Uncaring of what I raced into, I darted forward, forgetting the women. The light that had hindered my sight where they’d fought cleared. And when I dropped to my knees, it was to the sight of Tony on the ground with Nico applying pressure to a stomach wound with one hand as he extended the other, firing at Dom.
All I could think of as I raised my gaze from Tony to Nico was that I could have lost him. Reality crashed back with a vengeance as I realized I still could. Dom barreled down on us, aiming his Glock. I didn’t think before acting as I launched myself at Nico.
CHAPTER TWENTY
NICO
Mia screamed, her body slamming into me as a bullet whizzed by, burning a trail against my ear. Sheer terror sliced through me, and I gripped her tightly as I returned fire. When a satisfying hole appeared in a mammoth guard’s forehead, I shifted my focus to her as our men took over securing the area. I raised my hands to grip either side of her face, inspecting for wounds. I couldn’t get my heart to slow at the horror of what had happened, how she’d used her body as a shield.
“Baby, fuck.”Please be okay. “Trey!” I bellowed, never taking my eyes from her beautiful face. She blinked, her mouth forming words that I couldn’t hear in the panic over her well-being roaring in my ears.
Tony moaned on the ground in front of us. A human shield of guards surrounded us as shouting came from every direction. Mia’s words pierced through the static in my mind, bringing reality on their heels.
“I’m okay.” Her hands cupped my face, mirroring mine.
I shifted us out of the way as Trey pushed through the men only to drop to his knees and bark orders for what he needed. They needed me, but I had to make sure Mia wasn’t hurt. “What were you thinking?” I couldn’t deal with what she’d done.
“Dom was going to shoot you in the head.” Panic drained the color from her cheeks that had begun to return. “I had to.” She shook her head frantically. “I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to you.”
I crushed her to me, holding her tightly as my heart continued to race, the truth of her act sinking in. She had been willing to sacrifice her life for mine. Any fraction of doubt I’d held on to regarding her intentions went up in flames.
My heart opened fully to her. “Mia—”
“Nico!” Trey shouted, and I released her before dropping to my knees on the other side of Tony’s body, unable to continue our conversation. “I need your help.”
Mia scrambled back, giving us space. Sirens whirled in the distance, and pedestrians screamed and ran. At the opening to the alley, people flooded out the front entrance of the club once word traveled about the shoot-out, pouring into the streets and adding chaos to an already out-of-control situation. We had minutes, if that, before law enforcement would arrive.
I pushed everything aside and focused on what needed to be done. I couldn’t believe I’d forgotten that Tony had been shot. Blood saturated his clothes from the stomach wound he’d sustained. Trey issued instructions, and I placed my hand where he told me to while he set up a field IV that Tom, captain of my family’s guard, held from where he stood by Tony’s head.
Trey pushed the contents of a syringe into the IV as Tony convulsed, his skin taking on a sickly gray pallor. As the medicine worked its way into Tony’s bloodstream, he sank into unconsciousness that I hoped was blissful.
Around us, the chaos slowly dissipated so that only a few were present in the back alley as Trey worked on Tony with practiced fervor. Trey maintained his focus, removing the bullet and doing what he could to stabilize Tony so we could move him.
The pavement was slick with blood, and bodies from the shoot-out lay scattered both inside and out. Our men had flooded the building, clearing out Tucci soldiers before returning to our vehicles or standing by for additional coverage while we worked.
Reports from the others sounded through our earpieces as the teams made it back to the hotel. The rescued women were being cared for. The only one badly injured on our team was Tony. I took one look at Tom’s grim face and dreaded the conversation he would have with Nicole, Tony’s mother and the woman Tom had been seriously courting. I asked the question that I knew burned in Tom’s mind. “Will he make it?”
“It’s too soon to tell.” Trey had deposited the bullet he’d removed onto a blue rectangle that held his instruments. He did what he could to staunch the flow of blood before transport, issuing orders about what medical equipment he would need.
It was the worst possible scenario. I wished it had happened in Chicago, where Trey had a room set up in his home with every piece of equipment and instrument he could possibly need. But in New York, we were scrambling.
Adriano stepped forward on Tom’s right. “I’ll have it arranged. Bring him to our house. Whatever you need will be there when we arrive.”
No one asked any questions. Tony’s life hung in the balance, and we had to trust Adriano. Several of us carefully lifted Tony while Trey kept pressure on the wound. Another van waited nearby, and Tom grabbed a clean blanket from the stash reserved for the victims we’d rescued.
After Tony was secure and the van pulled away from the curb with care, I took my first full breath. Tom had gone in the van with Trey and Tony, and I watched through the window as he lifted his phone to his ear, remorse clear in his expression.
I scanned the surrounding area, searching for Mia. When one of the guards walked by, I grabbed him by the arm. “Have you seen Mia?”
“No.”
I released him before he could speak again and barked the question into our comm device. A series of no’s came back, and a whoosh of panic set in as I realized I’d missed something in the chaos.
* * *
Mia
Istood helplessly while Nico assisted Trey in saving Tony’s life. With each demand to bring more blankets, tools, or a van, I was shuffled farther away from the action. My stomach rolled as I took in how much blood had soaked Tony’s clothes.