Hearing Nina plead like that makes something dark rise from the pits of hell that calls my soul home.
The landing is illuminated by a crystal chandelier, and as my eyes lock on Nina, I see the ungodly horror on her face. My arms fly up, and I train the barrel of my gun on a man who has a little girl half over the banister, one arm clamped around her waist as her legs kick over open air.
Christ, the fall will kill her.
Silent tears form tracks on her terrified face, her eyes wide and glued to Nina.
“Please, Ivan!” Nina begs again, slowly inching a careful step forward. She’s not aware that I’m here.
If I shoot him, he’ll drop Simi.
Fuck.
Suddenly, a woman appears in the doorway, and not noticing me, she says, “Let go of the kid, already. We have to get out of here.”
My mind switches over to a higher gear, and not wasting another second, I shoot the woman in the head while running forward. Dropping the weapon near Nina, I grab hold of the banister and throw my body over it just as the fucker releases Simi.
“Noooooo!” Nina screams.
As we both fall, I catch Simi against my chest and lock my right arm around her tiny body. Just as we hurtle toward the second floor’s banister, I slam my left forearm over the railing and hook it hard around the steel.
Pain explodes through me as my body crashes into the metal while a gunshot rings through the air above us, and the blood on my arm from the bullet wound makes it fucking difficult to hang on.
“Simi!” Nina cries, looking down at us with a horrified expression I won’t forget as long as I live.
Suddenly, I hear men shouting, and recognizing their voices, I holler, “Hurry the fuck up! Second floor banister. About to fall to my death.”
“Jesus fucking Christ,” Dad shouts, and the sound of his voice fills me with intense relief.
I’m not surprised when he gets to me first with Augusto and Adriano right behind him.
Dad leans over the metal railing and grabs my torn-up wrist and forearm. Augusto and Adriano work to pull him back while Dad keeps a tight hold of me.
Santino joins them, and I use the last of my strength to push Simi up so he can take her.
Before he can lift her to safety, Nina is there to grab Simi, sobs bursting over her lips.
“My heart,” she cries, the sound heartbreaking as Dad and my friends haul my ass to safety.
“Ma-ma,” the little girl hick-ups through her tears.
As I drop to the floor and Dad wraps his arms around me, my eyes lock on Nina.
She takes one look at all the men, and as she spins around to run away, I shout, “Stop her! She’s coming with us.”
Santino moves fast. When he grabs hold of Nina, she lets out another harrowing scream, and it has me forcing my exhausted body to move.
Dad helps me to my feet, then he growls, “Fuck, son. We need to get you to a hospital.”
“I’m fine.” My eyes flick to his, so he can see I mean it, then I focus on Nina again and limp closer to her. “It’s going to be okay. You’re coming with me.”
She yanks her arm free from Santino’s hold and shakes her head wildly, looking like a cornered animal.
I tip my head at Simi, who’s the spitting image of her mother, then say, “You need to calm down for your daughter’s sake.”
Nina’s tears dry up instantly, and as her face grows even paler, she looks at me as if I’m the one who betrayed her.
“Grounds are secured,” Lorenzo, Augusto’s guard, shouts from the first floor.
