I blinked slowly, my brain struggling to understand what was happening. The side airbag deflated to my right, blocking my view out the window. Dazed, I stared forward, distantly noting the way the front of the SUV had buckled around the tree.
“Nora!” Dante’s shout was clearer this time, closer. His big hands cupped my cheeks, carefully turning my face to look at me.
Something like fear flashed over his shockingly green eyes as he studied me, his intense gaze raking over each of my features.
“Are you hurt?” I could barely hear him over the tinny sound that threaded through my skull.
Before I could gather my thoughts to formulate a reply, a deafeningbangresounded through the SUV. Dante cursed and quickly unbuckled my seatbelt, throwing his body atop mine.
“The SUV is bulletproof,” he reassured me, hands roving over me to check for injuries.
He raised his voice to address the driver. “Get us out of here!”
“Can’t,” the man grunted in reply, voice slurred from the disorienting impact. “It won’t move.”
Anotherbangas a bullet smashed into the armored vehicle, the sound drawing a soft cry from my aching chest. Dante’s body lowered over mine, almost suffocating me with his weight.
Gunshots rang out, rending the quiet country air with sharp reports. They must’ve been waiting for us only a few miles down the road from the estate.
“Russian motherfuckers,” Dante muttered, cursing his enemies.
Ice frosted my skin, and I shuddered.
Dante caressed my cheek. “I won’t let them get to you,” he promised.
Several bullets smashed into the window on the driver’s side, and glass crunched as it began to give way.
“What’s going on out there?” he demanded.
His side airbag had gone off too, hampering his visibility.
“Three armored cars,” the driver groaned. The other man in the passenger seat wasn’t responding at all. “One wrecked from hitting us, two others blocking the road ahead. Our men are returning fire, but this thing isn’t going anywhere.” He punched the dashboard in frustration.
My teeth clicked together as cold seeped into my bones.
They would capture us. The Russians would rape me before they killed me. Just like they’d done to my mother.
Dante pressed a quick, fierce kiss to my lips. “Stay down until I say otherwise.”
His weight lifted from me, and he twisted to retrieve something from the back of the SUV. An assault rifle appeared in his hands.
Cold air swept into the vehicle when he opened the door, and I slammed my hands over my ears as gunfire exploded around me.
Dante was using the door as a shield, ducking around the side to fire a barrage of bullets at our enemies before taking cover a few seconds later.
He held his hand out to me. “Come with me. We have to get to one of the other SUVs.” He swore to himself. “I never should’ve taken you off the estate.”
He tugged at my hand, but I shook my head mutely, my body freezing in place. I couldn’t go out there where the Russians were waiting for me. They would make me beg for death before the end.
His body weight settled over me once again, his heat blanketing me. He stared down into my eyes, and his features sharpened with possessiveness that was almost feral.
“They won’t take you from me,” he growled. “I will protect you with my life, Nora. You are my wife. I won’t let them have you.” He grasped my shoulders in a firm grip and pulled me upright with him, keeping his big body between the damaged door and me. He curled two fingers beneath my chin, locking me in his steady gaze. “You’re the bravest woman I’ve ever met. You can do this. We have to move. Stay behind me.”
I swallowed hard and nodded, gathering my courage. He was right: we couldn’t stay here, not when the SUV was dead. Our only way out was to get to one of the other vehicles.
Mastering my terror, I shoved down my lifelong fear of the Bratva that’d paralyzed me. I wouldn’t simply lay here uselessly and wait for them to get to me.
Dante gave me a short nod of approval, then turned from me to unleash a hail of bullets from the rifle. He reached back and grabbed my hand, dragging me out of the armored SUV and into the open. His huge body shielded mine as he kept me tightly pressed to the vehicle at my back, scarcely giving me enough space to move as we edged toward the closest allied SUV.