and watch my guys go up the right side, sneaking behind. I’ll distract them. I run up close and fire continuously. Four more shells each. Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! They sound off one after another, after another, until I’m firing blanks. I keep pulling the trigger, letting the empty clicks fill the air. I want them to know I'm empty. I'm counting on them to stand up and fire at me. And they do. As soon as they’re visible, shots fire from behind them and both men only get a single shot off. One just misses me. But the other lands on my chest, close to the first shot that hit me.
It hurts like hell.
I look down and make sure the Kevlar held up and there’s no blood. I’ll fucking live. But not without my girl. I take the pain and keep moving as I reload my guns. I need to find her.
I know there are rooms in the back. She’s got to be in one of them. My phone’s in my pocket. It’s silent. I don’t know how they’re doing at the clubhouse. But until it goes off, I've got to assume she’s here. My eyes raise and my guns point at a door as I hear bullets firing in the distance, somewhere in the back, and a terrifying scream.
Elle!
All at once we run down the hall, my only focus on the door. I need to get to her. She’s here. I heard her.
Gunshots fire over and over. Three shots, four shots, five shots. No!
I kick the door and it flies open. I run through ready to fire, and instead I stand in shock.
Anthony and Tommy stop behind me. I hear Uncle Enzo yell something from the back, but I don’t know what. All my focus is on my girl.
She’s got blood on her face. A nasty bruise on her chin. And she standing, breathing heavy, with her arms straight, holding a small gun. It’s pointed down at a short, bald man lying face down on the floor. His leather jacket is speckled with bullet holes and blood. So much blood, pooling around his body.
“Elle,” I call out to her, and lower my guns. I see Anthony and Tommy searching the room. I hear a yell clear outside the room, it sounds like Pops. But I’m not paying attention like I should. I walk to my girl. She hasn’t moved, except for her chest rising and falling with each heavy breath as she keeps the gun still pointed at the dead man.
“Sweetheart?” I try to get her attention, and it works. Her startled eyes find mine, and her body relaxes finally. She drops the gun to the ground. It falls to the cement floor with a loud clank and she runs to my arms.
Her small body wraps around me and she holds onto me tight. I hold her to me, loving how she’s clinging to me. But hating that she had to do this. Hating that she went through this.
“Are you alright, sweetheart?” I finally ask her. She doesn’t pull away and doesn’t answer.
“We gotta go, Vince,” Tommy says to my left. I turn, still holding her to me and see all the guys looking at us. I nod my head and kiss her hair.
“Sweetheart, are you alright?” I ask again. My heart won’t beat right until I hear her talk. I know it won’t. I just need to hear her say it. I need to hear her voice to really believe I’m holding her in my arms.
She nods her head in my chest and pulls back. Tears run down her face. “I’m okay,” she answers me, and then wipes her face. My lips crush hers in a passionate kiss. Her hand wraps around my neck and she kisses me back with the same ferocity.
“I was so scared, Vince,” she whispers with her eyes closed as she pulls away.
I kiss the tip of her nose. “I got you now, sweetheart.”
She hugs me close, molded to my side, as we walk over the dead body and leave the room. “I won’t let that happen again. I promise you,” I murmur into her ear. I see my men nod and walk around us. They’ve got us covered so I can just hold her and give her the comfort she needs.
She looks up at me with tears in her eyes. “You'd better not.” She gives me a small laugh, but it’s accompanied with tears.
“I promise you, baby. No one’s ever going to