I swallow down my fears. I promised Felicity that I would care for her baby, and if this is what I have to do to ensure I keep that promise and get that baby into the safety of his father’s arms, then that’s what I’m going to do. “Born ready.”
Roman scoffs, seeing through my bullshit, but he nods, appreciating that I’m with him no matter what. “Let’s do this.”
We forge forward toward the army, and Roman lets off a few more shots, getting a few easy kills out of the way before focusing on the fight. He jumps straight into action, pushing himself in front of me and keeping me protected at his back, but there are too many men to hold back.
My eyes are wide and terrified as I watch men pour around Roman, each one going for him with fury, but he holds his own, far too skilled and full of power than any of them could have possibly seen coming. He’s superhuman, that’s the only way to describe it.
He slams his gun right up into a guy’s gut and pulls the trigger, effortlessly taking him down while his other hand shoots out, knocking out another soldier. Men drop as quickly as they can come, and it’s clear that these soldiers Giovanni recruited are nobodies with absolutely no formal training. Roman was right, it is a shame that we have to kill them, but they got themselves involved in this mess and now they have to suffer the consequences.
Two men get around Roman and my heart races as they come for me. Nerves pulse heavily through my veins. It’s one thing to kill a man who’s already down or chained to the fucking metal beams holding up the ceiling, but having them actively fighting and probably a shitload stronger than me, now that’s something new.
They bear down on me, and instead of bitching out or shitting my pants, I pull on my game face. I can do this. I was fucking born … well, no. I certainly wasn’t born for this, but I was trained a little bit and have a big enough chip on my shoulder that I can maybe make a good go of it.
With determination in my veins and fury in my chest, I storm toward them, meeting them before they have a chance to meet me. My dagger swings through the air and I spin widely, a battle cry tearing from between my lips. The blade sails straight through the first guy’s waist, and his eyes widen like saucers, looking at me in disbelief. His hand drops to his waist just in time to catch the contents spilling out of it, and I gasp at the sight.
“CRY ABOUT IT LATER,” Roman grunts. “FOCUS.”
Fuck.
I blink, only now realizing there are tears in my eyes and slam my hand out again, thrusting the dagger toward the second guy. He skirts out of the way and looks at me as though I’m the vilest little bitch he’s ever laid eyes on. He shoots forward, his fists come out at me, and I quickly stumble back a step, raising my other hand and pulling the trigger.
My arm jerks back with the momentum of the shot as the bullet sails toward his head, going so damn fast that I barely see the moment it tears off half his face. A scream tears from the back of my throat as he drops down, but I push my fear aside and forge forward. There are too many men crowding Roman, and I refuse to let him go down with me cowering behind him.
We fight side by side, and when things get a little shady for me, he sweeps out with a knife, amputating an arm or two. We quickly cull the soldiers, and with Levi and Marcus working their way from the side and the cousins at the back, it’s not long before I can start to see through the throng of people.
An explosion rocks through the ground as bodies are hit with the blast, flying across the property. The blast sends me back onto my ass, and just as I scramble to get back up, a heavy boot presses against my chest, slamming me back to the ground. I scream out, but all is lost as I look up and meet Giovanni’s dark stare as he presses the tip of a blade against my throat.
I suck in a breath, my body going still as I stare up into the face of pure evil. He smirks down at me, knowing the boys would move mountains just to see me smile, and with a victorious smirk, he turns his ferocious stare on Roman.
“STOP THIS NOW OR I END HER MISERABLE LIFE.” Giovanni’s voice soars over the sound of the battle, and Roman’s head whips around. His eyes go wide and I see his whole fucking world flashing before his eyes.
My heart breaks and without a moment of hesitation, he steps back from the army of men, drops his weapons, and falls to his knees before his father.
35
The battle ground turns to silence.
Giovanni’s soldiers step away from the boys, panting and gasping, half of them slowly bleeding out on the ground. They quickly gather in the center of the massive circle drive, leaving Marcus and Levi wondering what the fuck is going on. They raise their gazes and the moment they see their father standing over me with a knife, barely a flick of the wrist away from taking my life, they stumble back, the worst kind of fear flashing in their eyes.
Roman’s knee rests next to my hand and I stretch my fingers out, desperate for his touch and he quickly reaches down, grasping my hand in his. “You’re going to be okay,” he tells me.
“Now, now, Roman,” Giovanni says, tsking his son. “What have I taught you about telling lies?”
Tears spill from my eyes as I remain impossibly still, taking shallow breaths to avoid pressing up against the tip of Giovanni’s blade. My life is over tonight and I know it with complete certainty. This is the last time I will ever see the boys again. There’s no way in hell Giovanni is going to allow us to walk away from this. He will take my life to punish the boys, and they will forever be forced to live under his rule.
Roman’s heavy eyes linger on mine, and I see nothing but pained guilt and devastation. He knows it too. This is the end. I’m just another girl, in a long line of women who have been destroyed by his father.
Marcus and Levi are stripped of their weapons and shoved by the soldiers until they stand before their father, but their eyes are only for me. “On your knees,” Giovanni demands, spitting each word like they’re poison in his mouth.
They resist their father’s demands until the soldiers kick their legs out from under them, dropping them onto the bloodied grass. Marcus groans as the soldier leans over him and nails him in the ribs, and I cry out, hearing the distinct sound of his bones breaking.
Giovanni’s gaze flickers back down to me as though he’d forgotten I was here, and he looks across at one of his soldiers. “Take her,” he spits.
His heavy boot comes off my chest, and I suck in a breath as the knife backs off my throat. My grip remains locked in Roman’s, and I try to scurry away as Giovanni steps back to make room for the guard, but it’s no use. My body is weak and the more I resist, the worse my death is going to be.
The soldier pulls me off the ground, tearing my hand out of Roman’s as a pained cry pulls from deep in my chest. He drags me away, stopping only a few feet from where the brothers watch me over their father’s shoulder, each one of them staring at me as though I’m their final hope.
My arms are yanked viciously behind my back to the point where I fear my shoulders will pop out of their sockets, and as I sob in pain and fear, the soldier slams his knee up into my back. His hand circles my throat and squeezes hard. “If you don’t shut the fuck up, I’ll slit your goddamn throat and fuck you in front of your boyfriends while you bleed out under me.”