Page 47 of Heart's Temptation
It was a non-descript bedroom, probably reserved for guests and currently empty. Still, we entered and did a search for hiding spots and secret doors. When we came up empty-handed, we moved our search down the hallway, and applied the same strategy at the next door, revealing a large room with two additional doors.
The first was a walk-in filled with women’s clothing and the second led to a bathroom with a connecting door to another suite. After a quick, but careful search, we came up empty-handed again, confirming what I’d first thought. Most likely Niki was being held in the basement.
Our team moved back down the stairs and on the main level met up with Fausto, who shook his head.
We heard gunshots ring out from somewhere below us and flew down to the lower level. After traversing a series of hallways that felt designed to throw off anyone not familiar with the layout, we arrived in time to see Gio put a bullet through the head of Natalia Makarova.
They were surrounded by dead bodies, and Liam Kelly was holding a gun to Niki’s temple, his arm snaked around her neck as he held her hostage.
“Go ahead and shoot. You’ll kill the love of your life.”
Gio regarded him with stone-cold eyes. Niki was awkwardly wrapped in a sheet, her eyes as lifeless as Gio’s. At once, I knew something had happened to her.
An uncontrollable rage filled me, like hot lava rushing through my veins. I would kill him. I stormed toward Liam who’d just taken notice of me, his eyes widening in surprise. He shot, but missed, and all it did was fuel my fury, turning me into a raging bull. He shot again, his eyes going wild. I guess the idiot never thought I’d be wearing a vest. He should have aimed the second bullet at my head, but lucky me, he didn’t.
I reached him, yanking the gun from his hand. He lost ahold of Niki, and the killing shot rang out.
Liam Kelly dropped to the floor, his eyes still wide with surprise. I wanted to bring him back from the dead just so I could break his neck, but he was gone. Glancing up, I saw that Tony still had his gun pointed at Liam.
Gio seemed frozen in place, his eyes still empty. Niki lay on the ground entangled in the sheet. I ran toward her, gathered her up and held her to my chest. Her body was ice cold and her gaze so very far away.
My first thought was that they’d drugged her, but I quickly recognized the signs. She’d shut down, the fight had gone from her, just like when Gio and I came back that day from her apartment after giving her psycho father a beating.
“Come back to me, baby. Niki, it’s Marko, wake up.”
Her vacant eyes slowly turned from the ceiling to mine. She blinked several times as if trying to rein in her focus. “Marko?”
“Yeah baby, it’s me, and Gio is here too.”
“Here? Where is here?”
A slight frown pulled at my eyebrows. Could she be suffering from amnesia?
Fausto stepped up behind me. “Marko, we need to get her back to Tano, so he can check her out. He’ll know what to do.”
I nodded and stood with her in my arms. Gio regarded us with so much apprehension I wondered what demons he was battling. She was safe, wasn’t that all mattered?
Tony managed to find us a way out and we made our way to the cars. The three of us climbed in the back. Fausto drove and Tony sat in the passenger seat. No one spoke about what had just happened. Niki’s lifeless stare was back, and though her gaze trained on the window, I was sure she saw nothing but darkness and demons.
What had that fucker done to her? I wanted to talk to Gio, but he was in the same place as Niki it seemed. Tony often checked the rearview, his gaze landing on Gio with concern.
When we arrived at the mansion, Tano and Gabriella took over, caring for Niki while Gio and I took seats outside the room.
“What the fuck has gotten into you?” I gave him a shake.
He didn’t answer right away. But his eyes had finally come into focus, so I knew my friend was in there somewhere.
“Gio. Talk to me.”
“He said some nasty shit. She didn’t even recognize me, Marko, it was like she was dead. He did something to her, and I can’t, I won’t forgive myself for it.”
Ahh, the famous Vitale self-loathing. In all fairness, they’d all suffered from it in the past. They weren’t men who could be summarized from deeds alone, or the calm, cool, killer façade they presented for the outside world. To build and sustain a huge empire, the mask was necessary, yes, but sometimes one of them would fall prey to a deep self-loathing and this was the first time I’d ever seen it in Gio.
Fausto and Tony showed up and took one look at their brother. “Suck it up, Giovanni, shit happens.”
Gio stood up so fast the chair would have toppled to the floor had it not been against the wall. “Go fuck yourself, Tony!”
Tony kept going, rolling his eyes. “Stop feeling sorry for yourself. It’s over and she’s alive. You should be celebrating, not moping.”