Recklessly His: A Bad Boy Mafia Romance, page 17
Now, Sabrina was right on top of me. Right where I fucking wanted her, except with a lot less clothing.
I fought her and she went at me like a mad dog. The whole thing only lasted ten seconds before I had the cool glass pressed to my lips.
“Anton!” She screamed my name, twisted in my arms, and then rammed her little face against mine.
Fuck!
The shot broke away from my lips and I saw it go spiraling to the bed with Sabrina over my shoulder, face first. She was wide eyed and wiping furiously at her lips a second later.
That was when I realized this wasn't just a stupid game.
My girl's chest jerked unnaturally. She couldn't breathe. Her throat was closing.
I pulled her up in my arms roaring, thumping on her back, holding her close 'til I smelled that nasty vinegar shit on her lips.
Shit, shit, shit! The shot glass lay right next to where her face had hit. She must've downed half of whatever hadn't soaked into the sheets.
I went ape, jumped off the bed, and dragged her to the bathroom. She was coughing and struggling against me like mad, but now it was because she really couldn't breathe. I had one arm around her and my other on the phone, howling into it as fast as I could when Grigor answered.
“Get the fuck up here right now! Call a doctor – I don't care how fuckin' much you've got to pay the shit to keep his quack mouth shut. Move your ass!” The phone snapped shut and I hurled it into the tub.
Oh, fuck. This was bad. Her gem-like eyes were bugging and starting to get glassed. I didn't have a fucking clue what that shit really was, or how fast it worked. There was nothing I could do about the unknown poison right now except try to get it outta her system this second.
“Hang on, babe! This won't be pretty. Just remember I'm trying to save your ass!” I didn't know if she could hear me.
She looked panicked, half-blastd outta her mind. I held her over the toilet and reached into her mouth, jamming my fingers against her throat, anything to make her heave that shit up.
It took a few tries to get her to retch. She coughed and let it all out, and I kept going, holding her while she spasmed and expelled what little was in her stomach. Of course, the deadly shit was indistinguishable from everything else.
There was no way to know if I'd gotten it. I held her, shaking like a fucking fool while she kicked and thrashed, one hand on her little belly going through its spasms.
She went limp. I barely jerked her away from the bowl in time before she dove in. Laying her out carefully on the floor, I pushed my hand against her chest, checking her breath.
Somebody was knocking at the door out in the bedroom, but fuck if I was getting up to answer it.
Her breathing was still choppy, shallow, and difficult. The bluish tinge in her lips told me she wasn't getting enough oxygen.
Fuck, fuck, fuck!
I wiped her lips on my shirt and dove, pushing all the air from my lungs into hers, pounding on her chest to get her to suck it in.
Don't die on me, Sabrina. Don't you fucking die on me!
Breathe, baby, breathe.
Come. The. Fuck. On.
My brain was right off its rails by the time old Grigor came bursting in, belting loud Russian orders at the servants. Incomprehensible grief and desperation and terror turned me into a fucking maniac, but I wouldn't let myself do anything but breathe, pouring as much air as I could into her lungs.
“Master Anton, you need to let us through. We have steroids to help. Doctor is on his way.”
I pulled myself away from her just long enough to jabber a few words about poisons and fuck ups to Grigor. I think the old man got the message. He never let a damned line of emotion show in his face.
Exactly like he'd been trained. A last line of defense for reason when all the Ivankovs were flipping their shit.
I wouldn't fucking leave her. Lev and Daniel grabbed underneath my arms and carried me away, kicking and screaming. Last glimpse of her I had was Grigor and two of the maids with First Aid shit piling in around her.
“Brother, please! Calm your ass down before you tear the whole house apart!” Lev leaned down and screamed in my face when we were outside.
The second they let me go, I lunged for them, grabbing both their necks and throwing them to the ground with superhuman strength.
“This is your fucking fault! Bastards! Both of you!”
Daniel's nose cracked beneath my fist and I felt blood come running out. Lev sank his teeth into my arm, but damned if I didn't stop moving it, snarling like a lion on crack while I pounded his head into the floor.
