“I’ve carried your dumb ass before.”
I fired another round at the column. “No, you haven’t.”
“Slovenia ring a bell?”
A shot nicked the wall next to Ringo’s head. He quickly fired at the figure in the sniper blind above us. Dianora ducked back into the shadows.
“Did you get her?” I asked to be certain of the urgency.
“Unfortunately, I missed.”
I voiced my sentiment with a curse and muttered, “Plan B.”
Ringo threw a leg over Ellie’s body and fired at the corners of the large picture window closest to us. The glass spiderwebbed with his second shot, then he changed aim to the center, blowing a gaping hole in the window which caused the rest of the piece to crumble into tiny pellets.
The solicitor who’d followed us jumped through first, even before either Ringo or I could lay down cover fire. Dianora fired from the stairwell, and I pinned her in place with several short bursts before shifting back to the guards emboldened by her presence.
“Time to go.”
Ringo threw down his gun and picked up Ellie, who was at the cusp of consciousness. Her eyelids fluttered, and her hands moved to grip his shirt as he tossed her around like a sack.
I laid down a wide swath of bullets to keep our hunters at bay. Once Ringo and Ellie were clear, I ran for the open window and dove through.
The landing was unexpected as the space beyond sloped sharply downward with grass so tall it hid the rocks and thorn bushes guarding the soft flank of Don Conti’s estate.
But our firefight had one good outcome.
Loppa and the men I’d enlisted to protect Don Manca pressed from the gates and had secured the towers.
Once we climbed free of the brambles and met their party, Ringo handed off Ellie to the nearest soldier possible.
And as soon as his hands were free, I punched him.
“What the fuck was that for?”
“You dumb-ass. I gave you orders.”
“I was saving you.”
“Where is my wife?”
Ringo wiped the blood from his mouth. Behind us, Ellie muttered something under her breath that was aimed at Ringo. I didn’t blame her at all. If the situation wasn’t so dire, I’d kill him immediately.
“She’s safe.”
“Like this one was safe?”
Firenze approached. “Thank God. You found her. She ran from us.”
If he said one more word, I’d hit him. “Firenze? I thought you were a smarter man.”
He glanced at Ellie before attempting an answer.
“That is not my wife.”
His surprise spoke volumes.
There wasn’t enough time to set him straight. “Ringo? If Allie is not found in the next hour, you know what will happen to you?”
