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Letting out a growl, I lift my arms, and training my barrel on the fucker’s shoulder, I pull the trigger.
The bullet hits, and he spins to the side, his hand coming up as he opens fire on me.
“No!” Gabriella screams, and forgetting about her own safety, she fucking throws her body at Filippo and tries to fight him for control of his gun.
“Gabriella!” I shout as I run toward them.
Another shot echoes through the woods, and the blood in my veins chills with fear.
Filippo throws Gabriella off him and trains his gun on her, and Carlo and I open fire as we rush toward them, one bullet after the other slamming into the fucker. His body jerks with each shot before he falls backward, gasping through the shock and pain.
Coming to a stop beside Filippo, I train my barrel on his head and lock eyes with him before I pull the trigger again.
As Gabriella climbs to her feet, my eyes snap to her.
She’s alive.
The amount of relief flooding through my soul paralyzes me for a few seconds, and I can only suck in desperate breaths of air as I stare at her.
Then my eyes drift over her shivering body, and not seeing any gunshot wounds, I dart forward. My arms lock around her, and I squash her to me.
A painful gasp from her has me instantly easing my grip, and I quickly crouch down so I can check the stab wound to her side. I’ve stabbed enough people in my time to know whether the wound is serious or not, and I let out a breath when I see it’s not too serious.
I straighten up again, and there are no words to say what I feel as I see the breaths rushing over her lips. The fight and life shining from her eyes ease the tension in my chest.
She’s alive.
The realization shudders through me again, and I thank all that’s holy that I got to her in time.
“You’re bleeding,” she says as she reaches her bloody hand to my face.
“It’s not mine,” I mutter while I grip hold of her hand. Feeling how fucking cold she is, I’m hit by another wave of anger.
“Damiano!” I hear Dario shout.
Taking a step back from Gabriella, my eyes flick over the lace bra and panties, and I quickly take off the bulletproof vest so I can get the long-sleeved shirt off my body.
Once I have the shirt covering my wife, Carlo hands me his coat, and I quickly wrap it around her.
I hate that Carlo saw her half naked, but I’m too relieved to feel any anger.
When I bend to pick her up, she shakes her head. “No. I can walk.”
“The fuck you can,” I snarl.
“Damiano,” she snaps at me.
Our eyes lock, and she lifts her chin. “I will walk out of here. I need your men to see I haven’t been broken.”
Holy fucking Christ.
As much as I hate the idea of her walking barefoot, I relent because this is important to her.
She wants to show them she’s their queen, and that no matter what’s thrown her way, she will survive. Nothing can break her.
Standing in the middle of the fucking woods on an icy winter’s day with blood soaking into the ground, I fall in love with Gabriella all over again.
Needing to touch her, I wrap my arm around her shoulders before we walk back through the trees.