“Fuck! Just tell us what happened, Anton. Anton!” Daniel's words gurgled with the blood pouring down his throat and my continued punches. “Gonna fucking kill us...”
Fuck. I had them both by the balls. If they were any other men, they'd already be dead, their skulls fractured and their nose bones driven up their brains.
Damn it.
My brothers deserved the ass kicking, but they didn't deserve to die. They were only partially responsible for my woman laid out on the cold floor, fighting for her fucking life.
The real culprit was the sonofabitch we all wanted dead. And if I let my emotions boil over into murdering my own kin, I'd never get Gioulio. Not when it'd take a small miracle to show my face in Chicago without getting picked up and thrown back behind bars by the first fat cop looking to play hero.
I let them go. They crawled, putting some distance between us. Daniel grunted, wiped his face with his sleeve. I'd bloodied his nose and busted his lip bad.
“You gotta learn to talk to us without using your fists,” Lev snarled. “What's this shit about poison? Did that bitch seriously try to kill you in our own house?”
It took everything I had to stay put instead of marching over and planting my fist in his broad fucking face again. “It was an accident. She was trying to take it back and prevent my dumbass from taking it. Change of heart. And none of it would've happened if I'd thrown the goddamned bug in the trash instead of planting it in her purse like Daniel said!”
D coughed, flashing me the angry eyes in his shattered face. “You fucking turncoat! We all agreed, and her pulling this shit just shows I was right all along. She stabbed you in the back, turned us on each other.”
“Wrong answer!” I beat my fists on the floor, all I could do to avoid breaking his nose, or else breaking it a second time if the fucking thing was already snapped. “She poisoned herself because she stopped trusting me! Asshole Gioulio found your stupid bug and used it to open up her head and pour his crap into it. She was already poisoned way before she got here, before she swallowed that shit he gave her to kill me.”
My brothers lowered their eyes. They were pissed, disappointed, and neither had a damned thing to say to my accusations because they knew it was all true.
“She found out, you know. Both you shits. Uncle fuckface told her about the night our old man ran down her ma, going after that French bitch, Mercedes.”
“Shit!” Daniel's curse was extra shrill through the blood. “No wonder.”
The heavy silence was interrupted by Grigor and the women carrying Sabrina. I heard my girl groan, stood up, and screamed after them, following as quickly as I could.
“What's going on? Is she gonna make it?”
“Still breathing!” Grigor yelled back. “Doctor is on his way. We need to lay her out in your bed, sir. Somewhere away from the toxin on the sheets.”
Fuck. We moved to the adjoining chamber, and I watched them lay her out in the only bed where she'd belonged from the very start.
Her breaths were coming, slow and steady, an obvious struggle in her chest every time her lungs pumped. My brothers followed us in, but they kept their distance against the wall.
Lev was braver, the first to come over. His hand fell on my shoulder. By some insane miracle, I didn't instantly spin around and break his fucking jaw.
“Patience, brother. We're gonna make sure she's all right. This whole thing has been an epic clusterfuck.”
I turned, shaking off his fingers. “Tell me something I don't already know, asshole.”
“We're sorry. We're gonna make it right. Come on, Anton, you've gotta give us another chance.”
Jackass. I thought it, but I didn't say it, because he was actually trying to help.
My chances for living like a sane man were all flashing before my eyes, spinning and vanishing with every rough breath I watched her take. God damn. Where was that asswipe doctor?
We stayed with her 'til the quack came in. He got to work right away and surprisingly kept his calm, even with all three of our hell hungry eyes on him.
He pierced her in the arm with a syringe. I watched him push some shit into her. The stethoscope came out, and he listened to her chest. Irrational jealousy raged in my veins while I watched him touch her, feel her.
I suppressed a growl. Yeah, it was insane, but fuck it. I never wanted another man's hands on her for any fucking reason. Nobody got to touch what was mine.
