Page 51 of Dario DeLuca

“Bella, we need to go,” I say, wrapping my arm around her waist to hoist her towards the exit at the back of the room.

Almost as if realization dawns on her, Mia blurts out. “Gabby—we have to find Gabby!"

Her nails rake across my skin, but I don't relent, pulling her into the shadows of the hallway as the screams and chaos fade into a dull roar behind us. We don’t stop, moving as fast as possible to reach the exit doors. We burst through them, and as if on cue, the screech of tires grabs my attention as Renzo, one of my men, jerks to a stop in front of us, the engine rumbling.

Racing to the SUV, I open the back passenger side door and hustle Mia into the backseat, trapping her between my body and the car as she bucks against me.

"Gabby," she screams, her voice cracking with despair. "We didn't warn her. If—if she is hurt…Dario.”

The tears are streaming full force now, and all I want to do is take all of this pain away from her.

“This is our fault. We should have told her everything when you got that picture. She’s my best friend, I can’t?—"

Gripping her face firmly, I force her gaze to meet mine.

"Rafael will get Gabby to safety," I grit out, trying to penetrate the panic cloaking her mind. "I promise you, I will keep you safe. Always."

For a moment, our eyes lock in an unspoken vow, a connection that transcends the chaos swirling around us. I secure Mia in the backseat, slamming the door shut before she can escape. My heart thunders as I round the SUV, her haunting cries echoing in my mind. Rafael will make sure Gabby is protected, but I have to focus on keeping Mia alive right now.

Wrenching open the driver's side back door, I climb in next to a hysterical Mia. Renzo peels out of the alleyway, tires squealing as we blast onto the main street. In the rearview mirror, the gala venue shrinks behind us, still swarming with panicked people fleeing the chaos and destruction.

Mia is a crumpled form next to me, her shoulders shaking with her muffled sobs. The raw anguish twists like a knife in my gut—she shouldn't have to suffer this hell because of my world, my life. A primal urge surges through me to shelter her and protect that beautiful light within her from being extinguished by the darkness surrounding us.

"Mia…" I rasp her name, needing her to hear me over the engine’s roar and her turmoil. "Look at me, Bella."

She doesn't respond, her body wracked with silent cries.

"Mia!" I shout louder, commanding her attention even through her haze of despair. Slowly, she lifts her head, those soulful brown eyes finding mine. Tears glisten on her cheeks, her full lips parted with ragged breaths. The very image fractures what's left of my battered heart.

"Listen to me," I rumble, holding her gaze with an intensity that conveys the gravity of my promise. "Rafael will make sure Gabby gets home safe. And I swear on my life I will not let anything happen to you. You're going to be okay, angelo mio. I've got you."

A tremor passes through her, but she gives me the slightest nod of understanding. In that moment, a strong sense of purpose solidifies within me—I will eliminate any threat, defeat any enemy, and protect her. She is my truth in this darkness, and I will not disappoint her.

Renzo drives like a bat out of Hell, taking every right turn we approach to avoid the stoplights in our way.Always keep moving.I peek at him through the rearview mirror, taking in the serious look on his face. We’ve seen so much shit in this fuckedup world. Death and violence are nothing to us, but Renzo has seen far worse, done far worse during his time as an interrogator in the military. Nerves of steel is what he has, and right now, I’m damn glad he’s behind that wheel.

It feels like forever before we pull up to the condo, our closest safe haven. He whips a left, taking the alley that runs along the back of the building so that we can be in and out without too many eyes on us.

We pull to a stop, and I climb out first, rushing to her side to help her out of the G-Wagon. She stays close to me, burying herself in my chest.

Closing the door, I tap the front window. Renzo rolls it down and stares at me.

“I want eyes on every exit. If it so much as opens, I need someone guarding it.”

“Got it, boss.”

With that, we head for the back door of my building, using my key fob to disengage the lock. When I purchased this building, the first thing I did was have Rafael install the best security system money can buy. Every resident in the building gets to benefit from living in the most secure apartments in the city, and they pay top dollar for it.

We enter the building, taking the loading dock to the service elevator we had programmed to go to my penthouse only. Mia stays close to me, clutching onto my blazer for dear life. She’s petrified, her body riddled with nerves evident in her trembling hands.

The elevator dings, and the doors open to my floor. We exit the lift and travel the short distance to my front door. Once inside the condo, the adrenaline coursing through my veins begins to ebb.

With Mia finally within the safety of these walls, my frantic energy transforms into a calming steadiness. I guide her to theplush sofa, my touch gentle yet firm as I ease her onto the cushions.

Her eyes are glassy, haunted, the horrors of tonight's events still swirling in their depths. But there's a flicker of relief, too, of being momentarily untethered from the threats that haunt us.

"You're safe now, Bella," I murmur, brushing a few stray curls from her face. Her skin is soft as silk beneath my calloused fingertips. "I've got men securing the perimeter. No one's getting through."

She doesn't respond, trapped in the confines of her mind. So I stay by her side.

---