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I grab Sophia, and we head back down to the parking area. We’re a few feet from my car when the air shifts. The eerie silence surrounding us is all wrong. My hand goes to her back, driving her toward the car. Her muscles tense under my palm because she senses the shift too.

Our proximity makes my pulse kick up, and I can feel adrenaline flooding my system.

My eyes catch a quick motion between the parked vehicles. Maybe bringing her here to see her mother without proper preparation and plans was a mistake, but this visit provided the opportunity to draw the Bratva out. If they did their research, they’d know her mother is here, and they’d also know that Sophia would come. Plus, I couldn’t deny her this, not when it might be the last time.

That shadow flits between the concrete pillars again, too fast to identify.

“We have to go, Sophia.” I grab her arm. “Gio flagged movement here. Same car, three days running. We’re already late getting out.”

She turns, her eyes wide. “What?”

“Now.” I scan the shadows, every instinct warning of danger as I hand her the keys.

She’s confused but takes them anyway.

We’re steps from the car when gunfire erupts. After two shots in rapid succession, all hell breaks loose.

I shove her down into the passenger footwell, my body covering hers as glass explodes above us like hail. The car rocks with the impact, metal screaming.

I sense a sharp burn across my shoulder. One of the bullets grazed me, and now blood is soaking through my shirt.

It doesn’t matter…nothing matters except keeping her alive.

I hang out the window, aim, and fire. One bullet hits the wall, but the second catches an assailant, making him scream. My third shot drops him with a heavy thud.

I continue firing, but the fourth bullet goes wide of the next target as I duck incoming fire and adjust my angle.

Sophia’s shrieking. While I see her open mouth, I can’t hear anything over the ringing in my ears. My world, as it often does, has narrowed down to targets and threats.

I register a motion on our left side. The man will have Sophia in his sights before he even reaches me.

I squeeze her leg. “Wait here and be silent. I’ll deal with the men and come back.”

“No…” She shakes her head.

“You do what I say, Sophia!” My hiss shuts her down.

She nods, and then I peel away from the car, sprinting into the open and firing as I go. If they’re aiming at me, they’re not targeting her.

Shouts rip through the air, and gunfire tracks my trajectory. I duck behind a concrete pillar too late. Footsteps pound closer. I’m boxed in with nowhere left to hide.

A second man rounds the pillar, his gun raised.

I spin. Too slow.

He’s got me. His finger tightens on the trigger.

I’m waiting for the darkness when I hear tires screech.

Everything happens so quickly. The car slams into the man, whose body smashes into the pillar before crumpling in a heap.

I blink.

Sophia’s clutching the wheel with white knuckles, her eyes wild, her teeth chattering.

She just drove the Maserati straight at that man and saved my life.

My chest heaves. Blood roars in my ears as I stare at this terrified yet fierce woman who just ran over a man to pull me back from death, who just crossed a line she can never uncross, and I don’t know if I should be grateful or horrified that I’ve dragged her into these depths.