Chapter 406 408

Chapter 406 408
But I cut him off. “Phoenix is with Renata and Sarah,” I inform both of them. “Sarah’s been shot.”

Cillian jumps into business mode. He gestures forward two of his men. “Find Phoenix. Get Sarah out of the compound and to a doctor ASAP.”

They glance at me for further instructions. “Down the corridor, fifth door on the right,” I tell them. They nod and disappear down the hall.

“What’s the situation?” I ask.

“Rokiades is back there,” Cillian says, gesturing towards the rear half of the house.

“Then let’s go get him.”

I’m already walking forward when Cillian grabs my by the collar and pulls me back. “It’s not going to be easy getting to him,” he warns me. “Most of his forces have converged around him. We’re outnumbered.”

“But not by much,” Artem adds.

“Then what are we waiting for?” I demand.

“Kian,” Cillian says sharply, “I know you want to get this motherfucker. But the Marianis and the Lombardis have rallied around him.”

“The Marianis picked a side?”

“So it would seem.”

“Fuck,” I growl. “Still, that doesn’t change anything. We need to get in there. He’s backed into a corner.”

“With a fuck ton of men and a lot of ammo. It’s a dangerous corner.”

“But a corner nonetheless. We’ve got the brains,” I point out.

More Bratva soldiers rush into the foyer to await the next batch of orders. Artem gives them a curt nod and holds up a hand to keep them in place.

“Guess there’s no sense waiting any longer,” he says. “Kian’s right—we’ve got to move. First, we need to find other points of entry into the room he’s taken cover in.”

“Which room is that?” I ask.

“No clue. Large fucking space, though. Looks like a ballroom from the outside.”

Jesus. As amped as I am to finally end the bastard behind all this shit, I don’t like the idea of charging guns blazing into a massive room without a shred of cover. It’s a good way to get a few dozen bullet holes in your face really quickly.

The thing about that, though—I stopped caring a long time ago about my own life. There are only two lives in this world that matter to me anymore: Renata and the baby in her womb.

“Fine. You find alternate points of entry. I’m going in the front.”

Cillian tries to stop me as I move past him, but I shake him off. I’m done waiting around. I need to eliminate the threat Rokiades poses to me. And to my family.

Funny—when I think of family, I see Renata’s face first. I wish I had time to figure out what the hell that means.

“Kian…” Cillian starts.

“Cillian,” Artem says, cutting him off. “We’re all dons here, remember?”

He sighs. “Knew that decision would come back to bite me in the ass one day.”

I almost smirk.

“Fine,” Cillian concedes. “Take a contingent of men and go. We’ll hold the rest of them off and bring reinforcements.”

“Thanks, big bro.”

“In the meantime,” he says sternly, “don’t fucking die.”

I smile. “I’ll do my best.”

Then I rush through to the dining hall where Rokiades is barricaded with half his army. I’m going in with only half his number of men. But I don’t give a fuck.

I don’t know if I’m going to see this day end. But Yannis Rokiades sure as hell is not.

56

Renata

Phoenix sits beside Sarah, looking at her wound with almost professional curiosity. “How’re you feeling?” he asks.

“Is that a trick question?”

He chuckles. “Are you always this cranky?”

“Not usually,” Sarah coughs. “But, you know, gunshot wounds tend to irritate me.”

He chuckles. “Such a lightweight.”

“How about I shoot you and see how you do?”

“I’ve been shot at before.”

“But have you been shot?”

“Maybe I’ll just leave you here to bleed out,” Phoenix scoffs.

“Are you two serious?” I explode, unable to hold it in any longer. Both of them look at me as though I’ve completely lost it.

“Uh, I’m the one with the gunshot,” Sarah says weakly. “Why are you freaking out?”

It’s a damn good question, but I’m not able to appreciate it in my current panicky state. “Kian just went out there alone,” I point out, throwing my hands up. “There’s no one with him, and… and… he’s injured. It may not show but he’s hurt all over…”

Phoenix looks at me with deliberate calm. All that does is piss me off.

