Page 198 of Bleed with Me

“Don’t follow me, Ignatio,” I said in my best commanding voice.

“Your grandfather will rise from the grave and strangle me if I let you leave alone,” he objected, a deep line forming between his thick black brows.

“Say hi to him for me.”

The doors slid shut between us. My hands began shaking the moment he disappeared. My wobbly legs barely brought me to the car.

“Fuck,” I hissed, sliding onto the driver’s seat. Aryna needed me composed. I had to pull myself together.

The drive took thirty-seven minutes. I followed the directions toward an abandoned freight depot surrounded by rusted fencing and neglected warehouses.

Glancing around, I saw no visible guards or cars parked outside. It was too quiet.

I stopped near the entrance and got out. A cold wind whipped through the empty lot, carrying the smell of rain and gasoline. The metal door ahead stood slightly open. Like an invitation.

I reached for my gun and stepped inside. Weak strips of fluorescent light flickered along the ceiling, illuminating broken machinery and piles of discarded pallets. My footsteps echoed through the enormous space.

I moved deeper, keeping the gun raised. My eyes scanned every inch, catching a shadow to my left. But before I could fire, someone slammed into my side.

A man caught my wrist. I drove my knee into his stomach and twisted away, bringing the grip of the gun across his face. Bone crunched beneath it. He staggered, and I kicked his knee hard enough to send him down.

Another man rushed from behind a stack of crates. I fired. He dropped with a scream, clutching his thigh.

“You stupid bitch!” someone yelled.

I spun toward the voice, finger tightening around the trigger. Then I saw her.

Aryna stood several feet away, restrained against a man’s chest, but wasn’t gagged anymore. His arm wrapped around her tiny body, and the barrel of his gun pressed against her temple. Her face was swollen from crying, but she was conscious. Alive.

“Mommy Nina,” she whimpered.

The two words cut through every violent instinct inside me.

“Drop the gun.” The man holding her smiled menacingly. I kept it aimed at his face.

“Let her go,” I snarled.

“You’re not in a position to negotiate,” he snarled.

Aryna’s lower lip trembled. Her terrified eyes remained fixed on mine.

I could shoot him. Maybe. Fuck! Maybe wasn’t enough now! Not with her life hanging in the balance.

Reluctantly, I lowered my weapon.

“That’s it,” the brute encouraged. “Be smart.”

The gun slipped from my fingers and struck the concrete floor. Another man approached from my blind side and kicked it away.

I didn’t fight when he grabbed my arms. I didn’t resist when he searched me.

I looked only at Aryna.

“I’m here, angel,” I told her, forcing steadiness into my voice. “Everything will be okay.”

A slow clap echoed through the warehouse, and my every suspicion was confirmed in a millisecond. Sonny stepped from the shadows in an expensive black suit, his disgusting face twisted by a satisfied smile.

“Well,” he drawled, looking me over. “You finally came.”