Chapter 61: Chapter Sixty-One

As Frankie fell forward, the massive blood loss finally taking its toll, Matteo rolled his eyes.

“Lightweight. Here, Gloria, take him,” Matteo said, releasing his hold on Frankie.

Gloria rushed forward to grab his abandoned shoulder before he could fall to the floor. Leo rearranged Frankie’s weight so that the majority of it rested on his side.

“Keep moving, Miss Rubanov. We have ground to cover,” Leo muttered as they continued through the carnage that seemed to follow Frankie around like a dark cloud.

Sergei’s men were scattered across the space. They passed one man in particular that had been crushed by falling debris with a second man shot through the head while he’d been using the same fallen debris for cover. Her plan had worked perfectly. Accardi wanted to go through the tunnels, essentially shoot his way to Frankie. Very undignified, very manly. She’d let the idiots talk amongst themselves on the plane for over an hour as each of their plans was shattered by one critic after another. It wasn’t until the fourth plan was nixed that she stepped forward and put her foot down.

Of all the men there, only one woman knew the person they were going up against. The idea that they would succeed by blowing their way through the tunnels was exactly why Sergei had chosen the tunnels in the first place. There were dozens of switch backs, booby traps, men lurking in the shadows that you wouldn’t see until they were putting a bullet through your head. Her plan was a bit unorthodox: send her in alone. Automatically every person on that plane was quick to shake their heads and wave a dismissive hand. She didn’t back down though.

When she mentioned the idea of explosives from above, all the pyromaniacs in the room lit up… which basically included everyone. Once she had their attention she’d proposed the plan in its entirety. First, Accardi would ask for a meeting with Sergei with the bait that he would make a swap: Gloria for Frank. She knew he would never bring Frankie, but wouldn’t be able to resist the challenge to get Gloria back without returning Accardi’s prize. Once they spotted Sergei leaving the tunnels for the meeting, Gloria would go in. She knew no one would fire on the boss’ future wife. She miscalculated in a small regard in thinking they wouldn’t beat the heck out of her. Perhaps she shouldn’t have fought them… but when one of them made a crack about Frankie’s state, her fist developed a mind of its own.

Once she confirmed Frankie’s exact location, had him in her sights and knew he was alive… Once it had been long enough to allow Sergei to get to the location of the fake meeting, she fell to her side, activating the trigger Leo had attached to the inside of her shirt. That was the signal to unleash hell. The effect was a sight to behold. But she didn’t have time to enjoy the masterpiece that was her own idea come to fruition. She’d used the sharpened fake nails she’d applied especially for the occasion to cut through the rope at her back and fallen into the melee that was erupting around her.

Frankie grumbled as Gloria and Leo lugged him down the tunnel already cleared by Accardi’s men.

“It’s up here,” Leo said.

Gloria looked up toward the secondary opening they’d created for their escape. A rope ladder hung down from the street level and she tried to picture how they were going to climb said ladder while also holding onto dead weight.

“How are we going to get him up there?” she asked, out of breath from their hurried walk to this point.

“The old-fashioned way,” Mr. Accardi announced from behind them.

He held the man Frankie asked him to retrieve over his shoulder. He adjusted the man’s weight and started to climb. She watched with her mouth gaping open as the Don climbed the ladder with ease.

Leo barked a laugh at her expression. “Not to worry, Miss Rubanov,” he said, taking Frankie away from her to throw him over his own shoulder. “I got him.”

Gloria hissed with sympathy as Leo treated Frankie’s limp body like a hundred pound sack of dog food. She held her arms outstretched as Leo took the first step up on the ladder and grunted with the force it took to heave himself up to the next one.

The older guard looked down and smiled at her reassuringly. “Light as a feather, Miss Rubanov,” he said before continuing his climb.

She waited until Leo reached the top and Mr. Accardi helped him bring Frankie through the small opening.

