I scrape a hand over my face, trying to wipe away this terminal exhaustion. I’m so fucking tired of this war, but I don’t know how to let it go.
“Do you want to lose her?” Angelo asks.
“What do you think?”
“I think you’re about to if you don’t fix this.”
I meet his gaze, hating the certainty I see there. “Did she tell you that?”
“She didn’t have to. I saw it for myself.”
His phone rings, and he drags it from his pocket. Before he answers, he delivers one final blow.
“Figure it out, Romeo. Either you claim her, or you can watch someone else give her what you wouldn’t.”
“They’re on their way back.”Angelo gestures for me. “Come down for a minute and get some fresh air. It will be good for you.”
I drag my ass off the lounge, not for fresh air, but because I won’t relax until Gabi’s safe at the penthouse.
We take the elevator down to the parking garage and wait for the women to arrive. Under the buzzing fluorescent lights, all I smell is exhaust. But that isn’t why Angelo brought me down here. He could tell I was crawling out of my skin.
His phone rings, and he takes a call, rattling off something about permits on a project that’s been stalled.
The wind outside picks up, and a cold draft rushes through the garage, blowing a receipt across the ground. The sound of tires rolling over concrete and a flash of headlights draw my attention to the vehicle coming up the ramp.
Before I can see if it’s one of ours, the unmistakable squeak of shoe rubber pulls my focus. I pivot just in time to catch a flash of movement behind one of the pillars.
The hair on my arms rises as the edge of a coat flutters out from behind the pillar, and a muzzle slides forward, aiming straight for my brother.
A cold sweat creeps over me as the familiar hum rattles the base of my skull.
My vision tunnels, and static fills my ears as my heart pounds. The neurological ambush happens in rapid-fire, and this time, I don’t resist it.
I tackle my brother to the ground, his phone flying out of his hand as we skid to a halt beside a truck.
“What the fuck—” His words falter when he meets my gaze.
He can see my body has been hijacked, but something is off.
I only realize it when I hear the squeak of a door hinge, followed by Gabi’s voice. Instead of locking my sights on the target, I move directly toward her.
Angelo sounds like he’s underwater as he calls after me, but my singular focus is Gabi as she steps out of the SUV. She glances up at me and says something, but I don’t hear it.
My eyes dart to the pillar as the figure steps into view and takes aim at her head.
It feels like the entire world around me slows to a crawl as I hook an arm around her waist and turn.
The shot rings out, and my body jerks.
Blood explodes across her face, and I drag her to the ground, shielding her between my body and the vehicle as I cradle her head against my chest.
Two more gunshots echo through the garage as our guards take aim. From my periphery, I see them filing out from behind the SUV in search of the shooter.
I close my eyes and focus on my breathing. After a minute, when I know it’s safe, I pull back to examine Gabi.
Tears streak down her face as broken sobs spill from her lips.
With the adrenaline still coursing through me, my eyes move over her in a controlled scan, checking for injuries. When I find none, the tension in my body dissolves.