The doc stepped away just before I went off like a warhead. He murmured a few words to Grigor, something about needing a sample of the shit making her sick. Good thing there was still a whole fucking bottle of it in the other room.
I watched the doc grab his things and head for the door. My hands flew to my mouth and I screamed, loud enough to echo through the whole house.
“Well? What the fuck? Is she gonna be okay?”
The doctor spun, looked at me, clearly jarred. Good. Fuck him.
“She's stable. If you hadn't gotten it out of her right away, she'd be dead right now. I think she'll be okay – I just need to test the toxin to be sure.” He shrugged. “Patience, please. I'm doing exactly what I was brought here for.”
Arrogant little shit. I saw the recognition flash in his eyes. He certainly knew who I was from all the big stories in the media. Good thing I trusted Grigor to bring us a corruptible, but capable man. He always did, somebody who'd take the green and shut their fucking mouth instead of ratting to the Feds.
I shot my brothers a look that told them we were done. Grigor and his women stepped back to the other side of the room.
I sat down on the empty chair next to her, reached for her hand, and squeezed. She was like ice. I rubbed her fingers in mine, anything to make them warmer.
There was nothing left to do but watch and wait.
My girl stirred softly in her sleep. She wasn't conscious, but the danger had gone. Took me a good long while observing her before I believed the fuck with the stethoscope.
“It's done, brother. The call went out on the streets an hour ago.” Lev leaned down to me while I perched at Sabrina's bedside. “We've got to move fast. You know how fast info travels down this bastard's pipeline and –“
“Let's go. I'll be back in time to see her wake up. That's a promise.”
My knees bent reluctantly. I didn't want to leave her there 'til I saw her eyes shining at me again and I heard her sweet voice. But we'd just put all our fucking chips on the table to flush the rat out.
It was the only way. Daniel leaked a rumor to the media that we were all sick and dying in Chicago, both the notorious Ivankov brothers plus yours truly, target of the biggest manhunt in recent history.
We had to move our asses. The cops would raid all our properties in the city first, looking for a secret penthouse. I hoped that would keep them distracted while we went roaring after our target, the only fuck who needed to hear the reports.
I knew he had. Gioulio Ligiotti would be all over that shit like a bee starved for honey. Hell, he was probably celebrating this second, not giving a shit that there was no word from his niece.
He used her – fucking used her against me.
Little did he know the cannon was pointing his way now, and I'd only offer my woman the final shot. She was never, ever gonna find herself fucked up in the crossfire again, and everybody who'd put her there was about to pay big.
My brothers looked freaked out by the time our black van parked near Gioulio's Chicago estate. Their nerves were fucked, frayed, about to combust. Still, when the war went hot and bullets started flying, I knew I could count on them.
We were synchronized killers. We never let each other down. We never failed – not in any way that would get us killed.
Me? I was all ice. I couldn't imagine fucking this up after the promise I'd made.
No way. No fucking how. Gioulio and his men were gonna pay for decades of blood, plus a monstrous premium for hurting my girl too.
We all had black hoods on our faces. We hunkered in our seats and waited. Soon, we'd be out like hounds, gunning for the house. While we ran, the van was scheduled to plow through the gate, a fierce, noisy diversion to let us inside the mansion with minimal resistance.
The three men crammed in front of us were the best guys we had without Ivankov blood. I had total faith. Brother or not, nobody in this vehicle would let us down and blow the operation.
One more turn. The vehicle wheeled around, and I stood up, got in front of Lev and D, next to the back door. They lined up behind me, ready for the jump. My hands fisted the handles like they were swords, ready to hack through anything and anyone who stood in my way.
Vlad was the first to start screaming from the driver's seat. A good, hearty, very Russian oooraaah roared like thunder from his throat. The van jerked forward faster, making its final run at the gate.
“Now!” I screamed, throwing open the doors.
We threw ourselves out and hit the pavement hard. I saw my brothers right behind me as I stood up. We threw ourselves against the gate and began to climb, heading for good bush cover. A second later, the whole world exploded behind us as the van battered down the gate.
