the units. It's the next building, and the jump is about a foot."

"A foot?" Massimo questions.

"Don't puss out," Tristano taunts.

"Shut up. I'm just verifying."

"You should have brought your knee brace."

"Seriously, shut up," I order, pissed that Tristano is taunting Massimo while my wife is inside, having God knows what done to her.

Luca shakes his head in irritation. Brody slaps Tristano on the head.

"What the fuck!" Tristano cries out.

Brody points in his face. "Grow up."

"Follow me," Luca directs, taking two stairs at a time.

I do the same. My brothers and Brody trail us. We quickly get to the roof. Luca opens a door, and the cold air slaps my face.

I continue following him over several units then jump onto the other building. I don't even stop to see if the others make it. There's a lock on the door. Luca says, "Step back."

I obey, and he shoots the lock. The gunshot rings in the air.

"Time's ticking. Let's go," I yell at the others, cock my gun, and go first into the small staircase, hoping an Abruzzo pops up so I can take him out.

Blood pounds between my ears with every step I take. I get past the third level, take four steps down, then hear voices. I hold my hand up for the others to stop, and I freeze on the staircase.

"I don't know what it was, boss," one of the thugs claims.

Uberto's voice fills my ears. "Find out!"

I creep farther along, doing my best to stay quiet, and my heart almost leaps out of my chest. The soft sobs from my tesoro are faint, but I hear them.

At the bottom of the landing, I turn the corner to assess the situation.

The first person I see is her. She's naked, surrounded by cleaning products and what looks like vomit.

Cara also sees me. Her glistening eyes widen, releasing even more tears. I quickly glance around then point my gun at Uberto's thug and shoot.

He falls, and Uberto spins. As much as I want to torture him for years, there's only one option. I put a bullet right between his eyes. He drops on top of the thug, and blood pools everywhere.

In two seconds, I cross the room and pick up Cara. She sobs into my chest, and I run toward the staircase.

Massimo passes me, and two shots fire, ringing in my ears.

Cara screams, but my chest muffles it. I get to the second floor and then go into a bedroom. She sobs and shakes harder. "Shh. It's okay, tesoro. I've got you. We're getting out of here."

I tug a blanket off the bed and wrap it around her shaking body. I kiss her quickly and continue up the staircase. At the top, I pause. "It's going to be cold. I need you to hold on to me, Cara. No matter what, don't let go. Keep your head pressed against my chest."

"O-okay," she chokes out.

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