Fire flashed through my skull, my head wrenched back as I released a helpless cry.
Then Arianna’s voice was right in my ear, full of smug satisfaction. “There’s no one coming to help you. The guards are dead, and Gio? Well, Gio’s currently playing a fun little one-person game where it’s a race to see if he can wake up from a knock to the noggin before freezing to death, seeing as he’s currently lying unconscious in a snowbank.”
Even though hearing the news of Gio’s perilous situation threatened to extinguish it, the rage churning in my gut only burned brighter.
“Coward,” I seethed. “Just like your father. Bet you came at him from behind because you knew you didn’t stand a chance fighting him face-to-face. You’d better get down on your knees and pray he dies out there in the cold, because if not, he’s going to destroy you. There’s no universe in which Gio Bellini doesn’t come out on top.”
Arianna slapped me enough for my eyes to water. “I liked you better when you hated him.”
“Enough!” Nico boomed. “We got what we came for. Let’s go.”
The hold on my hair released so suddenly that I collapsed to the ground. Scrambling to my feet, I grabbed my phone and aimed the flashlight toward the sound of footsteps, illuminating the retreating forms of Nico and Arianna.
Surging forward, I gripped a fistful of Nico’s jacket. “Take me with you!” I begged.
The twins looked at each other before turning their eyes on me.
“She’s annoying as fuck,” Arianna grumbled. “But her tits will keep the brat quiet.”
Nico looked skyward, blowing out a “fine.”
I followed behind the pair as they navigated the maze of hallways with ease. It wasn’t until we walked through the sliding glass door to the patio that I realized I didn’t have shoes on. My socks might have been thick, but trudging through the deep snow had the wool soaked through within minutes. But frostbite was the least of my worries when it was unclear whether I—and my baby—would survive the night.
Parked around the side of the mansion sat two snowmobiles. Arianna tugged on a helmet, taking a seat on one, twirling her finger in a wordless signal for her brother to hurry up.
Nico looked from his motorized winter vehicle to Luca, then back again, almost like he was just now realizing he hadn’t thought through the logistics of driving while holding an infant.
Extending my hands, I offered, “I can take him.”
Hazel eyes narrowing, he warned, “Don’t try anything stupid.”
“I won’t.”
Reluctantly, Nico handed Luca over, and I clutched him to my chest, nearly sobbing in relief.
Against my baby’s head, I whispered, “Mommy’s got you, sweetheart. I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”
And I meant it. I would die before I let either one of those psychopaths touch my son again.
“Get on.” Nico’s barked command could barely be heard over the gust of wind that came off the lake only a few streets over.
Luca whimpered, and to protect him from the elements, I carefully tucked him into my oversized sweatshirt, making sure he could breathe through the neck hole before hitching a thigh over the side of Nico’s snowmobile.
If I’d thought I was in pain before, it had nothing on the searing agony that tore through me as I lowered my weight, straddling the hard seat. There was barely time to hang on before we were tearing through the blinding white landscape. At the speed we were moving, the few snowflakes still falling felt like needles stabbing my face, so I was forced to bury it against Nico’s back with my eyes closed.
When we slowed to a stop, I lifted my head, and even though I’d been essentially blindfolded during our journey, I knew exactly where we were.
The casino.
Chapter 26
Gio
“Sonofabitch.”
Gripping my aching head, I rolled over onto my side, only to come face-to-face with a wall of snow.
What the hell?