“What?” I snap, voice dripping with venom.

He’s completely unruffled. “You need to breathe.”

“You need to keep your goddamn advice to yourself.”

He raises his eyebrows. “Yikes. All I’m saying is, stress is not good for the baby.”

I glare at him. “Who told you I was pregnant?”

“Kian did,” he replies. “Right before he left. Which is why I’m here in the first place. To take care of you.”

I narrow my eyes at him. “I can take care of myself.”

“Is that how you ended up with Rokiades in the first place?” he asks. “Was that you taking care of yourself?”

Guilt smashes over me first, extinguishing the anger. Every instinct I have to be defensive dies on the heels of the glaring and blunt accusation that I’m responsible for everything that’s happening right now. If I hadn’t run away, then Drago would never have called Rokiades. He’d never have captured me and used me as leverage to abduct Kian. None of us would be here right now.

Phoenix is right. He’s so fucking right.

“Can you two please stop?” Sarah moans, looking between us. “Christ, I might go ahead and die just so I don’t have to listen to you bicker anymore.”

The fabric I’d torn from the curtains is working wonders at stopping her from bleeding out. She seems to be more or less stable, though the pain still comes and goes in vicious waves.

Phoenix turns to her and shakes his head. Apparently, the two of them know each other, too. I feel extremely left out. Well, no. That’s not it. I don’t feel left out. I feel inconsequential. I feel useless.

All the people around me are fighting, and all I can do is sit here cowering in a corner while Kian fights my battles for me.

“I’m sorry,” I say. I mean it. “I’m just—”

“Scared,” Phoenix finishes for me. “I know. It’s okay to be scared. But my father and his men are here. So is Kian’s brother and reinforcements from Ireland. This is not a fight that Rokiades can win.”

“He’s got the Lombardi loyalists,” I point out. “And the Marianis. That’s a lot of angry Italian mobsters who want Kian dead.”

“And do the Marianis know where you stand?”

I frown. “What?”

“Invitations to your wedding went out days ago. The Marianis are here fighting with the Greeks because they think you’ve aligned yourself with Rokiades.”

My eyes go wide. “You think they’ll stop fighting if I…?”

“I don’t know,” he cuts me off quickly. “I know next to nothing about the Marianis, their intentions, or their ambitions. All I know is that they were the last to swear allegiance to Rokiades. And their word came only after the invitations went out.”

At that, all the puzzle pieces click together. I realize something: I started this shit. Maybe I can help finish it.

Just then, the door flies open. I freeze. Phoenix jumps to his feet with his gun raised. “For fuck’s sake,” he breathes when he takes in the men at the door. “Took you fuckers long enough.”

Both men are tall and well-built. Now, the Russian I’d overheard earlier makes sense. Of course they’d be speaking Russian. They’re Bratva. Like Phoenix.

“She’s badly injured,” he tells them, pointing at Sarah where she’s still lying on the blood-soaked rug. “Gunshot to the lower abdomen. Make sure to be careful when you move her.”

The moment Phoenix finishes with his instructions, another man walks into the room. He’s basically an older version of Phoenix and his presence seems to fill the room.

“Son,” he says.

Fuck me—is this Phoenix’s father? The two of them look like they belong on magazine covers. That’s one hell of a gene pool.

“Where’s Kian?” Phoenix asks immediately.

“With Cillian.”

I step aside so that the Bratva men can move Sarah. As father and son talk to one another, I realize no one is focused on me. At least, not yet. And the thought is running through my head again and again: You started this. You can end it.

I pick up a stray gun lying on the floor and snake across the room as Phoenix and his father help ensure Sarah is in an appropriate position to be moved.

I’m right at the door, when Phoenix notices me.

“Renata!” he booms. “Where are you going?”

Two pairs of identical eyes fall on me. Maybe it’s because he’s close to my age, but I don’t find Phoenix intimidating.