I don’t know where they’re taking me at first, but they suddenly get me to stop as a helicopter approaches. Hope stirs in me, wondering if it’s the police, but at the sight of its unmarked exterior, it dies immediately.
It lands some distance away on a black pad, stirring up an even bigger gust of wind while the thrum of its rotors vibrates through me.
The blades continue spinning, and the sight of it waiting there punches a renewed terror into me.
If they get me in there, they could take me anywhere. Just as quickly as they grabbed me, they could make me disappear completely. Then, there would be a chance that I’d never get to see them again. Not my brothers, the girls, and certainly not Wyatt.
I’d be as good as dead with them.
“No,” I mumble, growing numb. “Please.”
Then, unceremoniously, Cesare and Carlo start dragging me toward it. They don’t care to listen to me.
Digging my heels in as hard as I can, pain shoots up my legs, but I don’t care. My shoes scrape against the concrete, and even if it’s pointless, I resist.
“You don’t have to do this…I won’t be useful to you. I’ll fight you every step of the way.”
Carlo laughs, giving my arm a tug. “You already are.”
My heart slams in my chest, feeling so close to breaking from the pressure, and I squeeze my eyes shut to try and block it all out.
Then, somehow, shouting breaks through the helicopter's noise. It’s sharp, urgent, and close enough for all of us to register.
The twins freeze, and Carlo curses under his breath as he presses a finger against his earpiece.
Orlando’s thick brows furrow. “What is it?”
Before his son can answer, noise from down below moves upward.
Gunfire echoes faintly somewhere inside, followed by the incessant ring of a fire alarm being triggered. The mood on the rooftop shifts instantly, and that casual confidence drains from the Grimaldi men at once, replaced by panic.
“Damn it, what’s happening?” Orlando demands, grabbing Carlo’s shoulder roughly with gritted teeth.
Carlo, who had looked so brutal before, can’t hide as his eyes widen and the color drains from his face. “They’re breaching multiple floors, gunning down our guys. But it’s too much heat.”
His father’s eyes narrow. “Who is it?”
“Wyatt’s men,” he murmurs, reaching for his pistol. “And…Lukov units. Together.”
For the first time since I opened my eyes on the rooftop, true fear flashes across Orlando’s face. Fear and surprise.
“Impossible.”
“They’re moving fast. The others are trying to hold them off, but there are too many.”
My heart lurches.
Wyatt. My brothers.
Regardless of their unsteady truce and the tensions between them, they came for me. Together.
“Move her. Now!” Orlando barks, and when his sons are too frozen to move, he grabs me himself.
Even if he’s trying to pull me away, I don’t worry. Instead, I dig my heels in deeper, making it even harder for him.
So long as he doesn’t get me on that helicopter, I’ll stand a better chance of making it out of here. Back to my family, and back to Wyatt.
With adrenaline firing through me, the same thought lingers in my mind.
