Page 104 of Captured Innocence

We fought, rolling several times. I punched him hard, tossing him back by several feet. He threw himself on me as the fire swept across the floor, immediately crawling up two walls. He’d planned the fire well, the building prepared to go up in flames within seconds.

Tommaso kicked me in the stomach, knocking me back by several feet. Winded, I fought to get to my feet, noticing the gun in his hand seconds before he fired off several shots. I pitched and rolled, the bullets ricocheting off one of the pieces of equipment.

Sophia screamed, her frantic cry pulling at everything inside of me.

D’Artagnan roared, pitching himself on top of Tommaso, wrangling to grab the gun while Enzo rushed toward the other girls.

“We need to get the fuck out of here.” Enzo’s cry was cut short as one of the makeshift bombs exploded, flames immediately licking toward the ceiling.

“Come on, baby. I got you,” I told Sophia as I pulled her away from the melee. As fire began to consume everything, the smoke becoming acrid, I struggled to free her arms. Another cracking sound drew my attention, Tommaso almost able to get away from Dar. As soon as Tommaso issued a hard kick to Dar’s chest, pummeling him backward, he flung himself on top of me.

The flash of the knife still in his hand caught my eye seconds before he drove it into my shoulder. The pain was blinding but there was no time to waste. We pitched and rolled as the entire building went up in flames. Wood began to crack, splintering down on top of us.

“We need to get out of here now!” Enzo roared, managing to pull Joy to her feet.

“He has other men with him. They’re all around us.” Joy’s cry was followed by a booming sound, a portion of the roof falling too close.

As soon as Lucia was freed, she fell to her knees, moaning in obvious pain. “No. No! It’s too soon.”

“Oh, God. No!” Sophia broke free from my arms, crawling toward her sister. “She’s in premature labor. Please get us out of here.”

“Fuck. Fuck!” I fought my way toward one of the blocked doors, issuing a hard kick. “Where are the soldiers?”

“They’ll be here.” Enzo seemed certain. Suddenly, I could hear gunfire coming from outside, the sound unmistakable.

Pop! Pop!

As D’Artagnan fired off two rounds, I kicked the door again. The goddamn thing wasn’t budging. I coughed as the thick smoke rolled through the building, shadowing the spotlight. Tommaso refused to die, the fucker coming for Enzo as he finally managed to shield Joy and the others.

Lunging forward, I fired off two shots of my own, the close range catching Tommaso in the shoulder, the force tossing him against another piece of machinery. I watched as his body slumped down, his face going slack.

Even if the fucker was dead, that didn’t help us in any way.

“Find a way! We need to get out of here.”

Crack!

Boom!

Timbers fell all around us, the rapid gunfire continuing outside. Then all was clear.

Gasping for air, I could swear I heard voices. Then there were other sounds, hard slamming. I struggled to see anything, finally able to make out Sophia and Joy huddling over Lucia’s shaking body.

I turned in a full circle, noticing several tools attached to one of the walls. I leapt through the flames, hissing as I managed to grab the handle of an ax. Without hesitation, I ripped it from the wall, moving quickly, issuing one swing after another.

Then a loud noise was followed by a bright light, several deep voices penetrating the space.

“Get them out of here. It’s going to blow!”

I had to admit, hearing my Capo’s voice was probably the sweetest fucking thing I’d heard in a long time. Smoke burned my eyes but I fought my way toward Sophia as our soldiers surrounded the others, pulling Joy and Lucia away from the carnage.

“Help!”

I froze, the sound of Sophia’s voice coming from the darkest part of the shadows. Everything dropped into a moment of slow motion as I turned, blinking furiously until my eyes adjusted.

A wash of flames burst in front of me, searing my skin but it didn’t stop me from seeing Tommaso’s bloody body, his arm wrapped around Sophia’s waist, dragging her into the hottest part of the fire.

There were moments in my past where I’d placed myself in dangerous situations, uncertain of the outcome. I’d done so without hesitation because it had been a requirement. Expected.

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