Chapter 30

Unspoken Desires - Chapter 30

Matteo

Having Sophia back safely meant everything, but the joy was short because right now, my entire focus was on one thing: my mom.

Before we started moving, I called Dad to bring him up to speed. “Bring her back alive and safe. Kill anybody who touched her,” he ordered.

I plan on doing worse than killing them. That would be showing mercy. I want them to suffer; slow, brutal and unforgettable. Every single one of them, anyone who laid a hand on my mother… or my fiancée.

“Maria is back inside. Wait until the door closes. Then you can proceed to take out the front guards. And… go!” Davide’s voice crackled in my earpiece.

My heart slammed against my ribs. Never in a million years did I think I’d be on a mission to rescue my own mother. But here I was, every hour of training, every violent memory, every scar—it all led to this.

“Hey Maverick, we got four bogeys down, and we are good to go. Securing the front now,” Demetrius reported through comms.

We advanced, but Davide’s voice stopped me cold. “Boss, you might want to hold position, Sareena’s blocking my shot.”

I turned to Damian, eyes narrowed. “What the fuck is wrong with your woman?”

He growled under his breath, jaw clenched, but didn’t answer.

Didn’t need to. I could see it in his face, he was just as rattled as I was.

——————-

Sareena

Maria stormed back into the room, red-faced and fuming. “Miguel wants to know if I have heard from his precious wife, couldn’t care less when I told him about Connie and Alessandro, again. He doesn’t believe me.” She spat the words at Lana.

“Let us finish, then vee’ll deal wit the Big Man,” Svetlana replied coolly. “Alexei, hose her.”

The guard raised the nozzle and aimed at Constance, but I lunged for the hose, before he started the water. I tried to yank it from his hands, but he was too strong. Shoved me aside like I was nothing.

“I have a message,” Maria announced, stepping forward as though nothing happening around her mattered. She hit ‘play’ on her voicemail and Cesare’s voice echoed from her phone, loud in the silent room:

“Benedetti is in Vegas. The others can’t be far.”

Maria’s eyes narrowed and flicked to me.

Time slowed.

I saw Svetlana’s hand reach for her gun. It came up so fast I barely registered it. I heard Maria’s screams, but they faded into a dull roar.

I heard the gun click and saw the spark of the bullet and I braced myself for the worst. But a huge body slammed into me, knocking me to the ground and shielding me from everything else around me. I felt the blood trickling onto me, but it wasn’t mine.

More shots rang out around us and I tried to wiggle free, but whoever was on top of me, was too heavy.

——————

Damian

Matteo took off the moment Alexei lifted that water hose toward his mother; Sophia’s warning about Mrs. Cattaneo’s fragility probably echoing in his mind.

Matthew, and I followed behind, just as Svetlana raised her gun at Sareena. Without hesitation, Matteo threw himself onto her, knocking her down and taking the bullet.

The shot hit him somewhere in the chest area, though I couldn’t see exactly where. He stayed pressed over Sareena, his body shielding hers.

Davide’s rifle popped twice. The first round dropped Alexei dead, one bullet right between the eyes. The second smashed into Svetlana’s hand, knocking her gun away.

Matthew and I leveled our weapons on Maria DeLuca and Svetlana Bocharov. No firing unless absolutely necessary, we needed them alive for answers.

Demetrius and Maximus came in through the front doors, sealing every exit. The two women were boxed in. We finally had them.

As Matthew, Demetrius, and Maximus secured the captives, I moved to Matteo and Sareena. Sareena had already rolled Matteo off her and was pressing on his wound without a trace of panic.

“He risked his life to save me,” she said softly as I knelt beside them. Her hands pressed firmly into the side of Matteo’s chest. “Can you grab the trauma kit from under that blanket?”

I grabbed it and put it beside her. Then she looked up at Maximus.

“Max, sanitize your hands then glove up, I need you to press on Matteo’s wound like I am.”

Maximus nodded and did as she said.

Then, Sareena took an IV from the kit, added a syringe of something to it, and placed the needle in Mrs. Cattaneo’s right hand. She must be administering a mild sedative or an antibiotic.

“Demetrius, let Matthew handle those two women. I need you to carry Constance to the safehouse,carefully.” she ordered. “Ask Sophia to prepare a lukewarm bath and lay her in it until I arrive.”

“Yes, boss,” Demetrius replied with a crisp salute.

Sareena scrubbed her hands at a nearby sink and returned to Matteo’s side, taking a shallow breath as she approached.

“I have to clean it and pull the bullet out. It hasn’t hit anything vital, but it’s going to hurt like hell.”

Matteo gave her a brief, grateful nod as she set about her work.