“I know the address. Let’s move.”
“I need to call Salvatore. He will want to know that Sabatini is around.”
He assesses me. “You can do that on the road.”
After talking to Salvatore, he assured me he’s sending men to help us so we can catch the bastard. We’re now split all over the street, waiting for him to show up.
Waiting isn't one of Nico’s qualities, and in this situation, neither is it mine. I avoid thinking about regrets and focus on what I want to do when I get Valentina back. Neither of us has slept in more than twenty-four hours, and now, with morning in full swing, we need to focus.
My eyes catch a figure dressed in black, a cap covering his face. “That’s him,” I say to Nico. “Let’s move.”
We follow Victor for hours until he finally meets with Sabatini in a secluded alley in an Escalade.
“We got him.” Nico smirks.
“Not quite yet. They are up to something,” I say as they drive away. We follow them, changing cars and routes until they stop before the graveyard in the city’s underbelly. Victor exits the car and enters the building, while Sabatini stays in the car.
It would be easy, entering his car and ending this. But first, I need to see Valentina.
Heat pulls at my chest when I see her leaving the building. Victor has her in his grip, gun pointed at her side. Rage rises inside me, and I reach for my gun, ready to aim at him.
I don’t get to do anything because she gets into the car, Victor following her. I clench my jaw. Waiting for them to move, when the gun is fired, and Victor is thrown out of the car before they take off.
We follow the car until a gun is fired from inside their car.
“Fuck! They saw us!” Nico says and pulls out his gun, firing back.
“No!” I shout at Nico when he fires. “Valentina is in that car. You do not shoot.”
“We need to fire back at them,” Nico argues.
“You concentrate on driving, and I’ll shoot,” I say as Nico swerves to the left and a bullet hits the windshield.
With Nico focused on driving, I aim at the tires. The car in front of us weaves to the side, and the driver loses control and collides with a wall.
Before Nico can stop the car, I’m out and running. Gun in my hand, I open the door, planning to kill anyone who is in there who has my wife. Only I’m the one who gets shot at.
The bullet passes my head by only an inch, thanks to the body that fell out when I opened the door and distracted me. Wide green eyes stare at me. The gun falls from her hands, her eyes roll back, and she's out.
“Valentina!” I pull the body that’s half out of the car and reach for her. “Valentina!” I cradle her in my arms and gently slap her face to wake her up. Nothing.
“Is she alive?” Nico comes running.
“Yes, but she's too pale. She needs a doctor.”
“Mack will go with you. I’ll take care of this.”
I look at the bastard who has started to move. “That one is ours,” I say to him.
“Of course he is.” Nico smirks.
I pick up my wife and cradle her in my arms as I look at the chaos surrounding us, and I know everything will be all right.
thirty-eight
Valentina
Somewhere in the distance, there is a hum of machines and chatter of people I don’t recognize. My eyelids are heavy, and my throat is raw. My body aches, and when I try to move my hands, it’s difficult. From the smell of metal and antiseptic, I know I’m in the hospital. When I open my eyes, I should have been prepared to be blinded by the lights, but I’m not. I blink a few times before I can concentrate.
