We both ran toward each other, meeting in a fierce embrace.
She murmured my name over and over again, holding me tight. Her delicate body trembled with emotion and a ghost of the fear that must’ve haunted her ever since Father had given me to the Bratva.
I pulled back so that I could study her, my eyes raking over her to search for any signs of injury. Her jaw was marred by a bruise that’d turned a sick green hue, an older mark of abuse that she’d tried to conceal with makeup. And her right wrist was in a splint, sprained.
“What did Father do to you?” I demanded, rage making the question little more than a growl.
Her hazel eyes roved over me, checking me in turn. I was grateful that Dante had given me yoga pants and a soft cotton, long sleeved shirt before he’d left this morning; the clothes covered most of my bruises. He must’ve known that an exchange like this would happen and that I wouldn’t want to upset my sister by allowing her to see the marks of abuse.
He understood me so deeply that it should’ve been disturbing, but I was too grateful to him to be upset.
“Tell me, Giana,” I pressed.
Murderous impulses curled my fingers to fists. My father would die for harming her. I wouldn’t allow him to hurt her ever again. For too long, we’d ensured his merciless punishments. My sister would be safe from now on. I would guarantee it.
“I tried to stop them,” she said, grasping my fists in her shaking hands. “I wasn’t going to let them take you from me. But the Russians…” She trailed off, shuddering at the awful memory of the day they’d taken me.
I ignored the sick laughter that echoed in my head, shadows of the trauma I’d endured. My sister was more important.
“Who did this to you? Was it Antonio?”
“No!” she exclaimed, eyes going wide enough that her thick lashes brushed her brows. “Antonio would never hurt me. He protected me from the worst of it, but I couldn’t stop them from taking you away. I’m so sorry, Nora. I thought I was saving you from Dante, but I led you straight into a trap. I didn’t know. I swear, I had no idea what Father had planned.”
I hugged her tightly. “I know,” I promised. “I’m safe now. I survived.”
Her delicate features drew sharp with fury. “The Russians will pay for it,” she seethed, eyes shining with unshed tears. Her gaze slid past me, finding Dante’s. “Kill them all.”
My dark protector offered her a short, savage nod. “I intend to. I’ll avenge my wife, and I’ll slaughter everyone who hurt her. Starting with that traitorous fuck, Antonio. He disappeared during the firefight when we raided Giuseppe’s hideout. Do you know where he might have gone? I’ll kill him for throwing Nora to the wolves.”
Giana swallowed hard and shrank closer to me, her fingers threading through mine for support. Despite her evident fear of the deadly predator in the room, she held her head high when she defied him.
“Antonio didn’t know about Father’s deal with the Bratva,” she asserted, voice barely wavering. “He thought he was helping me save Nora. From you.” Her eyes narrowed at Dante. “I’m grateful to you for getting me away from Giuseppe and for saving Nora from the Russians, but I still don’t trust you. I know you’ll avenge her because you think she’s your wife, and I’ll stand with anyone who fights for my sister. But I was there on the day you took her from our father’s house. You drugged her and dragged her away from me. She didn’t want to go with you.”
“Giana,” I scolded in an undertone, squeezing her hand in warning. “Dante will protect me. You don’t know…” I suddenly became acutely aware of Luca’s eyes on me. “I’ll explain later. It’s more complicated than that. What matters now is that you’re safely here with me. What happened to Father?”
“The old bastard slipped through my fingers,” Dante rumbled. “Antonio got Giana out before we raided Giuseppe’s hideout, and in that time, he must’ve been tipped off that we were coming for him. When we breached the house, he was already gone.”
He leaned against the doorjamb, his face paler than usual despite his murderous expression. Crimson stained his white shirt, soaking the fabric at his shoulder.
“You’re hurt!” I exclaimed.
Panic punched me, and I wrenched my hand free from Giana’s tight grip so that I could go to him. My fingers flew to his buttons, tearing at them in order to take off this shirt. I had to inspect then extent of his injury.
His long fingers encircled my wrists, slowly directing my grasping hands back to my sides. His eyes glinted with a hungry light as he drank in my concerned expression.
“I’m fine, darling. My stitches tore when I was firing the assault rifle. I killed as many of the traitorous bastards as I could. They won’t be able to threaten you ever again.”
“But you’re bleeding,” I insisted, jerking against his hold.
“I’ve already called my physician. He’ll take a look at the wound.” He released one of my wrists so that he could trace the lines of strain around my mouth, as though he couldn’t quite believe they were etched there. “I’m okay, Nora. I’m not going to let anyone hurt you.”
“Neither will I.” Luca’s fierce growl rumbled over me as his chest pressed against my back. His hands settled on my waist in a possessive hold, but he didn’t tear me away from Dante; he wouldn’t risk accidentally hurting me.
I looked up to find his ochre eyes boring into Dante’s. “You should’ve died today. Soon enough, I’ll take care of that too.”
Dante sneered at him. “Try it, and see what happens to your friends.”
“Stop!” I demanded. “Neither of you is going to die, and Luca’s friends won’t be harmed. I won’t allow it to happen.”
