Page 41 of Hold Me

He glares at me. “Yes, which is why it would have been great if you could have kept the girl safe like I fucking asked.”

My temper spikes dangerously, and I step closer to him, my fists tightening at my sides. His men tense beside him, and I smile. “As far as Nicholia Ivanov is concerned, you have taken his angel of death from him. Anna is innocent in all this shit, and now she’s being used to get to her sister.”

He sighs heavily. “I’m aware. But I can’t let Una go to him, not with the child.”

I know that if Anna were here, she’d never want Una to endanger her child, but that selfish part of me doesn’t care. The pain in my chest burrows even deeper as the gravity of the situation fully settles over me. “I need her back, Nero,” I whisper.

His whiskey-colored eyes lock with mine, and something passes between us, an understanding. Man to man. We’re two men resigned to the crippling weakness of love. Two men who shouldn’t be affected by such things, and yet here we are.

He nods. “As do I, because if we don’t get her back, I’m not sure I’ll be able to keep Una from doing something stupid.”

“She’d sacrifice herself for Anna?”

His lips press together in a hard line. “In a heartbeat.”

I glance through the open doorway and can just about make out the form of Una silhouetted against the huge window, the lights of the New York skyline illuminating the space around her. Her shoulders are tight with stress as she watches the city below. Nero follows my gaze, his brows pinching together as he watches her. I know the look in his eye well. Love and fear—because the two are not mutually exclusive, are they?

“Gio, take them into the office and get them a drink. I’ll speak with Una,” he says before walking towards the doorway.

Gio leads the way down a hallway of the sleek, modern penthouse. All the exterior walls are nothing but floor-to-ceiling glass, offering an uninterrupted view of the bustling city far below. He opens a door, and we file into an office. There are no windows in here, only bookshelves covering every inch of wall. Three leather couches sit facing a coffee table, and a large desk sits near the back wall.

“How very Godfather,” Carlos remarks.

The Italians say nothing. Jackson, who I figure is the muscle, takes a seat on one of the couches while Gio starts pouring glasses of liquor from a decanter. He hands me one, and I take a seat. I stare at the glass of amber liquid, my thoughts drifting to Anna again. I’m doing all I can. I’m here with the Italians. I’ve left my cartel on the brink of war to get her back, and I can’t even find it within me to care.

Gio places something on the coffee table in front of us, pulling me from my thoughts. I glance down at what looks like a floor plan. “This is the base where Una believes Nicholai will be keeping Anna.”

“What’s the security like?” Samuel asks.

Jackson throws his head back on a laugh. “It’s the main base for his Elite.”

“How many?”

“Hundreds.” He nods his head towards the door. “Hundreds like her.” Sam lifts a brow and glances at me. I shake my head because I don’t want to be reminded of how impossible our odds are right now. “The base has only one entrance in and out, and the gate is heavily guarded, with a two-mile-long approach road. If you can get within a mile of the gate without being shot by their long-range snipers, you then have to get in the gate. If you’d seen these guys fight or shoot, then you’d know how difficult that will be. Then you’ve got a blast-proof concrete bunker with an underground base, all filled with Elite.”

The door opens, and Una steps inside followed closely by Nero. She glances at the plans on the table without much interest.

Nero moves to the corner of the room and pours out a glass of whiskey. Dark shadows linger beneath his eyes, and I can only imagine what it’s like to have a woman like Una Ivanov carrying your child. He swallows the whiskey in two gulps and turns his attention to the plans sitting across from me. Una takes a seat next to him, and he lays a possessive hand on her thigh. She says nothing as everyone goes backward and forward, coming to the same conclusion again and again. There is no way to break into that base. Anna is not getting out unless Nicholai willingly releases her.

I can’t take this. I’ve never felt so frustrated or helpless. I’m a cartel boss, and even with the help of the Italian mafia, I can’t get back the only thing I really give a fuck about. Pushing to my feet, I spit a curse and slam my hand against the wall.

Una gets up and walks out. She feels it too. I know she does. We’re both so close to losing something we love. She was never even reunited with her sister, and she already faces losing her again after all this time without her.

* * *

I sitin Nero’s front room with a glass of whiskey in one hand and a cigar in the other. I need the liquor to calm my nerves and enable me to simply sit still. Doing nothing—it’s the hardest thing. Action, blood, violence; these are the things I understand. I’m losing control, and I’ve never felt so lost.

Someone clears their throat, and I glance up to find Samuel leaning against the door frame.

“Miguel called.” Miguel is Sam’s most trusted guy, the one left to oversee everything in our absence. “The Sinaloa just burned one of our factories to the ground and shot up Red’s.” I drag a hand through my hair, trying to muster the will to care about anything other than Anna for a second. Leaving Miguel was stupid. He’s capable, but I don’t trust him the way I do Samuel or Carlos.

“Send Carlos home.”

“I can go.”

I shake my head. “No, I need you,” I say quietly. I need Samuel’s logical, rational way of thinking. I need my friend because I feel like I’m teetering on the edge of oblivion right now.

He nods. “Okay. I’ll send him back.” He leaves the room without another word. And here I sit, my world tipping precariously on its axis as this rage festers away inside me. The penthouse quiets, and the darkness embraces me. The city lights spread out beyond the windows like a sea of stars, and it makes me think of Anna. Didn’t anyone ever tell you? You can’t see the stars without the dark. It’s apt really because, without her, everything seems pitch black. She is the stars.

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