Page 73 of Married to the Ruthless Mafia Heir

Hearing that, Javier slapped me again. My vision blurred. Then he tore off a strip of tape and slapped it across my mouth, sealing it shut.

I was strapped to the chair like a packaged parcel.

Javier stood in front of me, bent down, and got close to my face. Moonlight streamed through the window, lighting up the scar on his face and his bloodshot eyes.

"He won't have to kill me. You're both going to die."

The iron door slammed shut. The warehouse fell silent again.

My face was swollen, my lip split, my hands numb behind me. White moonlight poured through the large window onto the floor in front of me like a silver road. I stared at that window, then dropped my gaze to my belly.

I opened my eyes and looked toward the window. The moonlight was cold, pooling like water in front of me.

I waited for Dante. I believed he would come for me.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Dante & Elena

Dante

It was deep into the night. A couple of owls flew overhead, their cries fading into the distance.

Samuel had dispatched twenty fully armed men, with Delgado at the helm. A retired special forces operative, Delgado was highly skilled in combat. He gripped the drone controller, his eyes fixed on the thermal imaging screen as he monitored the incoming footage in real time.

"Well?" I raked my fingers through my hair, pacing like a caged animal.

Delgado signaled for me to calm down. “We’ll have their location soon. This industrial zone is massive. If we go in blindly, we risk alerting them and putting the hostages in danger.”

The monitor beeped. I whipped around.

"Got it!"

Delgado locked the position—the factory on the upper right corner. And they had numbers. Serious numbers.

Cruz had come prepared. According to the feed on the display, there were at least fifty men lying in wait. But I couldn’tafford to waste even a second. I immediately pulled up the map of the industrial area. Years of training had allowed me to quickly formulate a tactical plan.

I jabbed at the factory's main entrance. "Only one way in. You draw their fire, pull them out. Once they're clear, I go in alone and get Elena."

Delgado grabbed my arm. "No way. You'll get yourself killed!"

"Marco's on his way. He'll be here soon." I pressed my hand over his. "They've got too many guns. I won't let you walk into a slaughter. Just pull them away from the building. Leave the rest to me."

Plan set, I didn't give Delgado time to argue. I bolted toward the factory.

Gunfire erupted at the main entrance, shredding the quiet night. Delgado stuck to the plan, drawing fire as he fell back. The shots moved away. I seized the moment and slipped through the door.

Elena was dead center in the factory floor. A harsh light beat down on her head. She looked fragile. Broken.

They'd bound her completely, gagged her mouth. When she saw me, tears spilled from her eyes.

"Elena!"

My chest seized. I couldn't think about anything else. I charged forward, knife out, cutting through the ropes, freeing her from the bindings. Half her face was swollen, bruises and scrapes covered her body. I touched her cheek. "I'm sorry, Elena. I should've protected you."

Elena shook her head weakly and pushed at me. "Dante... it's a trap."

A gunshot cracked behind me. I caught the sound of a safety clicking off and rolled with Elena to the ground. A bullet grazed past me and punched into the wall.