Page 105 of Wrapped in Silver

I punch him in the face and elbow his temple, but then a knife is against my throat.

“You are just making your case worse, Italian scum. Now the captain’s daughter will suffermebefore she goes to Yuri. Her blood will not fall fast.” He digs the knife closer to my neck, pricking the skin as I do everything in my power to hold it back. “I have to admit, I haven’t had this much fun in a while.”

Thinking of Quinn panicking in the van against the Russians triggers something visceral. The pain in my leg numbs,everythingnumbs, and with one swift movement, I grab the knife, twist it, and stick it straight through Niko’s neck.

His gasp causes Ferraro to struggle to his feet.

“No!He’s the one who gets me free.”Ferraro pulls at his hair, then points the gun straight at me. “You piece of—”

Bang! Bang!

Bang!

Ferraro’s body jerks in three different directions before he falls limp. Silenced automatic weapons resound outside, and when I lean over Niko’s dying body, I see him.

Donny. He rushes over and puts a bullet in Ferraro’s head for good measure, then whips Niko’s bloody body off me.

“We don’t leave our family behind, even when they fuck up.” Donny offers his hand to pull me up, and I immediately strain from the bullet still lodged in my leg. “You’re hit.”

Sal Dicey is trying to pull Patrick up. “Yeah sure, leave the fucking horse to me, the smallest of your fucking crew.Guys, give me a hand here, will you?”

With one arm around Donny’s neck as he hoists me, I see Quinn at the front door, and I know for the first time… I’m not alone.

Chapter 31

Quinn

What was I supposed to do?

Silver left me no choice but to break into his rental car and dial Donny’s recent number from his burner phone. I pled my case and told Donny I’m still mad at him for picking a fight on my favorite show set, and he seemed to like that. The Valentinos came to the rescue, but I’m still crying my eyes out next to my unconscious father.

We hit a speed bump. “Can younot?” I yell at the driver—SalDiceyMatteo.

“Drive slow, drive fast, make up your mind, pale ass! God, Ghost, you didn’t have toliterallyfind a female version of your nickname to complete my joke.”

“Drive, asshole,” Silver growls at him, holding the bandage over his leg while squeezing my hand comfortingly.

“You know, never in all my years did I get yelled at for saving the day.” Sal shakes his head.

“Donnysaved the day,” Silver says.

“No, actually, your girl-ghost did,” Sal says.

Silver’s jaw tenses. “I know, and I still can’t believe it.”

My chest keeps twitching with sobs. “Is he going to be okay?”

“They have good doctors on call twenty-four-seven,” Silver comforts me. “Back in the day, the Valentinos got into the deepest sorts of shit compared to the other four families, so we had to adapt.”

“The retired Ghost speaks the truth,” Sal calls from up front.

I look at my dad’s pained face, and I can’t take it anymore. Every day of the last few months has been a rollercoaster. But this is the worst drop.

“He got shot through the back, Quinn. The fact his gut is bleeding means the bullet exited. If no vital organs were hit, he’ll pull through,” Silver says the right things to give me hope. But if he’s wrong…

“What about you?” I ask.

“Don’t worry about me.”

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