Page 280 of Ruins
“Go, Vasilisa,” Romeo rasps, his voice harsh with urgency.
My feet move on instinct, my hands trembling as I snatch the box with the gun from my window nook. I rush into the closet, slamming the button for the elevator just as another wave of gunfire erupts outside. The doors slide shut, sealing me in steel and silence.
I lean against the cold metal walls, my breath ragged, my pulse hammering.
Dawning realization hits.My phone.I don’t have it.
I left it in the library.
Panic rises, ice-cold and suffocating. I have no way to call Santo. No way to warn him.
And if these men are here… does that mean Santo is—
I can’t finish the thought.
Pressing my back against the smooth metal, I try to steady my quivering body. I wait.
For rescue.
Or worse.
For the Armenians to find me.
And all the while, I wonder if Romeo will survive.
Chapter 56
Santo
I’mdrivingfasterthanI ever have.
And it’s still not fast enough. The road stretches out before me—endless, swallowing the distance between me and her in an ominous black void. I push the accelerator down, harder, my knuckles bone-white on the wheel.
My heart slams against my ribs, a relentless war drum, every beat screaming…
Vasilisa. Vasilisa. Vasilisa.
The city lights blur to the left. The dark waters roar to the right. The road ahead is nothing but shadows. Beside me, Angelo is speaking—watching the surveillance feed of my home on my phone. But his words barely register.
“They got in.”
His voice is like a sledgehammer to my ribs.
Everything inside me shatters.
The car skids around a corner, tires screaming against the pavement as I push it beyond its limit. Fear and rage fuel my reckless speed.
“And her?” My voice is sharp, every muscle wound tighter than a bowstring. “Where is she?”
“She went to the elevator,” Angelo says tightly. His voice is dark, clipped—punctuated by the gunfire crackling through the phone’s speaker.
The sound makes my blood run cold. My jaw clenches so hard it aches. If they dare lay a finger on her— I will kill them.
And then I will take her.
Steal her away, far from Cosa Nostra.
And I willneverreturn.
