Chapter 174 MY WORD.
\~~~LUCIANO.
She looked broken. Her lips were split, her cheek swollen, and her clothes were torn and dirt-streaked. But it was the blood that hit me like a gut punch.
Dark streaks trailing down her thigh, soaking into her pants, fresh and ominous. What the hell had he done to her?
My stomach twisted, rage igniting like wildfire. If he'd hurt her that way... God, no.
Marco's arm snaked around her neck, pulling her back against him like a shield. His other hand pressed a pistol to her waist, the barrel digging into her side.
The bastard was using her as a human shield, his eyes wild, sweat gleaming on his forehead. He scanned the perimeter, spotting my men closing in, guns trained on him and his remaining goons.
I stepped forward, rifle leveled, voice cutting through the night like a blade. “Marco, you're surrounded. Let her go. Now.”
He laughed, a jagged, desperate sound that grated on my nerves.
His grip tightened on Raina, making her wince, a small flinch that tore at me. “I won't go down alone, Moretti!” His finger whitened on the trigger. “You think you can take me? I will drop her right here!”
My body locked, every muscle seizing as I braced for the worst. Time stretched, agonizing, my eyes flicking to Raina.
She didn't flinch, didn't cry out. She just stood there, her gaze locked on mine, exhausted and hollow, like she'd stared down death too many times already.
“Oh, God,” I breathed, the plea silent in my mind. Please, let her hold on. My resolve hardened like steel, the fear coiling into fury, unyielding.
I wouldn't lose her. Not like this. Not after everything.
“Tell your men to back off!” Marco bellowed, his voice cracking with panic. He jerked Raina closer, the gun barrel grinding against her ribs.
My team hesitated as they held their weapons steady, waiting for my signal. Gabriel's eyes met mine from across the yard, questioning, and ready to rush if I gave the word.
Viktor shifted subtly, inching for a better angle, but one wrong move...
I raised my hands slowly, palms out, the universal sign of compliance. “Easy. They are backing off.” I gestured sharply to my men. “Fall back, now.”
They obeyed, stepping into the shadows, but I knew they stayed locked on target. My heart hammered, and every beat was like a countdown. Raina's eyes never left mine, and she kept pleading silently. The blood on her leg mocked me, a crimson accusation of my failure to get here sooner.
What had that monster done?
Did he hit her?
I needn’t ask that.
The bruises on her face, and arm were evidence enough.
The thought fueled the fire in my veins, but I forced calm, calculating.
Marco's smirk faltered, his eyes darting between me and the encroaching darkness. “Toss your weapon, Moretti. And call off the rest, or she gets it.”
I lowered my rifle inch by inch, the weight of it suddenly unbearable. The air crackled with tension, thick enough to choke on.
Alessia whispered from cover, “Luciano, don't…” but I silenced her with a look.
This was on me. Raina was on me.
My fingers hovered over the trigger guard, mind racing through options. Shoot for his hand? Risk the ricochet? No. That was too close and too dangerous.
Raina's lips parted, a faint whisper escaping her lips.
I leaned forward instinctively, trying to catch the words, but the distance between us swallowed the sound.
I had no idea what she just said.
But her eyes fluttered weakly, as if she was struggling to stay awake, and like every second was draining the last bit of strength she had left.
My chest tightened painfully.
“Viktor,” I murmured under my breath, careful not to move my lips too much. “Can you hear me?”
I slowly bent forward, lowering my gun toward the ground as if I was surrendering, hoping his ear pod was still connected.
“Yes, boss,” Viktor’s voice came quietly through my ear.
Good, he was still there and ever ready.
I kept my eyes locked on Marco while I spoke.
“I need that motherfucker alive,” I whispered.
My jaw clenched.
“And I need my wife unharmed.”
There was a brief pause.
Then Viktor answered firmly.
“You have my word, boss.”
I slowly released the gun from my hand.
It hit the ground with a soft thud.
Then I straightened again, raising one hand slightly in the air.
Marco’s laugh exploded across the clearing.
“Now we are talking!” he shouted.
The sound grated against my nerves.
God, I wanted to rip his head off his shoulders.
My eyes dropped back to Raina and my heart nearly stopped.
She was fading.
Her eyes were barely open now and her body looked limp in Marco’s hold.
“The sniper has him targeted now, boss,” Viktor’s voice whispered through my ear again.
I forced myself to stay calm.
Then suddenly, Raina’s head fell to the side.
Her entire body went slack.
She had lost consciousness.
Marco cursed loudly as her weight shifted in his grip.
For a second, his hold loosened.
For just a second and it was just enough.
“Now,” I said quietly and began walking toward him slowly.
Marco was distracted, trying to adjust Raina’s body back into position so she could still shield him.
But the moment he lifted his head, a shot rang out.
Bang.
Marco screamed as the bullet tore across his arm.
It didn’t kill him but it did exactly what we needed which was to let go of Raina, and he did.
His grip on Raina broke instantly, and her body began to fall.
And before she could hit the ground, I lunged forward and caught her.