Page 112 of Savage King

"Toni, they have some kind of bazooka or something," Gigi calls, and I push the speaker symbol. "I'm trying to lose them and get back to the house."

"They're going to anticipate that. Vito, have Umberto send cars out. Now! All of them."

We're going down a narrow side street when one of the black SUVs comes into view in front of us.

"Shit," Gigi yells.

"We're on our way, but we're in the city," Antonio yells back, sounding breathless. He's probably running.

Gigi hits the brakes and reverses. Another SUV blocks the rear.

"We're trapped," Gigi calls.

"Listen to me, Gigi. Your car is bulletproof; lock the doors, and don't let them in. Al is two minutes out."

"We don't have two minutes," Gigi says.

"Alright, listen. The Maybach can take a hit. Don’t fucking hesitate?—"

"Already on it," Gigi cuts in, eyes narrowing as the SUV behind us creeps forward, pinning us in.

"Then move, Gigi. Now!" Antonio barks.

I barely have time to register Antonio’s words before Gigi throws the car into reverse. The Maybach lunges back, slamming into the SUV behind us. The impact moves me from right to left and left to right. My head slams into the window, but the seatbelt keeps me in my seat. Metal shrieks. Dizziness overcomes me, but I don't miss Gigi's determination as she fights the airbag that has exploded into her face.

"Good," Antonio breathes over the line, eerily calm. "Now forward. Take out the one in front."

My eyes widen as I watch several men exit the SUV ahead of us. "There are guys—they're getting out?—"

Antonio’s voice drops, lethal. "Gigi. Run. Them. Over."

Gigi doesn’t flinch. My hands clamp around the seat in front of me as I watch Gigi slamming the gear shift into drive and hitting the gas. The Maybach surges forward like a battering ram, clipping the men before they can aim. One hits the hood, rolls over the windshield, and crumples to the ground. A second jumps to the side, and the third… the tires protest as they run over an obstacle. My stomach turns. But neither do I want to be captured by these men.

Gigi's car hits the other SUV. Again, metal screeches, the Mercedes slows, and the impact throws me forward. Gigi keeps the pedal pressed to the ground, and slowly, the Maybach pushes the SUV out of the way. A repeating pinging sound makes me turn. "They're shooting at us."

Torn, damaged, and scraped, the Mercedes gains speed as soon as our obstacle is out of the way. I'm about to breathe a sigh of relief when I notice two more blacked-out SUVs turning the corner, coming for us.

"Gigi!" I yell.

"I see them."

"Al is one minute out, Gigi. Get back to Main Street." I can barely hear Antonio over the rotor blades. He must have made it to the helicopter.Please hurry, my mind prays.

"No leads?"My voice is edged with hardness as I stare at Marcello's seemingly lifeless body on the hospital bed hooked up to cords, IVs, and machines. Lights flicker on the monitors, giving readouts of his heart rate, oxygen levels, brain activity, the whole nine yards.

One leg is elevated. Luciano, Marcello's right-hand man, said he got shot twice in that leg and hip as well as his shoulder. Most worrisome is the bullet that grazed his head enough to take out a chunk of his skull and make his brain swell. That's why the doctors are keeping him in an artificial coma.

Luciano sits in an armchair in a corner, trying hard to appear relaxed, but I can see his tight muscles. He's primed to attack me if he thinks I pose a threat to his boss. I grin. I do admire loyalty.

"Nothing that I know of. Mr. Orsi took over," he grunts in disapproval. For a second, I think he'll spit on the floor to emphasize his disgust, but he thinks better of it when a pretty blonde nurse enters. Luciano perks visibly at the sight.

"The night nurse was a nightmare," Luciano complains to her.

He visibly deflates when she ignores him and checks the computer by the foot of Marcello's bed.

She moves to adjust the IV, still ignoring Luciano and me, until he breaks the silence again. "So, we're not talking this morning?" He holds out a cup of coffee for her.

"You can't buy me with that." She snarls at him.

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