"Big dreams, little girl," Marco said with a smirk. "That and he's the only one that'll listen. He's still relatively fresh blood."
When Marco's phone pinged, he looked at it and laughed, "Looks like we're expecting company."
Chapter Thirty Four
Lucas
Seeing the cut on Mia's face had sent me over the edge. Bianchi wouldn't get his money and he wasn't getting out of this alive, as far as I was concerned. Marco had told me to come alone but I wasn't that stupid. My men were as loyal to me as they had been to my father, so a simple order was met with no resistance.
When we walked into the club, a hostile atmosphere hung thick in the air.
"Where is he?" I asked.
One of the men disappeared into the back and I stood there, jaw clenched, with Dante beside me and the rest of mine behind. Marco strode out into the club, dragging Mia by the wrist behind him.
"Lucas," Marco tutted. "I said on your own."
"Do I look stupid?" I asked him.
Marco popped a knife in his hand and pulled Mia roughly towards him, holding the blade to her throat. My instinct took over and I stepped forward. I couldn’t let anything happen to her. Every man in the room reached for a weapon and Marco pushed the blade a little harder into Mia's skin, forcing me to stop in my tracks.
"I wouldn't say you're the brightest bulb," Marco remarked.
"This doesn't have anything to do with her so let her go," I told him.
"You want something, and I want something so I figure we can do a trade."
"What part of no don't you understand, Bianchi? Human trafficking isn't a business I want to deal in."
A twisted smile came to Marco's face. "What do you call taking her from her home and exchanging sexual favors for money?"
I took another step forward but a squeak from Mia made me stop.
"I don't blame you, Lucas," Marco continued. "It would be hard to stay away from someone like her."
"Let her go."
"If we come to an arrangement. And if not..." Marco pulled Mia tighter against him and his hand started to wander down her body.
"STOP!"
All eyes fell on me but that changed the moment Dante took a shot at Marco's feet. The floodgates were opened, and Marco lost his grip on Mia.
"Go, Mia!" I ordered. She needed to be clear of the building now that chaos had been unleashed. The sound of gunfire and glass shattering took over the room as I reached for my gun.
Mia took off, running towards the exit and a body slammed into mine, sending me sprawling and knocking the air out of me. I used the butt of my gun to knock it against the man's temple hard and shoved the body off me.
When I got back up, I scanned the room for Marco. It was pure pandemonium in the club, and I moved as swiftly as possible before feeling a bullet graze my arm. That's when I saw Marco picking himself up off the floor and took aim without even thinking. All I was certain of was that Marco deserved every shot as three bullets were sent his way in quick succession. There was no room for forgiveness after he had laid his hands on Mia. The red bloomed across Marco's white shirt and I watched as he dropped to his knees.
The anarchy continued, shots flying and bodies falling until Marco's lifeless corpse had been seen. The remaining men began to flee, and a quick scan of the room alerted me to Dante on the floor, pressing a hand to his thigh whilst he writhed in pain.
"Mia," Dante rasped, jerking his head.
I nodded at him and started towards the exit until I heard a small voice call out to me.
"Luc..."
Mia was slumped against the bar in the room, surrounded by shattered glass and liquid from broken bottles. She pressed a hand to her side and looked pale as a ghost.
