We kept our shoulders straight, not letting any sign of fear show outwardly as we descended the stairs. Spade rolled the van door open for us, and Kellan helped me up. The two of them cradled me between them as the tires squealed and we sped down the road, leaving the enemy in our rearview mirror.
Chapter Five
Giana
“Giana,”Kellanbreathedashe slung his mask off, his sable eyes burning a hole into the side of my head with their intensity.
“I know.” I placed my hand to my ear to turn the coms back on, the remote still clutched tightly in my clammy palms. “Alpha team?”
“We’re clear.” Nicholas’ voice echoed through the speaker, easing the frenetic energy crashing through me. “Getting into the pickup now.”
“Bravo team?” My pulse picked back up as I waited for the snipers to respond.
“We left the cameras in place and loaded up the vans. Taking side streets like we planned back to headquarters.”
“10-4. Let us know if there’s movement from any of the lookouts.” Although I really didn’t want to flatten the cathedral, I would if there was any sign Angelo sent a tail after us, regardless of how pissed Francine would be.
“10-4, boss.”
I finally exhaled the breath I’d been holding and pulled out the tablet from under the seat. Charlie team were the getaway drivers for us and Alpha team, so there was no need to check in with them.
“Giana.” Kellan gripped my knee, forcing my attention back to him.
“I know.” I tapped on the tablet and opened up the video feeds to monitor the church, needing to keep myself busy. I didn’t know what else to say, especially when I had to be vigilant. This was my plan, and if it backfired, I would never forgive myself.
Spade chucked his mask to the floor, a vicious fury blazing in his amethyst eyes that I’d never seen before. Sure, I knew my love had a penchant for violence, but the snarling rage was usually Merrick’s role. Spade usually laughed while carving up his target, relishing their screams.
“I should have ripped his eyes out.” Spade’s hands flexed in his lap, as if he was debating going back and tearing Angelo to shreds. “No one gets to look at you like that other than us.”
“His attitude completely shifted…” I trailed off, thinking aloud. “He knew we wanted to see him rage, that we’d enjoy knocking him off-kilter.”
“So you’re saying he was pretending to ogle you?” Kellan frowned. “Because from where I was standing—”
“No, he wasn’t pretending,” I interrupted, unable to repress the shudder now that we were alone. “But I think he did it to turn the tables on us. We were going for a psychological move today, and he figured it out and tried to get under our skin in return.”
“I’m still going to scoop his eyes out with a melon baller,” Spade huffed, some of his fury dulling as he grinned and the familiar violent delight glinted in his gaze.
Kellan shook his head. “We can’t let them regain the upper hand. We have to go out tonight because I doubt they’ll wait to retaliate.”
“I know.” I slumped back in my seat as the buildings outside the window grew sparser as we drove to the outskirts of the town. There still wasn’t any movement outside the cathedral, so I could only imagine they’d found the priest and continued with the service. “We’ll go over the plans for tonight when we get back.”
I pulled up a word-processing app and split the tablet into two screens as I outlined the plan, still unable to take my eyes off the video feeds for more than a few moments.
“Giana.” My name was softer as it rolled off Kellan’s tongue this time.
I stretched out my neck and let my head thud against the headrest. “I’m here.” I let the tablet rest in my lap as I placed a reassuring hand over his and gripped Spade’s knee, pulling him out of his daydreams. “Today was a win, regardless of how Angelo responded. It showed his partners we can still get to them no matter what precautions they put in place.”
“You think that’s what I’m worried about?” A crease formed between Kellan’s brows, and I itched to smooth it out.
“No, but I’m choosing not to focus on that.” I took comfort from the men bracketing me, letting their warmth soak into my bones. “I stayed out of Tommaso’s reach after you guys saved me, and I have no reason to believe that I’ll ever be at Angelo’s mercy.”
“We almost lost you the last time.” A note of despondency rang in Spade’s tone, the agony wrapping around my heart like a vise.
“I know.” I gripped each of their hands, my knuckles turning white with the effort. “Tommaso was personal, but Angelo…” I trailed off, unable to finish.
“He’s personal too.” Kellan finished for me even though I wished I could refute the statement, but it was true.
Angelo was the monster who created Tommaso, who formed him into the man who stole what he coveted, no matter the cost. He was the reason Tommaso had power, and he was guilty of so much more.
