Without wasting a second, he pulled out his phone and dialed Renzo, voice strained with pain. “Renzo—backup, now. Ironveil warehouse.”
That was when I saw it.
Blood was soaking through his left side, just below the ribs.
He had been trying to hide it from me.
“Oh my God— you’ve been shot!” Panic ripped through me like fire.
“I’ll be fine,” he groaned, pressing a hand to the wound.
But the sight of his blood triggered a memory so vivid it nearly knocked the breath out of me.
Years ago, in that same hidden cave where we met as children, he had been bleeding then too.
Without thinking, I had torn a strip from my own clothes to stop the bleeding.
I did the same now.
I ripped the bottom of my hospital gown with steady hands, folded the fabric, and pressed it firmly against his wound, trying to staunch the flow.
“Elena, don’t...” His voice was weak. “I deserve to die.”
“You are the father of my child,” I said fiercely, refusing to pull away. “So no—you do not get to die. Our son needs a father.”
Another gunshot rang out.
I snatched the Glock from his weakening grip and peered carefully around the edge of our cover.
My training kicked in instinctively.
I scanned the shadows with cold precision—two men crouched behind the large metal doors on the left, and two more positioned on the upper balcony, partially hidden behind the rusted railings.
I pulled back quickly.
“There are only four of them,” I said, breathing hard. “We can take them out.”
Blood was now dripping steadily from Vincenzo’s wound onto the concrete floor.
He tried to snatch the gun from my hands, but I held on tightly.
“Elena... give it to me.” Vincenzo rasped.
“This is my fight. Let me die saving you—if that’s what it takes.”
“You still don’t get it, do you?” I snapped, refusing to let go.
“Your death doesn’t fix anything. It doesn’t profit me, and it sure as hell doesn’t profit our son. I need you alive, Vincenzo. I need you to suffer for every scar you put on me.”
Before he could argue, I risked everything.
I peeked around the edge of the crates and calculated the angles in a heartbeat.
The two men crouched behind the large metal doors on the left were exposed from this side.
In one fluid motion, I rolled out of cover, aimed, and fired twice in rapid succession.
Both shots hit true.
