Page 31 of Knocked up by the Mafia

“You chipped your girlfriend?” Ronan asks.

“You chipped your mother,” I point out. “And our baby brother, who still doesn’t know.”

“It’s for his own good,” Ronan grumbles.

The tracker searches for her location, and we watch with bated breath. It lands at an abandoned asylum; I know it well. I used it when I needed a private place to get information from people.

“I’m going to save her. Can you spare anyone?” I ask, standing up. “I’ll deal with these Sicilian fuckers afterward. My way.”

Ronan smirks. “Take Jarryd and Robbie. They’re both excellent fighters, even if Robbie is a bit…wild.”

“You mean psychotic,” I say, taking out my guns and loading them. “Jarryd?”

“Aye, you’d be surprised. Get Natalia back. I will send word to Ivan Volkov for a meeting to explain your lack of involvement in Natalia’s kidnapping.” Ronan holds a phone out. “It’s my spare. It’s only traceable by me. Keep it on you.”

“Thanks. I’m going to get the boys and get going.” We both walk out.

I wait for my brothers to lock and load. I won’t lie and say I’m waiting patiently. I’m sure it feels longer than it actually is. We take Robbie’s truck. It’s fast and bulletproof, much like I think Robbie is.

Robbie doesn’t give a fuck about traffic as he weaves through the cars. I’m sure I saw a cop car trying to pull him over, but the cop couldn’t keep up. Robbie used to drag race; it’s not surprising.

We’re not even going for subtle. Robbie drives straight through the front gates, forcing them open. “Woohoo!” he yells.

His tires squeal as he skids to a stop, and as one unit, we climb out and start opening fire the minute the door opens. There are numerous guards, all shouting for each other. We don’t have to talk; we’ve held guns since we could walk and were drilled before we could utter for our Ma to comfort us.

Once the first wave of guards is dealt with, we sweep through the asylum. There are a few more guards to take out, but eventually, we find a group down a hallway guarding one door.

That has to be it.

Robbie and I look at each other, but before we can do anything, Jarryd steps out and starts shooting the guards one at a time in the head. I watch, impressed, and when he’s done, he glances back at me.

“You’ve been practicing,” I comment.

“You’ve been gone for years, Dan,” he smirks.

I raise my gun and shoot the guard that’s just stepped out behind him to shoot him. “I still check the corners.”

Robbie whoops and hurries down the hallway. He kicks a few guards to ensure they’re dead, and then we peek into the room. Natalia is lying in the middle of the floor.

“Nat? Nat!” I call her, banging on the door. “Guys, we need to find the keys.”

We start searching the bodies. Robbie keeps guard and shoots one or two guards who come to see who’s making a noise. I think we’ve got most of them, but I don’t care. Nat isn’t responding, which means she could already be dead. I need to know.

Jarryd calls out to me, “Try these.”

He throws me a ring of about a dozen keys, and I start pushing them into the lock and turning. “No, none work.”

We keep searching. I think my panic is washing over my brothers. We find another set. They don’t work.

I find a key on a nearby guard. It’s a single key on a piece of string. I hurry to the door, and a wave of relief briefly washes over me as the lock clicks open. I heave the door open and rush inside. “Nat!”

I kneel beside her and lift her head. I put my ear by her nose. “She’s breathing, but she’s not responding.”

I tap her face lightly. “Nat! Babe! Wake up. Please wake up. It’s me. It’s Daniel.”

My brother’s come over, and Robbie kneels next to me. “Can you carry her? Or do you need help? There’s a hospital about ten minutes out.”

I nod and hand him my gun. I hook an arm under her arms and my other under her knees and get up with her. I carry her toward the door. Robbie goes through first, sweeping for more guards. Jarryd covers us. We’re moving slower than I want, but I also know moving too fast could get one of us, or Nat, shot.

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