Page 82 of When We Fall: Part Two
I clung to him for a moment before kissing his forehead. Finally, I got to my feet, his blood covering me, and went to find my mom.
But it was too late. Emilio was already clinging to her, rocking her body in his arms as he sobbed.
I fell to my knees next to him and took her hand in mine.
“Mom,” I rasped. “Mama.”
I reached out and traced my fingers along her pretty face, my heart shattering. They’d killed my parents. My family. How had this even happened? Goddamnit! My mother was a good person. The sweetest, kindest mother in the world. FUCK.
“You have to kill them all, Lorenzo. All of them,” Emilio said fiercely, his voice trembling. “I-I can’t leave her. I-I can’t. Not my baby… Fuck, Mars, I love you. I love you….”
“Enzo, man. Come on!” Cole shouted, sliding in next to me and trying to drag me away. “Please! We need to find Rosalie and the guys!”
I nodded without a word before getting to my feet, shooting at the ski-masked men indiscriminately. I was confused about why I’d catch a glimpse of white masks through the smoke, but I figured they had to be the leaders of the group, so I shot at them too when I could.
But I’d never have enough bullets for all these fucking monsters. They deserved to eat them for eternity.
I’d gone back to my mother’s body after everything and kissed her goodbye. Seeing her that way…
I drank deeply, hating everything in this fucking world.
We’d made it out, but E, Fox, and Rosalie were gone. Anson had come in, guns blazing, looking like the fucking devil himself.Had the moment not been so heartbreaking and terrifying, I may have been in awe of the man.
Anson Beyers—Alessandro De Santis—was the real deal. He was a man who should be feared, and the one who had saved Rosalie when I couldn’t.
My arm wasn’t too bad. Neither was my leg. I had to be treated at the hospital. A few minor bullet removals and a night in the hospital. They wanted me to stay longer, but I tore out my IV and stormed through the front doors, ready to find my guys. Cole had already started working on it and had sent a mass of men out while he stayed at my side, for once opting to give Anson time with Rosalie without a fight, at least at first. He’d eventually had him kicked out once I was free, and we’d sent Elijah and his men to sit outside her door. They’d proved themselves time and time again to me over the last few weeks. I trusted them. It killed me to leave Rosalie alone during this time, but I had to find Fox and E.
I’d already buried my parents. Just me, Cole, Emilio, and some of our men gathered. They deserved to have a big gathering, but I knew my father would tell me no.
So I didn’t because, for better or worse, he was the voice inside my head.
Now, I was fully in charge of everything. Emilio was struggling, and I’d told him he was free, but he refused his freedom and said he was going to find out who had done this and kill them. I hadn’t seen him since his proclamation, but I knew Emilio. He was working hard.
I’d been killing pretty much anything with a Russian name as of late, but there was simply no information. I was under the impression that Ivanov didn’t even know this shit had happened until news broke on all the channels.
Either he had no clue and hadn’t ordered the attack, or they were really fucking good actors.
I drank until my head was fuzzy and my body was numb. All I could think about was Fox and E. I had no leads. Nothing to go on when it came to finding them. Anson had spoken to me several times on the phone and had no information. He’d been close to Fox. He was frantic and had taken to the streets, the Archangel, once again, a name whispered in fear.
And still… nothing.
I got to my feet and stumbled upstairs. Noises came from Colten’s room, but he was a fucking night owl, so I ignored them and continued to Rosalie’s room.
I’d been distancing myself from her because it hurt too fucking much to look at her and know I failed us all. It was my fault Fox and E were gone. I’d been too cocky. Too confident.
She’d been shot. She’d had surgery to remove the bullet and patch up the muscles and surrounding damage.
I threw up all of last week over it. It made me sick. I couldn’t even be with her…
Damnit…
I opened her door and staggered into her bedroom to find Cole sleeping next to her, his hand clutching hers.
He was a fucking mess, too. I knew he was beyond stressed, but he was holding shit together like a boss.
I could always count on Cole.
I wanted to give him the world. He deserved it. He took charge immediately after gathering himself at the hospital. Had men out, looking for Fox and E. Collecting Russian Bratva. He really was the perfect second in command.
