Page 28 of Danica's Revenge

What I needed was manpower and lots of it.Weapons we had no shortage of, Emilio had assured me, leading me into the massive arsenal in the basement.I had no idea.Just like I had no idea we had holding cells down there—cells that now contained Luca and Alicia.

They are well taken care of—I’m not a monster.Dante can deal with them himself.Once he is home safe again.Once, notif—I force the positive thoughts into my head.

Emilio had tried to convince me to stay at home.Don Fera would want you to be safe, he'd argued.We both knew it was futile though.I was going.There was nothing on my mind besides getting to Dante, bringing him home.Besides, just the thought of sitting at home, looking at the clock, while the others went out to find Dante—I couldn’t bear it.I would lose my mind.No, I needed to go.I vowed to stay out of the action, hiding behind the army of armed mobsters in black.Almost 20 of them.

I’d taken a 9mm from the arsenal.I am familiar with its weight, its grip.It is now tucked into the holster around my waist.

My current reality is a long way from my suburban upbringing and the life of ignorance it had prepared me for.But none of that matters now.Without Dante I can never be safe again.I am not the one risking it all; everything has already been put at risk.

Nobody likes the Ricci family.This has gone too far.You don’t kidnap a Don and expect things to carry on as normal.It is sleazy, and it upsets the natural order of things.None of the other families want a war.Everyone has businesses at stake.

War is only profitable to the arms dealers, Don Greco had explained to me.But I knew Don Greco wasn’t just doing this to avoid a war.There had been a tenderness in his voice when he'd heard Dante’s name; there was something else.He'd looked far into the distance, sighing a heavy sigh.I promised her…he trailed off.I hadn’t asked.My only mission was to get to Dante and to do so quickly.

After speaking to Don Greco, we had no time to waste.We found Roberto Ricci quickly at his usual hang-out—the brothel on 7thStreet.Cunty little fellow, Roberto—no backbone.All he cared about was finishing inside the woman tied to the bed.That and keeping his genitals attached to his body.So he spilled it all, told us where they were keeping Dante.

I have no doubt that Roberto called his family as soon as we left.I smashed his phone under my boots to buy us some time.

But even so, I know we likely don't have the element of surprise on our side.What wedohave, though, are the armies of two of the most powerful crime families in the city.

Within hours it had all been arranged and the unmarked vans had pulled up a block away from the Ricci compound.

They are keeping Dante at their warehouse, the property of some or other fake shell company to funnel money through.It is close to the Ricci house.Even if Roberto already warned them, we haven’t given them much time.

But we don’t have a strategy either.There'd been no time to devise one.Sometimes you have to take back what’s yours with brute force, there is no other way.

Every minute we waste is a minute closer to Dante’s demise.Nobody has any illusions about that.If it isn’t already too late…

“Are you ready, Miss Matthews?”Emilio asks, looking at me with intensity.

I nod.I don’t feel ready but I know it’s now or never.Dante’s coming home with us, that’s my sole mission.Nothing else exists.How could it without him?What kind of Domme fails to protect their sub?

I wait as the men file out towards the warehouse, keeping to the shadows, staying low.I’m somewhere near the back, three of them behind me to fend off any surprise attacks.

I’m not as nervous as I thought I would be.I’m focused.

There are two guards at the gate.They are dead before they even see us coming.I don’t even flinch at the sound of the gunfire anymore.

We burst through the gate, filing into the premises in double lines as chaos ensues.

They know we’re here.Shots fly past me in every direction.I keep low like Emilio told me to.

The short distance between the gate and the warehouse feels like miles.We’re moving targets in the open stretch.But we move quickly, reaching the large building’s side door with only one man down.

I don’t look back.I don’t ever look back.I just see the men in black in front of me and follow them, hunched low, as they barge into the building.

It was easy up to this point.Too easy.I suddenly realize why.A wall of armed men meet us in the corridor, waiting, ready, guns cocked.

Fuck!

The human shields on either side of me push forward, taking out the Ricci guards faster than they can hit us.

I know I should stay close to the group, stay protected, but I need to find Dante.He has to be here, behind one of the many doors lining the corridor.

I duck into the first room on the left, crawling in to keep low.The disappointment sinks into my belly—the room is empty.Just some storage.Same for the second and the third doors.I crawl from room to room as our ambush pushes deeper into the facility.

There’s an orange door coming up on my right.It leads to an engine room of some sort.Probably for the building’s air conditioning.I straighten up as I get inside, reaching for the light switch.But a sharp pain in my arm prevents me from casting out the darkness.

Oh god, that hurts!I scream as the knife cuts my arm.I try to push the hidden attacker away but I can’t see a thing.The cut is deep, I know it is.I can feel the blood running down my arm but I don’t have time to take stock.

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