Page 87 of Ruined By Blood
I feel frozen in place, every instinct screaming to lunge forward, to fight, to kill. But my brain overrides the impulse. Not now. Not like this. I won't gamble with Sienna's life.
"Enzo," Sienna calls softly as she's pulled farther away. "Thank you. For everything."
The finality in her voice makes my blood run cold. She thinks she's saying goodbye forever. That I'll let her go. That this is the end.
She doesn't know me at all.
I lock my face into an expressionless mask, standing steel while everything inside me rages. I let her see nothing of the storm. Nothing of my plans. Nothing of what's coming for everyone who touches her.
This is the hardest thing I've ever done—watching them take her. Letting them believe they've won.
The messenger and his men back out through ourshattered entrance, guns trained on us, Sienna held firmly between them. The last glimpse I get is of her face. Pale, tear-stained, before they disappear into the night.
The moment they disappear from sight, I spin around, my control fracturing into lethal focus.
"Someone tell me how the fuck this happened!" Damiano roars, his voice bouncing off the damaged walls of our home. He grabs the nearest guard by his tactical vest. "Our security is the best money can buy. How did they breach it?"
The guard pales. "Sir, we don't?—"
"Not good enough," Damiano shoves him away. "I want answers now. Where's Daniel? Get Hayes in here!"
I pace like a caged animal, my mind racing through scenarios, calculating how quickly we can mobilize.
"The perimeter alarms didn't trigger until they were already inside," Alessio reports, holstering his weapon. "Something's off with the timing."
Heavy footsteps echo down the hall as Daniel Hayes appears, his face grim and splattered with blood not his own. "The exterior security teams are down. All of them."
"What do you mean 'down'?" Damiano snaps.
"Dead," Daniel says bluntly. "Professional hits. Silent. They knew exactly where our men were positioned."
"Fuck!" I slam my fist into the nearest wall, the pain barely registering through my rage.
"How long before the alarms?" I demand. "How much time passed between our men going down and the system alerting us?"
Daniel's jaw tightens. "Based on body temp, at least fifteen minutes. Maybe more."
I exchange looks with Damiano. "They hacked our security system." It's the only explanation that makes sense. "Delayed the alerts long enough to get their people in position."
"That's not possible," Alessio argues. "Our system is?—"
"Clearly not as fucking impenetrable as we thought," I snarl.
The sound of running footsteps interrupts us as Zoe and Lucrezia appear from the corridor leading to the safe room, both looking shaken.
"She just ran," Lucrezia says, her voice cracking. "We were almost to the safe room when Sienna turned and bolted in the opposite direction."
"I tried to grab her," Zoe adds, "but she was too quick. She said something about not letting anyone else get hurt because of her."
"Enzo," Damiano starts, his tone cautious. "We need to be smart about this. If we move too fast?—"
"If we move too slowly, she's dead," I cut him off. "Or worse."
I know exactly what Sterling is capable of. What Cortez will do to her. The images flood my mind, feeding the rage building inside me.
"I'm going after her," I announce. It's not a questionor a request.
Istumble as the man shoves me into the backseat of a black SUV, my breath coming in sharp gasps. The door slams behind me, sealing me inside with the acrid smell of leather and cigarettes. I press myself against the door, as far from him as possible, watching his every move as he slides into the driver's seat.
