“You are good, Aria. Nothing about you is bad,” I whispered fiercely.
She rewarded me with one of those smiles, and I had trouble keeping my hard mask. “I think you may be biased.”
“I’m not. It takes a lot of goodness to cancel out my darkness.”
She huffed but I didn’t get the chance to say more because my phone started ringing. “Fuck,” I muttered. Aria and I moved off the dance floor and I checked the screen. “Matteo,” I said, annoyed. Aria followed me toward a calm corner of the warehouse.
I took the call, feeling my blood boil. “I’m not in the mood to talk to you, Matteo. You acted like a major asshole tonight.”
A female sob sounded on the other end. I tensed and Aria moved closer.
“Gianna?” I asked carefully as I headed toward the door and walked outside. Aria had trouble keeping up with my pace. “What’s wrong?” she asked.
“He’s dying,” Gianna said.
I stopped in my tracks. “What are you talking about? Give me Matteo.” My breath left my mouth in clouds from the blistering cold, and Aria shivered beside me.
“I can’t. The Russians attacked us. There’s so much blood, Luca, so much blood.”
My throat constricted. “Is Matteo alive?”
Aria gasped and pressed up to me. “Luca?” I shook my head, and her eyes filled with tears. “Call Romero and tell him to bring Sandro.”
Aria took out her mobile, following my orders.
“He’s not breathing. He was a moment ago, but he’s not anymore,” Gianna whispered.
If he’d still been breathing not too long ago, he could survive. Matteo was a fighter. Aria nodded at me and lowered her phone.
“Gianna, you have to do CPR. I’ll be there soon. I have your GPS coordinates. But you’ll have to get him breathing or it’ll be too late.” I motioned for Aria to follow me as I jogged toward my car. She was fast on my heels and we both got into my Aston Martin.
“Give me your phone. I need to track Matteo’s cell,” I told her, still pressing my own mobile against my ear, but Gianna had been silent on the other end for a while.
“Gianna?” I said as I revved the engine. Static crackled in my ear and for a heart-stopping moment, I thought Gianna had hung up. This was her fucking chance to escape once and for all. If Matteo died, she’d be free. But if she let him die to be free, even my love for Aria wouldn’t stop me from hunting her down.
“I know you feel like Matteo trapped you, that he ruined your life, but no matter what you think, he didn’t do it to make you miserable. For some unexplainable reason Matteo loves you. You don’t have to believe me. You can keep hating him but don’t leave him alone, not now. If you help me save his life, I’ll grant you freedom. I swear it on my honor and my life. Aria is here. She’s my witness. You will get money, a new identity and even protection from the Outfit if you want. It’s all yours, if you save his life.”
Aria’s lips parted in shock, eyes wide and incredulous but I kept my eyes on the street, following the directions of Aria’s phone.
“Okay,” came Gianna’s reply.
That fucking bitch. I stifled my fury and focused on saving my brother’s life. “You have to do chest compressions. Hard and fast. Don’t worry about breaking his ribs. Thirty pushes, two breaths. Fast.”
I could feel Aria’s eyes on me the entire time.
“He’s not reacting!” Gianna shouted.
“Keep doing it,” I ordered. There was silence on the other end, and my throat got even tighter. Aria touched my leg but didn’t say anything.
“We’ll be there in ten minutes,” I got out past the lump in my throat. “How’s Matteo?”
More silence, and I stiffened. “Gianna? Are you still there?”
“Yes. Matteo is breathing again.”
Relief surged through me and Aria squeezed my thigh tightly. She let out a shuddering breath. “Good. Stay where you are,” I said quietly. My eyes were drawn to the rearview mirror where I could see Romero’s car approaching.
“Don’t worry,” Gianna said.
The moment we arrived, I saw Matteo’s smashed car. I hit the brakes, shoved open the door and ran toward Matteo. I fell to my knees beside him and did a quick scan of his injuries. His head was covered in blood, but like Gianna had said he was breathing. Romero and Sandro joined me.
“Called the Doc,” Romero informed me as he sank down on the ground beside me. Aria was talking to Gianna, who still hovered beside Matteo as if she actually gave a damn if he lived or died. Since we’d been little Matteo and I had protected each other; it had been us against the rest of the world—against a sadistic father, against a mother who let her despair out on us, against the enemies that wanted to see us dead.