Page 10 of Fighting

We enter the building through multiple doors. It’s a good thing we did because there are more men here than we predicted. Bullets begin to fly. Wood shavings spatter into the air as the crate I dove behind gets obliterated by bullets. I return fire and keep moving. I make my way around the room to get behind the men. We didn’t have time to properly surround them before our entry and I can see several making their escape through the far door.

Massimo and Luca reach it first and take off outside. Al, Luca’s bodyguard and driver is hot on my tail. There are a few last gunshots before I hear Massimo scream. “NO!”

Fuck. There is a car that’s been t-boned. It takes me a moment to realize that it’s one of our cars. The one Livianna promised to stay in. The four of us are running to get to her as quickly as we can. Massimo has us all beat. He gets to the cars as the driver of the other vehicle gets out and is ripping Livianna’s door open. She is slumped against the wheel, and I can see blood running down her forehead.

The bastard rips her from the car, and hits her over the head, just before Massimo tackles him to the ground. He doesn’t stop there. He rains hellfire down on the man. His face isn’t even recognizable as a face by the time Luca stops him. “Mass enough. He’s dead.” Massimo’s fist pauses mid-air. “Liv needs you.”

Like coming out of a trance, Massimo’s attention snaps back to Livianna. “I’m so sorry sweetheart.” He’s rocking her in his arms. One of our men was a field medic in the army, he’s quick to get to their side and start evaluating her.

I return to the building. The woman who was kidnapped, and that we followed here, is being led out of the building by one of our men. Fifteen more follow. They all look like shit. No offense to them. I’m sure they have been through hell. I just pray the Cartel didn’t have time to do more than lock them up. Even if they didn’t, they will feel the full and unrelenting wrath of the Caruso Mafia.

Our men lead them to the SUVs as more of our back-up arrives. They bring water and blankets. I take over helping the latest victim. She still has the drugs in her system and is unsteady on her feet.

A series of screeching tires has me tensing and pushing the woman behind me and pulling out my gun again.

“Where is she?” Barks a man in a suit as he exits the third vehicle to come skidding to a stop.

Luca approaches him with Elena at his side, her gun pointed at the man in the suit, while Luca’s is in his hand at his side. “Who are you?” He asks.

The man in the suit stops walking. His eyes scan the carnage littering the parking lot. He smiles. The crazy ass smiles. He must be mafia. Russian if I had to guess. “Looks like you had a hell of a party.” He says as he takes a step closer to the nearest body. He gives it a kick with his foot so the body rolls onto it’s back. “Cartel?” he asks, looking back at Luca.

“Yeah.” He replies. “And you are?”

The man continues to walking until he is a few feet from Luca, and extends an arm. “Ivan. Ivan Vasiliev.”

Russian. I knew it. The girl behind me begins to tremble. Her blue dress is torn, and doesn't cover much skin. I take off my suit jacket and wrap it around her. I keep my arm on her back so she doesn’t fall. With my other hand, I raise the bottle of water up to her lips. She jumps as the Russian starts barking again. “Lena!”

I turn to find his eyes filled with rage as he glares at me and the girl. Great, now he’s coming over here. I don’t cower away, or release the girl. I don’t give a shit who she is to him. She can’t stand on her own. He must finally realize there’s something wrong with her, cause he slows his pace as he nears. His eyes lose the fire towards me, as he gives me a nod of what I can only assume is appreciation. Then he takes her into his arms and carries her over to his SUV. His tone has lost some bite as he scolds her. “Viktor was fucking worried sick about you. Don’t you ever pull this shit again. You hear me?”

With the rest of the girls being split amongst the vehicles, some even going with the Russians, I make my way over to Luca and Massimo. Ivan joins us a moment later.

They continue to talk. I’m not listening. My mind is elsewhere. Wondering if the future these women were saved from was the reality my Keira lived through. When Luca mentions my name then turns to me, I have no idea what they are talking about. So, I gave a noncommittal shrug in the hopes I didn’t need a verbal answer to whatever he is talking about. He seems content with my response, so I go back to my thoughts about Keira.

The night seems to never end. We brought all the women who needed medical attention to the hospital, and from their coordinated getting them home, or getting them to a safe house. Livianna ended up needing a few stitches, and being monitored overnight, so Luca and I stayed with them.

We’re back at the Compound, and I’m exhausted. I can’t wait to shower and crawl into bed. I literally drag my legs up the front stairs and into the foyer. Luca is a few steps ahead of me. “Before you go to bed, I need to speak with you and Milan.”

Since you don’t tell the Don no. I follow silently behind him.

Milan is already waiting in his office. “I heard about the girls. Are they okay? Do they need anything?”

Luca pulls Milan in for a hug. It’s still weird as shit seeing him be affectionate towards her. For seven years he thought he was going to marry her, and he hated every moment of it. He found her annoying, conceited, and slutty. After Elena’s existence was discovered, Milan’s mother Ravinia threw a fit. Turns out Milan wasn’t Bosco’s biological daughter as they had both believed.

The contract between them was voided. Ravinia was sent to Italy. Once she was gone, the true Milan started to peak out. Turns out, she had been groomed and controlled by her mother. She hated and was looking for a way away from her. That’s why she latched onto Luca. She thought he was going to save her. He didn’t have to. Bosco did, while getting rid of her mother’s influence and claiming her as his second daughter. DNA be damned.

The real Milan is a fucking delight. Turns out she’s smart and funny. She hates make-up and heels. And she’s not nearly as obsessed with Luca as we thought. Nearly every interaction they had over the years was orchestrated by her mother.

When Luca pulls back from the hug, I take his place, for a hug of my own, before we all sit down. Luca’s not big on the pageantry when it’s those close to him, so instead of taking the seat behind his desk, he leads us to the couches.

“Milan, normally due to your age, I would not include you in discussions related to potential alliances and contracts, but as this directly involved you, I wish to get your opinion.”

She sits up straighter. Clearly intrigued by the conversation. “Okay.”

“There has been an offer made to form an alliance with the Russians. A man named Ivan plans to overthrow Mishkin.” Milan nods along. “An alliance of this caliber would require a marriage bond. It would need to be with someone of high rank. We have two options. Val and you.”

Fuck me. That’s why he looked at me when he was talking to Ivan. Shit.

“Me?” Milan questions. Clearly stunned.

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