Page 78 of Stolen Vows
The man closest to Valentina gets hit by a car before he clears the first lane.I dodge the first fist swung at me and surge upward, clocking the man under the chin with the sights of my pistol.
Valentina reaches the middle of the road as I shove the next man into his buddy.
My wife steps onto the curb on the far side of the road.I twist out of the path of my next assailant’s knife and shoot the two closest men in the gut.Cars honk and people scream as I shift my aim and send a third man to the ground with a pull of the trigger.
Bullets whiz past me.Fiery pain lances through my hip.I curse and step behind the trash can while returning fire and dropping the fourth man.Despite the danger to myself, I shift my aim to the men chasing Valentina and shoot one in the back of the head, but the other ducks into the crowd.
Noah and a dozen other people jump out of cars in the middle of the intersection and run toward me.I gesture for Noah to find Valentina.He changes direction.Half of his entourage follows him while the other half heads toward me.
A bullet grazes my arm.I hiss and return fire.
The only remaining uninjured attacker turns and flees.Three of my men chase after him.
In broad daylight with traffic rushing past, my men pull their cars from the intersection to the curb, bind the men still alive, and toss them into trunks.I stalk to the other side of the road.
“Boss!”Noah yells as he jogs toward me.“We can’t find her.She’s gone.”
My vision narrows as he holds up a phone with a crushed screen.
Valentina’s phone.
“Track her purse.Now,” I snarl.
“I am, but…” Noah points his phone screen toward me.
The trackers are a dull grey instead of red, indicating her kidnapper already found them all and turned them off.
“Fucking find her,” I demand.
“We’re checking all the nearest alleys and shops,” Noah says.
I snarl.It’s not enough.I needmia paperottain my arms right now.
“They’ll keep searching until they find her.We’re going to Pietro’s nearest hideout.Send a group to his most frequented places, too.”
“Of course, boss.We’ll find her.”
With a growl of frustration at my own failure, I hijack a car and floor the gas the moment Noah shuts his door.I jump curbs, run red lights, swerve between lanes, swing around corners, and pull up to the old brick building’s front door in record time, but it isn’t fast enough.I exit the car, stalk into the building, and rush up the stairs to the apartment Pietro has been using since he lost all his money.
The crappy door is only as strong as the hinges and locks, so Noah kicks it in with ease.
I dart inside, shoot the first man in the head, and shift my aim to the second man’s head.
He lifts his hands to shoulder height.Needing an outlet for my fury, I prowl forward, bury my fist in his face, and slam my toes into his stomach a few times before rolling him onto his back with my foot.
Noah settles his foot on thebastardo’ssternum and points his muzzle at his face.
“Where’s Pietro?”I demand.
“I don’t know,” the idiot says.
I shoot him in the leg.He writhes and screams, but Noah keeps him pinned to the floor.
“I don’t like repeating myself,” I snarl as I step on his wound.
Blood squishes under my shoe.I grind my sole harder into him.
“He has an apartment three floors up.His buddy just rented it when he got into town,” the lackey stutters.
