Page 11 of Unfettered

“Where?” I ask as soon as my feet hit the ground floor of the warehouse I’ve been on the roof of.

“South side of the building. There’s a small parking lot. Javi, I know you can fucking hear me! I’m going to chain you to your bed for the next fifty years if you don’t fucking stand down.”

In any other situation, I’d be impressed by not only Carter’s authority but his swearing. Now’s not the time to admire either, though, sadly.

Pulling my gun, I shoot at men as I run into the fray, hoping like hell that I don't get shot in the process—Hol really will kill me then.

Rounding the corner of the warehouse, I just about catch up to the psychiatrist as he shoots around the corner, before disappearing to the other side.

“I’m going to let Jude spank you for real,” I mutter into the earpiece, hoping the asshole hasn’t taken his out yet.

My shoes slip on gravel, the tread barely catching as I take the corner too fast. I'm just in time to see Javi shooting at what must be the Senator’s armored SUV. Then the car backs up…and hits something—or someone.

The screams can be heard even over the fire as the SUV runs them over again before they peter out to nothing.

Crossing the distance, I grab Javi as I catch up to him. He tries to fight me, but I keep a death grip on his bulletproof vest. Though my grip loosens now that I’m close enough to see the poor bastard who got caught under the SUV.

“Fuck! Get one of the ambulances here now!” I bark into my earpiece.

My knees skid on the ground as I hover over Nario. The twin looks up at me with hazy, pain-filled eyes. His entire body is shaking already, the shock setting in.

“This is going to hurt,” I warn him. I jerk the rifle off and then my vest, the cumbersome thing fighting me for a moment before it falls to the ground.

Tearing off my shirt, I press it against the large, tangled mess that was once his left leg.

“T…” he whispers, flinching and shaking more as I put pressure on the wound, hoping to slow the bleeding enough that he’ll have a fighting chance. “T…ell Sir…I l-love him. T…the others…t-too.”

“What’s Doc’s ETA?” I ask, barely looking up as someone drops to the ground on Nario’s other side, their hands working to keep pressure on his right leg—though at first glance, it doesn’t appear as bad.

It takes longer than it should for Carter to come on the line. “Ambulance is on its way,” he says, his voice almost hollow.

“What happened?” I ask coldly.

“Focus on Nario, Ten,” he replies.

“What. Happened? Is Roman okay?”

Carter lets out a breath. “He’s fine, but Cristian was shot. So far, he looks good. They’re heading home now. Roman is worried, though.”

Any warmth from killing and seeing the Senator’s assets go up in flames vanishes at his words. A hand reaches over to squeeze mine quickly before getting back to work, and I look up to meet Javi’s mismatched gaze. Morbid curiosity more than concern lies there, but the fact that he stayed, that he didn’t decide to follow the man who killed his family over helping me with mine, means more than any false comfort he could give.

Looking back down at Nario’s face, I hope more than anything that the odd color to it is more a trick of the flickering firelight than anything else. Because I don’t know if Jude’s other Boys could survive losing one of their own, and my Agnellino already has too much on his shoulders to bear a loss such as this.

I meet Javi’s eyes again, and the promise of pain and death within them matches the dark, swirling feelings rising in me. These emotions are ones I embrace and revel in. The Senator better enjoy his last bits of life, because this was his final chance to surrender. Now, it’s game over.

Ipace in Sarah’s office, unhappy to be stuck in here. At least the waiting room when we waited for news on Lio didn’t feel quite so closed in. But fuck, having to stand by again for news on one of our own… It’s unbearable.

I check my phone, trying to find out if there's anything new, but so far, Keegan doesn’t have an update for me on Cristian. We barely had any time to have a discussion about how things went. I was assigned to accompany Sarah to the hospital, and the rest would be staying there for news on Cristian.

Knowing he took a bullet for my Sir… Fuck. It screws with my head. As much as I hate him, I would never want Carter or Roman to be hurt, and losing Cristian would only cause them pain. Still, owing him doesn’t sit right. I shake my head, hoping to put it out of my mind. There’s no sense worrying about who owes the other until we know how serious this injury is, and considering Doc is operating… Well, we’ve seen him pull off miracles before.

The quiet clicking of keys sets me more on edge than normal. I frown as a thought suddenly comes to me. “Sarah, won’t you have to give this up if you’re going over to the Bratva?”

Her fingers falter on the keyboard before she glares at me. I immediately sit in her visitor’s chair, and her eyes soften slightly. She takes a deep breath as she brushes her hair back with her fingers.

“In the past, I’ve always been able to come and go from my job due to Il Padrone’s standing in the community. Not to mention, the hospital wants to keep me as I bring in money from donors that they need. However, since the Bratva is a full-time position, yes, I’ll likely need to separate. But, I’ve been holding off on doing that. For good reason.”

“It’s definitely been beneficial for us,” I muse. “Honestly, I was surprised Doc was willing to let you bring Nario to the hospital, after his response to Lio coming here.”