Rasping breaths told me where they were, but they didn’t come back until silence fell over the room. Someone sobbed low, and a heavy thump hit the floor.
The three guys rushed me from out of the dark, and in a second, they surrounded me.
Luca bent over me and brushed my hair out of my eyes. “Jesus, Princess! This looks bad. Just hang on. We’re gonna take you home and get a doctor to see you. Just hang tight.”
Dante knelt behind me, cutting through the ropes around my wrists. “This is not good. Look at her back.”
Dominic patted down my body and legs through my dress. “Do you think you broke anything? Tell me if anything hurts too bad.”
I couldn’t answer them. Tears streamed down my cheeks, but they were tears of happiness at seeing them again. Everything was all right now that they were near me.
As soon as Dante cut the ropes, I threw my arms around Luca. “I knew you’d come.”
“Shh,” he whispered. “Let’s take you home.”
He lifted me in his arms, and I hung onto him for dear life. I never wanted to be away from the three of them again as long as I lived.
Chapter19
Luca
Iglanced around Dante toward the bed where Ariana lay bruised and asleep. “Are you sure about this?”
“Yes,” Dante replied. “Go. I’ll keep watch here. Nothing will happen to her. Just finish this.”
I shot Ariana another worried glance. The doctor already cleared her. She had a concussion from Giovanni punching her so many times and multiple bruises to her back, ribs, chest, arms, and legs.
She looked like absolute hell, but she would recover. It was a miracle she escaped with no broken bones, but knowing that didn’t make me feel any better about leaving her alone.
Dante alone would have been able to protect her. He would tear anyone in half if they came near her, but no one would come near her.
We stationed a hundred men surrounding Archhurst, but everything had been quiet since we brought her home—all except for one phone call.
“Go,” Dante told me. “This is more important. You can protect her the best by finishing this once and for all. As soon as you do, we can all live in peace. Go, Luca. That’s an order.”
My eyes sliced back to his hard, clear eyes, and I sighed. “You’re right. I just…”
He jerked around me and called to Dominic. “Will you get him out of here? You’ll be late if you don’t go now.”
Dominic took hold of my elbow. “Come on, man. There’s someone who needs us more than she does right now.”
I cast one last look at Ariana and let him drag me away. As soon as I lost sight of her, my mind snapped back to reality. Dante was right. That was why I kept my cousins near me all these years. They could tell me what to do in ways no one else would dare to.
Dominic and I went outside. He opened the passenger door of Dante’s car, and I got in. He fired up the engine, and we rolled out of the Archhurst driveway.
Someone out there needed us a lot more than Ariana did. Someone needed us real bad, and they would get us in spades.
Dominic drove to the docks and parked in the shadows. I didn’t wait for Dominic to open my door. I wasn’t his Padrino tonight.
I headed out to the docks and found Michael Vittorio waiting for me exactly where he said he would be. He spread his hands in an apologetic gesture. “I wasn’t sure you’d come.”
“I said I would come,” I murmured. “Some of us still keep their word.”
He shrugged. “You can’t blame me for what my wayward son did. I had no idea what he was planning.”
“But I do blame you, Michael,” I replied. “You’re the Padrino of your family. That makes you responsible for everything everyone in your family does.”
His head shot up, and his eyes flashed when I didn’t call him Don Michele. That should show him how much respect I no longer had for him.