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God, please don't let anything happen to him.

The gunfight continues with the sound of running footsteps and more gunshots filling the building. A door slams open somewhere down the hallway, hitting the wall with a loud bang. Another follows, and I hear footsteps pounding against the floor as someone moves from one room to the next.

The sounds keep getting closer, and my heart is beating so hard that I can feel it in my throat. What if it's one of those men coming back to finish what they started?

Then my door burst open, and I flinch and lurch backward, sending the chair crashing to the floor.

“Alexander!”

I know that voice.

I would recognize it anywhere.

I would recognize it in my dream.

“Antonio?” I manage to whisper.

He drops to his knees beside me. My vision is still blurry, but I can make out his face as he leans over me, his eyes moving over my injuries. His jaw tightens, and he pulls out a pocketknife, carefully cutting through the zip ties around my wrists and ankles.

“Fuck, baby,” he mutters, slipping an arm around me to help me sit up. “I’m sorry.”

His hand cups my cheeks, but I wince when his fingers brush against the swollen side of my face. He immediately pulls back, his features tensing as he looks at me again.

“I've got you, baby. I've got you.”

I don't know why those words affect me so much, but something inside me gives way the moment I hear them.

I didn't shed a single tear when those men were torturing me. Even when I thought I was going to die in this place, I somehow managed to hold myself together. But seeing Antonio here, feeling his arms around me and knowing that he's actually come for me, breaks whatever little strength I have left.

My eyes well up, and tears spill down my cheeks. I grab the front of his shirt, holding on to him as he pulls me against him.

“I told you not to come,” I sniff, smacking his chest with what little strength I have left.

“I'll always come after you, baby,” Antonio says, pulling me closer and pressing a kiss to my hair.

I shake my head, unable to stop crying. He doesn't understand how terrified I was when I realized they were using me to get to him. I'd rather endure everything those men did to me all over again than have anything happen to him.

But I'm also so glad he's here. I hold onto him a little tighter, burying my face against his chest and breathing in his familiar scent as another sob escapes me.

I don't ever want to know what it feels like to lose him.

Chapter

Twenty-Nine

ANTONIO

The rage that tears through me when Alexander's battered face appears on my phone screen is unlike anything I've ever felt. His nose is bleeding, his lips are split, and his face is so swollen that I can barely recognize him. But what makes me lose my fucking mind is the fear in his eyes and the way he can barely get my name out.

And then the bastard has the nerve to hit him right in front of me.

I know right then that no one involved in Alexander's kidnapping is leaving that place alive.

I have to give it to the Falcos, though. The fuckers know how to hide. Despite all the surveillance we've set up and the men we've stationed across the city, we've somehow failed to pick up on them establishing a base on Long Island. They've managed to stay out of our sight while planning their attack, and I'm going to make them regret the day they decide to come after my family.

Fortunately for us, Francesco is arrogant enough to give away their location himself.

I'm still in a meeting with my father, the rest of the family, and our clan members when he calls. As soon as the call ends, I order the subleaders to gather their men and have them transported in buses to the Pine Barrens. Marco immediately gets to work hacking into the Falcos' security system, and once he gains access, we have eyes on the property they're occupying. We can see the buildings and the surrounding grounds, giving us a much better idea of where they're holding up. We also deploy our drones to keep an eye on the property while we make our way there.