Page 107 of Her Guardian
“Surprised you even remember how to fire one of those,” I rumble, motioning to the gun. “Actually, I’m surprised you evenhaveone.”
“Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for war and my fingers for battle,” Leo smirks. “Psalm 144:1.”
“Pretty sure the good book isn’t encouraging you to go after Solitude and the Bratva,” I chuckle. “But it’s nice to have you by my side again. Even if it’s just for one day.”
“Missed me that much, huh?” Leo asks, cranking the SUV and peeling out behind Massimo. “You know how things were. I found comfort in what I could—in the words she found comfort in during her last days.”
“Yeah, I know,” I sigh.
Leo and I were best friends, back when we were young. I tried to be there for him after his girlfriend died, but I didn’t have the answers he needed. Nobody did. I don’t think God had them either. It just made him feel closer to her. Maybe that’s what he really needed.
“So, Sarah, huh? She seems like a lively gal,” he says. “Things getting serious, or are you still too scared to let anyone get that close again?”
“I love her, Leo,” I admit. “Might even ask her to marry me one day, if she’ll let me.”
“Guess I better start writing the wedding sermon,” Leo says, tightening his grip on the steering wheel. “But let’s get her back first.”
Once we get to the outskirts of Las Vegas, it doesn’t take us long for us to find the bunker. The road is gone, but the ground is still fairly solid. We find a spot to park and get out. Leo grabs his AK-47 from the back seat. I pop the lift gate and grab myshotgun, then sling an assault rifle over my shoulder that is loaded with armor piercing rounds.
“Hold on, there’s a problem,” Massimo stops us, holding his phone up. I see Cadence on the screen. “Tell them what you told me.”
“Okay, since I had a way in because of the signal—never mind, you don’t care about the technical stuff. Lea and Sarah are all alone in that bunker. There’s nobody. I was able to tap into the security cameras inside,” Cadence hurriedly explains. “The entire bunker is rigged with explosives. I went through the old footage and saw them bringing in a lot of fuel. I don’t think they needed that much to power a generator.”
“Fuck,” I mutter. “Then that’s the trap. We go in, they blow up the bunker. We won’t even have a fighting chance. We’ll die with them.”
“It’s not on a timer. They’re using a remote,” Cadence continues. “I might be able to lock them out of their system, but that won’t buy you much time. Solitude can get through anything I put up to block them, so the best I can do is slow them down.”
“We’ll take it,” Massimo says, turning and giving orders to Dante.
My leg hurts like a motherfucker, but I ignore the pain and start walking toward the bunker. Leo is on my right. Rowan is on my left. Massimo is beside him. All of us are heavily armed, but it doesn’t sound like this will be the fight we’re prepared for. I just hope we’re not leading the entire Morandi family to their deaths.
“The door is standing open,” Rowan says as we get closer. “They’re expecting us, aye. Hope that lass knows what she’s doing.”
“Only one way to find out,” Massimo says, gritting his teeth as he walks into the bunker.
If this is the end, I’ll die for the woman I love.
Probably should have asked Leo to read us our Last Rites.
CHAPTER 40
Sarah
The seconds tick down to my live podcast.
I’m still holding Lea when it flashes on, but I scramble to the bars.
“It’s a trap! It’s a trap! Don’t come in!” I scream.
Lea rushes to my side, holding her arm and gritting her teeth. She can’t get as close to the cage as I can.
“Massimo, don’t! They’re going to blow up the entire bunker!” she yells.
I hold my breath and stare at the live feed on the laptop, then down at the jet engines underneath us. I’m not close enough to make out how many people are watching us right now. I usually have a few comments when I’m live, but I don’t see anything popping up on the screen. Maybe they’re in shock.
My arms and legs tremble as I look down, waiting for the machinery to roar to life. Waiting for columns of fire to engulf us. Waiting for the bunker to explode.
“Did they hear us? Maybe they didn’t come in,” Lea whispers.
