Chapter Seventeen
Sergio
I was out of the car before the driver even stopped. My mind was a blur of nothing but worst-case scenarios. However, the only image that kept replaying in my head was Seraphina bleeding out, her breath so shallow that I didn’t know how long she had left.
It had happened before.
When my father’s men stormed her home looking for our nephew, I almost lost my mind. It was my fault he even knew where they were staying, and she paid the price for my mistake. By the time I arrived, Giancarlo was gone, and she was fighting for her life.
Even though she married that motherfucker and she hadn’t forgiven me for what I had done, I promised I would always keep her safe. No matter where I was in life or where she was, her safety was my top priority. And it was a promise I planned to keep.
The front door was open, swinging like someone had just gone through it or maybe from the light breeze.
I didn’t slow down or think as my pulse pounded inside my ears.
“Stop!” Finley shouted behind me. “Sergio!”
But I didn’t. If someone was inside armed, I’d just have to take that bullet. I’d crawl through the fire for Seraphina. And if I was too late, I wouldn’t survive.
“Seraphina!” I pushed open the door then rushed inside. “Seraphina!”
A creak sounded from the second floor, and I took the stairs two at a time.
“Fuck!” Finley shouted, his footsteps sounding behind me. “Goddamn it, Sergio! Are you trying to get yourself killed!”
No, but dying wasn’t at the forefront of my mind at the moment. Only Seraphina mattered.
When I reached the bedroom she’d been staying in, Kai was inside leaning against the wall with a gunshot wound to the shoulder, and Dr. Vlahos was sprawled across the floor.
“Where’s Seraphina?” I asked.
Kai glared at me, holding his hand against his wound. “Is that all you’re fucking worried about! I’m sitting here fucking bleeding.”
“It’s a fucking shot to the shoulder. Stop crying like a little bitch and tell me where Seraphina is!”
I was losing my patience. The longer I stood here trying to get information out of Kai, the longer it would take to find her.
“I can just check the footage,” Finley said from behind me.
I whirled around. “What footage?”
“I had the place wired since we weren’t going to be here all the time just to keep an eye out. But we’ve been so busy, I haven’t had the time to go through the recordings. I thought I told you.”
“I want to see the cameras now.”
I heard grunts, and I turned my attention to Kai as he walked towards me. I couldn’t decipher the look in his eyes, but it looked like fear. “I need a doctor,” he said.
“Finley will patch you up.” I turned back to Finley. “Show it to me.”
Kai grabbed my arm, forcing me to focus back on him. “You need to let her go, Sergio,” Kai said. “That bitch tried to kill me. She’s proven she doesn’t want to be here with you. What’s it going to take for you to see you don’t need her? What’s it going to take to see you have everything you need right in front of you?”
“This isn’t a conversation I’m having with you, Kai. And if she wanted to kill you, you’d be fucking dead. I taught her how to shoot a gun when she was sixteen fucking years old. Trust me, she wouldn’t have missed.”
I yanked my arm away, but he grabbed me again which made me suspicious. It was like he wanted to stop me from going after her. He should know by now, I’d never stop until she was with me.
“What are you hiding?” I asked.
“Really, Sergio?”