“Your turn, Gloria!” Accardi yelled. “Hurry the fuck up.”

Gloria rolled her eyes and took a deep breath before scurrying up the ladder. Accardi held his hand down for her and she took it. As he pulled her up the last rung, his head whipped to the side.

“Cover!” Accardi yelled.

Gloria screamed as he released her hand. She fell a few rungs down before she caught herself with one hand. Accardi’s men waiting below scrambled to ready themselves to catch her if she slipped. She swung a bit as she looked down to the ground… forty feet below. She looked back up at the sound of gunfire and shouting. She let out a primal yell as she pulled herself up to grasp the ladder with her other hand. She started up and peeked out of the hole. A bullet ricocheted off the ground near her head and she ducked back down.

“You thought you could double-cross me, Accardi?!” Sergei yelled.

“You took my second, you son of a bitch!” Accardi yelled back before another round of gunfire erupted.

Leo appeared above the hole and held a hand down to her. “Let’s go!” he shouted.

Gloria’s fingers shook as she reached up to take it. The moment her hand clasped his, he hauled her straight up as if she weighed nothing at all… right into the chaos.

“Get to the SUV!” Leo ordered.

“Where’s Frankie?” she asked as they moved through from car to car in the alley, trying to make it to safety.

“Just get to the SUV!”

Gloria looked around. She saw three of Accardi’s men lying on the ground. They must have been the first Sergei took down in his ambush. Then she saw Frankie’s body. He was propped up against a car near the SUV they were headed toward. Gloria broke away from Leo’s hold to run to him.

“Dammit, Miss Rubanov!”

“We came here for him!” she yelled. “I’m not getting into a car without him!”

Gloria grabbed Frankie under his shoulders and started pulling him toward the SUV. A moment later the weight lessened and she looked up to see Leo with a furious expression as he held onto Frankie’s feet.

“Gloria!” Sergei called.

“Keep going,” Leo growled.

“Otpusti yego, inache ya prostrelyu tebya naskvoz'! –Drop him or I’ll shoot through you!\--” Sergei warned.

“Don’t listen to him,” Leo said. “We’re almost there.”

“Bros' yego pryamo seychas! –Drop him now!\--” One last warning.

A gunshot ripped through the air. Gloria’s world slowed as the bullet breezed over her shoulder. A shadow passed behind her. A second gunshot. A pronounced grunt as the bullet made contact. Gloria’s shoulder was knocked as Accardi fell backward from the impact. She lost her grip on Frankie and they all seemed to fall to the ground at once.

“Matteo!” Leo bellowed. He dropped Frankie’s feet and dove over his charge as several more gunshots filled the air.

More of Accardi’s reinforcements emerged from the hole and provided cover. Blood spurted from Accardi’s mouth as Leo applied pressure. The guard’s dark, angry eyes swiveled to Gloria.

“Get. In. The. SUV,” he ordered, angrier than she’d ever seen. She was frozen at his expression, worried that if she got into a car with him, she wouldn’t make it to the airport with her windpipe intact. “NOW!”

Gloria jerked and continued to pull Frankie toward the SUV. Several of Accardi’s men arrived and helped her pull Frankie into the backseat. Leo carried Accardi into the trunk.

“Go!” Leo screamed. The driver slammed on the gas. The tires squealed as he spun the car around, away from Sergei’s continuing rampage. “Stay awake, Matteo!” Leo yelled down at his charge. She glanced back to see Accardi patting the old man’s hand in reassurance as his eyes drooped, threatening to close altogether. “I swear to God, Boy, if you close your eyes I’ll fucking kill you!” Accardi sputtered a laugh, his mouth flooding with more blood as his lungs wheezed in his chest. Tears tracked down Leo’s face. “Don’t,” he warned the Don. “Don’t.” Gloria closed her eyes and held on to Frankie’s chest, lifting slowly with his own, shallow, uncertain breathing. “Don’t,” Leo pleaded.