get to the people I loved, the rational part of my brain knew that it was best to let Elio and Max call the shots. They knew this terrain, these people. One misstep from me could get Marco or Ashlyn killed.
After several minutes, the gunfire died down. A tall, dark haired man stepped out of the mansion and signaled to Elio. Max nodded at me, inviting me to join them.
The mansion was eerily silent as we moved across terraces and through pristine gardens set into the edge of the cliff. Eventually, we turned into a long tunnel cut directly into the rock. We stormed into a garish, painfully bright room. I squinted against the riot of clashing colors, my eyes immediately finding the people I loved. Marco slumped in a rigid wooden chair, blood dripping from his lips as they formed Ashlyn’s name. He strained toward where she lay on a red leather couch, pale and utterly still.
My heart dropped to the floor, and only Max’s arm around my chest stopped me from racing toward my family. Elio advanced into the room, with a gun trained on Ciro’s heart. A man ducked around the open terrace door, his bald head momentarily silhouetted against the cerulean sea view. He fired two blind shots in our direction before Max’s bullet smashed into his brain.
I strained to get to my family, but Max held firm. “Not yet,” he growled. “They’re okay. Let my father finish this.”
I didn’t give a shit about his father. But enough of my rational mind understood the warning in Max’s tone: I had to allow Elio Amato to pass his judgment, or we would no longer be allies. I remained tense, ready to close the distance as soon as Max released me.
“You shouldn’t have come back here, Ciro.” Elio’s voice was ice cold on his brother’s name. “I told you what would happen if you did.”
Ciro’s hands were up, showing that he was ready to surrender. But he bristled at his brother’s tone. “I had no choice,” he spat, jerking his chin at Marco. “This faggot—”
A single shot cracked through the room, and the bullet hit Ciro square in the chest. He collapsed, unmoving. For good measure, Elio strode over to his body and emptied two more rounds into his brain; clean and professional. He looked up at his son and nodded.
Max finally released me, and I raced toward Ashlyn. I loved her and Marco equally, but he would rather die than have his safety put above hers. He was bleeding, but I’d been able to see that he was breathing. Ashlyn was so still…
I dropped to my knees beside the couch, checking her pulse. It was steady beneath my fingers, but she didn’t stir at my touch. “Ashlyn.” I lifted her into my arms, and she was boneless against me. “Angel, wake up.”
“Drugged,” Marco growled just before he dropped to the tiled floor beside me.
“Jesus, Marco!” Blood pooled beneath him, sluggishly trickling from a gory hole in his thigh. A tourniquet had been tied above the wound, slowing the blood loss but possibly causing catastrophic damage.
“I’m fine,” he grunted, pushing up onto his knees as he reached for Ashlyn. His palm slipped on the bloody tile, and he went back down.
I ran my hands all over Ashlyn’s body, checking for injuries. She seemed unharmed. Marco, on the other hand…
“Stay down, dumbass.” I placed a hand on his shoulder, pinning him in place with little effort. I looked up, searching for Max. “We need a doctor.”
He nodded. “We’ll take him to a hospital. They will make accommodations and won’t ask any questions.” Obviously, the Amato name carried a lot of weight.
I turned my attention back to my family. Some of the color had returned to Ashlyn’s cheeks, and she appeared to be sleeping peacefully in my arms. Marco was a goddamn mess.
“Don’t die.” I joked to lighten my very real fear that his life was in serious danger. He’d been shot, and I had no idea how long he’d been bleeding.
“Working on it,” he rumbled, easing under my hand.
My family would be fine. Marco would be fine. He had to be.
Chapter Fourteen
Marco
“Marco!” Ashlyn cried out my name as she burst into my hospital room. “They wouldn’t let me see you! I’m so sorry I wasn’t here sooner.”
Joseph followed her inside, a wide smile illuminating his tired features when he saw that I was okay.
“Don’t cry, princess.” I pulled Ashlyn close, tugging her to me so I could wrap her