Enrico’s hands were moving down my abdomen caressing my skin. “I’m going to kill you! Get away from my wife, you fuck!”
“Or what? You gonna kill me with your death stare? You gonna call your daddy to come and rap me on the knuckles?”
A tear rolled down my cheek, but I kept my eyes closed tightly. I wouldn’t allow Enrico to see the pain and disgust in my eyes. I refused to give him the satisfaction. He loosened the ropes around my feet and pulled me up to face him. He turned me around to face Joe who was staring daggers into the scumbag pawing me.
Enrico slid his hand under my skirt, and that’s when it happened. All hell broke loose. Machine gun fire, men screaming in pain, yelling, swearing, running. Joe took the opportunity to throw himself backward onto the floor. The chair splintered as it shattered into pieces. Joe jumped up and lunged at Enrico, who had drawn a knife and was holding it against my throat.
I didn’t move a muscle as Enrico screamed at Joe. “Stay back or I’ll slice her! I swear I’ll . . .”
He never had the chance to finish his sentence. I drove back my football-sized head and connected with his nose. It hurt like hell, but it was worth it. He lost his balance, and I dropped to my knees to get away from him. Joe leaped over me and threw himself onto Enrico. I kicked the knife away with my foot while Joe kicked the shit out of our captor.
The door flew open and Fabio burst in. He looked over at me, and then, to where Joe and Enrico were fighting. Franco ran in after Fabio, grabbed my arms, and led me out of the room at speed. I tried to fight to stay with Joe, but Franco wouldn’t hear of it. Mario was outside the warehouse waiting inside the getaway car, yelling at Franco to hurry up and get me inside.
Franco yanked the back door of the car open and pushed me inside. I couldn’t hear much with all the shooting and yelling going on, so I lay on the seat and held my breath. A loud bang sounded right next to the open door, and a bullet ricocheted past my ear. I heard Mario screaming. That’s when I looked up and saw Franco on his knees, holding his abdomen. Blood was spurting from a large hole in his chest. I stared, unable to speak while Mario came around the back of the car and dragged Franco into the passenger seat.
As we raced off, tires screeching, rubber smoking on the tarmac, I saw Fabio and Joe running from the warehouse. Mario was yelling something at me. I tried to focus on what he was saying.
“Get the jacket from the back, and push it into Franco’s wound. We have to stop the bleeding. Ella! Help me.”
I snapped out of my funk and sprang into action. Mario raced through the streets, hooting and dodging vehicles. We pulled up in front of the ER doors and yelled for help until the hospital staff ran out with a stretcher. They wheeled Franco inside and out of sight. I was shaking like a leaf.
“I’ll take you to Joe,’ Mario said. “There’s nothing we can do for Franco now. He’s in good hands. I’ll come back here after I drop you off safely.”
We drove in stunned silence. The gatehouse at the mansion was crawling with armed guards. The gate opened as soon as the guards saw Mario and I. Joe and Fabio were waiting outside the house for us. Joe ran and opened the car door, taking me into his arms. We stood there for a long time.
“Where’s Franco?” Fabio looked at Mario and then at me.
“He’s at the hospital. I’m on my way back there now.”
“Hospital? What the hell happened?” Joe asked.
“He was shot in the chest while we were making our getaway.” Mario had tears in his eyes.
“No. No! This can’t be happening.” Fabio and Mario got into the car. “We’ll call you from the hospital, Joe,” Fabio yelled back at us as the car sped around the corner.
I held onto Joe’s hand as he watched his friends leave.
“I never meant for any of this to happen. No one was supposed to get hurt. I’m going to kill that bitch.”
JOE
All I could think about when I saw Fabio was getting Ella the hell out of there. Enrico was coming at me like a man possessed. He’d managed to get to the knife again, which didn’t surprise me at all; men like him were probably given a knife for the first birthday. I crouched down low, making myself a difficult target, and when he came at me, I sidestepped him. My elbow hit the back of his neck, bringing him down hard.
He made a guttural sound as he went down. He lay there, swearing at me, his voice losing its volume. I rolled him over onto his back to land the final punch on his ugly face. He lay still, holding his stomach, only the butt of the knife sticking out of his abdomen. The blade had gone in all the way to the hilt. He looked up at me with such hatred. The man who swore to kill me and rape my wife lay dying. It had been a day of death. I was thankful that it wasn’t Ella.
“Come on, buddy. We have to get out of here!” Fabio pulled on my arm to snap me out of my stupor.
“Yeah. Where’s Ella?”
“She’s with Mario and Franco. They’re hightailing it out of here as we speak.”
“Has anyone seen Abriana? That bitch has a few things to answer for.”
“She’s not here but everyone is looking for her. We’ll find the
