The Deep End

Chapter 30

•Lorenzo•

"She's going to hate us when she wakes up." Luca says, his voice thick with emotion. "You should've seen the panic in her eyes." He lets out a sharp exhale. "She was terrified."

I shift uncomfortably in my seat, my eyes focused on my phone as I text a few of my favorite soldiers, avoiding the pain in his gaze as we make the drive back to Alonzo's house.

"It's better than what Giovanni had planned for her. It's better than her being dead." I mutter, the image of Polina's stormy gaze filled with panic popping up in my head.

I pinch my eyes closed, willing the image to go away. Handing her over to Franco was hard, almost as hard as letting her go, but I know she's in good hands with him. He'll make sure she gets to a hotel safely in Moscow. I'm an idiot for bringing her here. A selfish idiot. My finger taps against my leg. I guess it really doesn't matter, either way I'd planned to send her back to Moscow so the end result would be quite similar. My only problem is now I have to deal with the repercussions of putting a gun to Giovanni's head in front of everyone. I knew that would be a possible consequence if things went wrong but couldn't figure out a way to get around it. I have a plan to get around the possibility of him killing me but— I feel Luca move closer to me, his hand finding mine, anchoring me to him.

"How's your arm?" He asks.

I hadn't thought about it, had actually forgotten I'd even been shot in the first place. It wasn't the first time I've been shot and probably won't be the last.

I glance down at the fabric on my arm and shrug. "It's fine. Leo will take care of it."

He'll probably berate me the entire time about being an idiot running out into gunfire but he'll make sure it is properly cleaned and dressed. I've never understood the animosity over his chosen career, it's helpful and he's always willing to fix us up.

"What are we going to do?" Luca questions. "We can't go back to Alonzo's, Giovanni will kill you not only for pointing a gun at him but he'll kill us both for releasing Polina."

I give his hand a squeeze. "Don't worry about it, I've got it figured out."

I always have a backup plan.

I have Davide drop us off at the halfway point to Alonzo's and we walk the rest of the way. A group of men are waiting in front of the house when we arrive, one of them being Giovanni. I'm sure they called him when we ran. I keep my face expressionless as we approach, meeting each of their eyes as they glare at me, saving my brother for last. He holds my stare for a moment before nodding at his men. Four of them step forward and Luca and I don't bother fighting back as they restrain our arms behind our backs and secure them with cable ties.

They force us to our knees and begin patting us down, searching for weapons. They take our guns, kicking them across the grass away from us.

"Don't fucking think about it." I snap at Alvaro as he goes for my knife next.

He jerks his hand back quickly and looks over at Giovanni nervously, not wanting to disobey an order from his Don but also not wanting to get on my bad side. Good thing. I'll burn him alive if he touches my knife.

"Leave it, it's not like he can use it anyways." Giovanni demands through gritted teeth.

His men step back to their previous spots leaving Luca and I on our knees before them. Giovanni comes closer, forcing me to strain my neck to look up at him. An obvious power play to let me know that although he complied with not taking my knife he's the one in charge. I have to fight the urge to smirk. He has no idea that even on my knees with my arms restrained behind my back I'm still not at his mercy. I could end this entire conversation with a single turn of my head. Even now when I seem I'm at my most vulnerable it couldn't be further from the truth. I have men watching us, men that are supposed to be loyal to him, waiting with sniper rifles to intervene if necessary, to shoot him if the need arises. I don't want to kill my brother, he's only doing what he feels is best but I'll only take so much of his bullshit and I've taken a lot of it lately.