All hell broke loose. Screams in English and Italian rang out while we found our footing, going for a service entrance near Gioulio's garages. The bastard had twelve cars, and right now there'd be no one guarding them while they were pouring out to deal with my guys.
Six dark shapes went flying towards the van. Fuck. My boys were outnumbered, but we knew that from the beginning.
They'd put up a good fight, stall as long as they possibly could, trading fire from inside the van. I estimated we had about ten minutes to get our asses inside and hunt down the kingpin before police choppers and cruisers surrounded this fucking place.
By then, the Ligiotti crew had to be dead or wounded. Our crew in the van needed to be gone, waiting for us in the empty SUV we'd parked behind this place to make our escape.
The garages were near, and crawling with cameras. Whatever. They wouldn't do the fuckers inside much good when they'd spent their manpower fighting my boys in the van. I raised my nine millimeter and blinded one of the little black lenses with a bullet. Lights out.
Lev threw himself at the side door to the garages, hurling his boulder-like weight into it. Three good slams and it collapsed. Daniel and I were right behind him, running like hell, heading for the door leading into the house. We had to maneuver our way through all the shit in the huge garage, perfectly polished collectibles and sports cars from Gioulio's younger dick waving days, before he became an old mob boss with a lower profile.
I stuck out my hand and ripped a golden hood ornament off a sleek black shark on wheels – why the fuck not? I whipped it at the ceiling and heard it fall. The gold shape bounced on the concrete loudly as we started working on the door.
The loud, harsh jingle reminded me of bones rattling. I grinned behind my mask. Sweet music, reminding us what we'd come here for – death and judgment, vengeance for my baby girl, payment for every second she suffered in my bed from the poison in her blood.
Shit. This was really it. Do or die time. The blood hissing through my veins turned my whole body into a foundry, ready to melt from the inside out.
It was a relief when we burst inside and the first goon found us.
He fired at me and missed twice. Guess I stunned the fucker charging right at him. It was a stupid thing to do, but I was gonna get a lot more reckless if I didn't feed my bloodlust now.
I tackled the fuck to the ground, grabbed the back of his head like a ripe melon, and slammed him into the staircase over and over again. His forehead was a bloody mess by the time I was done. By then, the servants had inevitably heard us and come running.
“Freeze! You move your fucking asses an inch, you're dead!” Lev roared, flatting two old maids and a wiry butler against the wall with his rifle.
“Radio your friends outside and play stupid. Act like everything's okay in here. The real fight's out there. This doesn't have to end with your blood added to theirs. We're just here to pay your master a friendly visit.” Daniel sounded surprisingly dark and dangerous when he had assholes under his thumb.
Had to be the Ivankov way. Even the smart ones turn into stone cold killers in the thick of it.
I took off while they secured the entrance. Flipped corners like a maniac spy, gun ready to spit death at any assholes who popped out in front of me.
Shit. Nothing. The whole place seemed like it was deserted.
I kicked down the door to every guest room and the big master suite upstairs. Nothing except the neat, tidy luxury rooms I expected a man like Gioulio to have – all empty.
Motherfuck. Panic shot through my chest for the first time. This wasn't the only time the demon managed to slither away before we hit him where he lived, but now the clock was ticking like never before. I couldn't stand here like a dumb fuck and piss away the only chance I'd ever have to win what my girl deserved.
I took off, mentally guessing we had about six minutes left. Flew down the stairs, crashed through my brothers, and grabbed the asshole butler. He shook like a fucking scarecrow in my lock.
“Where the fuck is he? Where!?” I growled it over and over again, dragging him headfirst through the house.
I checked every little twitch in the bastard's face, listened to every note in his voice when he begged for his life. His eyes were bulging, but I wasn't choking him so bad they wouldn't work. The butler just flailed around like any asshole screaming for mercy when I dragged him through the kitchen, the big sitting room, the dining room, and then back to where we'd started. He didn't reveal shit.
