"You have to," Luca murmurs, his voice fading. "For our son."
Our son. Enzo.
"Luca, please," I beg, even as the Dante men gently try to pull me away. "Fight. Come back to us."
His eyes lock with mine one last time. "I love you. Always did."
The ceiling groans ominously above us. Alessandro barks orders, and suddenly, I'm being lifted away from Luca, kicking and screaming as they drag me toward safety.
The last thing I see before smoke obscures my vision is Alessandro kneeling beside his brother as he tears off his jacket to press against Luca's wound.
"Get off me!" I struggle against the men's iron grip. "I won't leave him!"
Gunfire echoes through the corridor, punctuated by shouts. But all I can see is Luca, pale and bleeding on the floor.
“We have no choice,” one of the men hisses.
I twist violently, nearly breaking free. "There's always a choice!"
Alessandro hurries toward us, urging his men forward. “Go, go, go.”
“No.” I continue to flail.
"Enzo needs his mother. Luca would never forgive me if I let you die here." Alessandro looks at me with sympathy but also determination. “Don’t make me fail him by being stubborn. He wants you to live and be there for Enzo. It’s his wish. Are you really going to deny him that?”
Enzo's face flashes before my eyes. My struggle weakens, and Alessandro seizes the moment to pull me toward the exit. I stumble over fallen men.
“You aren’t just going to leave him, are you?”
But Alessandro isn’t listening to me as he and his men fight their way out of the basement.
We burst into the cold night air just as another explosion rips through the compound behind us. Ears ringing, I scream as I fear the house is going to be demolished with Luca inside.
Alessandro grips my elbow, partly dragging and partly guiding me toward an SUV.
“You can’t just leave him.”
He’s still not listening to me as he forces me into the SUV and tells the driver to get me out of here. He adds that I’m to be guarded at all times. I guess he doesn’t trust me not to try and come back for Luca. He’s right not to trust me.
“Go!”
As we speed away from the compound, I steal one final glance through the rear window. The Morozova fortress has smoke coming from the windows.
All I can think is that Luca is leaving me again.
I know this time, it’s not by choice.
I know it’s my fault for thinking I could make a deal with Maksim. That’s going to be the hardest pill to swallow.
How will I ever be able to look Enzo in the face again knowing I’m responsible for his father’s death?
31
LUCA
I'm drowning in darkness when the pain pulls me back. Sharp, insistent, excruciating.
My eyelids weigh a thousand pounds. Each breath feels like inhaling broken glass.
