Chapter 69
Chapter 69
Sofia's POV
The mill exploded into chaos.
Rafael’s soldiers stormed through the broken door, shouting orders, rifles spitting fire. From the other side, Marco’s men poured in, blades and guns flashing in the dim light. The old walls shook with the force of the battle.
I crouched over Luca, shielding him with my body. “Stay with me,” I whispered, my voice drowned by gunfire. “Don’t leave me now.”
His hand twitched weakly in mine, then fell limp again.
Diego roared, springing to the front. His rifle cracked again and again, each shot dropping a soldier. “Come on, then!”
Alessandro moved with him, calm and deadly. He fired in sharp bursts, never wasting a bullet, each step calculated. “Keep them back from her!”
Rafael himself strode into the doorway, his dark coat soaked with rain, his face lit by the muzzle flashes. “Sofia!” he shouted over the roar. “Don’t fight me. I’ll give you safety!”
“Safety?” Diego snarled, mowing down two more men. “You mean chains!”
Marco’s voice cut from the opposite side. “She belongs to me! Kill anyone who touches her!”
The soldiers collided in the center of the mill, blades flashing, guns cracking, men screaming as they fell.
I pressed closer to Luca, my hands slipping with his blood. “Don’t you leave me,” I begged. “Don’t you dare.”
Alessandro’s voice rang out. “Sofia—move him!”
I looked up in panic. “Where?”
“Behind the wheel!” he barked. “Go now!”
I dragged Luca toward the broken waterwheel, every inch agony. Bullets sparked off the stone near us.
Diego dropped into cover beside me, firing over my head. “Keep low!”
“I can’t carry him alone,” I cried.
Diego swung his rifle onto his back, scooping Luca up in his arms without hesitation. “Then I’ll carry him. You cover me.”
He shoved Luca back into my arms once we reached the wheel, his jaw tight. “Don’t let go of him. Ever.”
“I won’t,” I swore.
Alessandro dropped in beside us, reloading fast. “This won’t hold long. Too many of them.”
“Then we cut our way out,” Diego growled.
“Through forty men?” Alessandro snapped. “You’ll get her killed.”
“Better than handing her over!” Diego barked.
“Enough!” I shouted, my voice breaking. “We’re not handing anyone over. And we’re not leaving Luca.”
They both froze, their eyes cutting to me—then to him, pale and unconscious in my arms.
For one sharp moment, all the noise around us faded, and it was only us three against the world.
Then Rafael’s voice thundered again. “Little dove! One word, and I stop this! Say my name, and you live!”
Marco laughed harshly. “Don’t listen! He’ll kill you after he’s done using you!”
The soldiers pushed closer.
Alessandro’s eyes darted to the back wall. “There. A gap. We break through before they close it.”
“On your mark,” Diego said, his rifle snapping back to life.
Alessandro nodded once. “Now.”
They surged forward together, tearing a bloody path through the nearest men.
“Stay behind us!” Alessandro shouted.
I followed, dragging Luca with me, his weight heavy but mine to bear. Every step was fire in my legs, but I never loosened my grip.
Marco’s men lunged from the left, Rafael’s from the right. The mill filled with smoke, blood, and screams.
“Keep moving!” Diego roared, smashing one man aside with the butt of his rifle.
Alessandro fired clean, dropping three more in a row. “Don’t stop!”
We reached the far wall. The gap yawned, half-collapsed stone leading into the storm outside.
“Go!” Alessandro barked, covering me.
I stumbled through the rubble with Luca in my arms. Rain lashed my face, wind tearing at us.
But the voices followed. Both armies poured after, desperate, relentless.
“There!” Rafael shouted. “Don’t let them escape!”
Marco’s answer was a snarl. “She’s mine! Kill the rest!”
Bullets whined past us. One clipped my arm, fire slicing my skin. I cried out but didn’t stop.
Diego spun, blasting the shooter down. His face twisted. “Keep running!”
Alessandro grabbed my arm, pulling me through the mud. “The trees! Cover there!”
We crashed into the forest, branches whipping, rain pouring. The shouts behind grew louder—two armies chasing, each more desperate than the other.
I gasped, clutching Luca tighter. “He’s not breathing right.”
“Don’t stop,” Alessandro said sharply. “We’ll lose him if we stop now.”
Diego spun, firing back, his voice raw. “They’re gaining!”
Alessandro’s eyes flicked to the hill ahead. “The ridge. If we reach it, we can break their line.”
“What about after the ridge?” I cried.
He didn’t answer.
By the time we reached the slope, my body was shaking, my lungs burning. Luca was dead weight in my arms, his breaths shallow, fading.
“Alessandro,” I begged. “He’s slipping—”
“Don’t you let go,” Alessandro snapped, grabbing my elbow, hauling me upward.
Diego fired down the hill, buying us seconds. “They’re climbing after us!”
We reached the top—and froze.
Another group of soldiers waited on the ridge. Not Rafael’s. Not Marco’s.
A third crest.
Alessandro’s face hardened. “No.”
Diego’s eyes widened. “Who the hell—”
The soldiers fanned out, rifles raised. Their leader stepped forward, hood pulled low against the rain.
When he lifted it, my blood ran cold.
A face I thought I’d never see again.
“Welcome home, Sofia,” he said softly. “Did you really think you could hide from me?”
My knees buckled. “It’s not possible. You’re dead.”
He smiled, cold and certain. “Not dead. Just waiting.”
Alessandro raised his gun instantly. “Back off.”
The man’s eyes flicked to him, then Diego, then Luca pale in my arms. “All this blood for her? She’s not worth it. Hand her over, and maybe you live.”
“Over my dead body,” Diego snarled.
“That can be arranged,” the man said calmly, signaling his soldiers forward.
Behind us, Rafael’s and Marco’s men clambered up the slope, closing in fast.
We were trapped. Three armies now. No escape.
Alessandro’s jaw clenched, his voice low and final. “Then we fight until the last breath.”
Diego spat, raising his rifle. “Good. I was hoping you’d say that.”
I clutched Luca tighter, my heart breaking. “Please… don’t let him die here.”
The rain poured harder. Rifles clicked into place.
And the night exploded as all three sides opened fire at once.