Going.
Going.
Until I’m leaping in the air and crashing through glass.
43
GIANNA
My ears ring, and I groan, looking down at the cuts and gashes on my hands and arms. A shrill command is the first thing I hear when the ringing ends. I grab Daddy’s gun just as one goes off, hitting the floor beside me. I roll the other way, hiding behind a wall.
Boots thump, and someone appears with their back to me, stepping around the corner. Lifting my gun, I shoot him in the back of the head before he can see me and his body hits the ground.
I wince, dropping my arm, focusing on the sharp crystal sticking out of my forearm. It’s a small piece. I don’t think it’s caused much damage, but it fucking hurts.
I grit my teeth, holding back on a scream as I slowly pull the piece out, tossing the bloody glass on the floor.
Another gun goes off, shattering the window beside me. Close. Too close.
I run to the next opening, and it’s the front of the boat. There is a man steering the boat. He spots me and tries pulling his gun on me, but I shoot him first, and he buckles forward.
The steering wheel snags, his arm getting caught on it when he starts to fall, making the boat jerk and knocking my body sideways.
I get back up and push him away, straightening the wheel.
I look around. It’s darker now. Quieter. They’re looking for me. The boat is only so big. Eventually they’ll find me. I’m assuming there is only one guard left on this boat. I saw several of them out there, dead or about to die.
I press my back to the wall when I hear laughter.
“Oh, Gia. Gia, Gia, Gia.” Yessica’s heels click on the floor. I think she realizes they’re giving her location away, because after several seconds, I don’t hear them anymore. I look out to the left, seeing a slice of the marina. We’re not too far away from it.
“Just give it up, will you! Draco is going down! He can’t defeat me!”
I grip my gun tighter, pressing my back to the wall.
“You could be my colleague, join my side,” she says, sweetening her tone. “Together, we can rise! Become the best bitches and bosses in the world. Untouchable. Irresistible.” I hear the smile in her voice. “We can get whatever we want.”
Glass crunches, and I look to my left, holding my breath. I lift my gun, pointing it ahead, a trail of dark-red blood leaking down my forearm. I can’t see a damn thing now. They’ve shut all lights off on the boat.
The footsteps get closer and then I see a large body in dark clothing. His pistol is high in the air, his shoulders hunched, and when the person spots me, he picks his head up, eyes growing wide.
“Draco,” I whisper as quietly as I can. I realize now he’s soaking wet from waist to toe.
He holds a finger up to his lips, gestures for me to be quiet, but as soon he lowers that finger, glass shatters again, and he falls to the ground, body slamming down and rocking the boat.
Heavier footsteps start up and a large body comes charging toward him, scooping him up by the back of his shirt, his hand immediately wrapping around Draco’s throat.
“Who’s the Jefe now, motherfucker!” the guard laughs, and from this angle, I know exactly who he is.
The big man with the blind eye that abducted me. The one who thought he was intimidating me. Fucking Alonso.
I lift my gun, but I don’t have a chance to pull the trigger. Someone knocks it out of my hand with all their might and then shoves me forward, my chest slamming into wall.
I turn around and look up. Yessica stands in front of me with a gun in hand, pointing it directly at me.
“Maybe you’re just as stupid as he is,” she murmurs.
I look to the left, and Draco can’t get even. The man is dragging him around, tossing his body, throwing him through the glass windows and then charging him again like some kind of raging bull.
“He won’t survive this.” She laughs. “Look at him. Being tossed around like a cheap, worthless dog toy.”
I glare at her.
“Join me, Gia. Become my colleague. Stop giving the men the glory and become a truly powerful woman on your own. You don’t need him. You never have.”
I clench my jaw, baring my teeth. “Fuck you. I’ll never partner up with a psychotic bitch like you. Henry. What about him, huh? He was trapped for months, and you didn’t do shit to find him. Trigger Toni? Huh? Who had his back then? You’re not loyal. You’re desperate. Stupid. A fucking psycho.”
I hear Draco holler out in pain and then roar. Bones crack. More glass shatters. All of it makes my blood run cold and my belly clench tighter.