Chapter 7 - THE STANDOFF IN THE RAIN
The world stopped spinning.
It was just raining. Cold, biting Chicago rain.
Luca slowly lowered the phone. He looked at me, and I knew instantly that my brother was in danger.
"Where is he?" I asked, my voice completely hollow.
"Marcus is pulling up to the back gates now," Luca said. "Stay here."
"No!" I screamed, grabbing his arm. "He's my brother, Luca!"
Luca looked into my eyes. He saw the sheer, desperate terror of a sister who had raised a boy alone. He nodded once.
We ran through the wet grass toward the rear service entrance of the estate.
A black SUV was idling near the wrought-iron gates. The headlights cut through the heavy rain.
Marcus and two other guards were standing outside the vehicle, their weapons drawn, aimed at the backseat.
Inside the SUV, the dome light was on.
Anthony Santoro was sitting in the back, his expensive suit ruined, his face covered in soot. One arm was wrapped around Leo's neck. In his other hand, a silver pistol was pressed hard against my brother's temple.
Leo was terrified, his eyes wide as he saw me running toward the car.
"Emily!" Leo choked out.
"Shut up!" Anthony barked, tightening his grip.
"Anthony!" Luca roared, stepping in front of Marcus's men. "Let the boy go. Your fight is with me."
Anthony laughed, a manic, broken sound. "My fight is with everyone, Luca! Carmela set me up! The Russians want me dead! And now my wife and kid are gone!"
"You did that to yourself," Luca said coldly.
"I need a plane!" Anthony screamed. "I need a private jet out of O'Hare, right now. Or the kid's brains decorate the upholstery."
I stepped forward, the rain pasting my hair to my face.
"Please," I cried. "Anthony, please. He's nineteen. He doesn't know anything about the money."
Anthony looked at me. His eyes were wild, completely unhinged.
"He's leverage, Emily," Anthony sneered. "Just like you were supposed to be."
Luca slowly raised his hands in a placating gesture.
"Okay, Anthony," Luca said smoothly. "You want a plane? I'll get you a plane. But you need to take me, not the kid. If you take the kid, the FBI will hunt you for kidnapping. If you take me, I can authorize the funds you need to disappear."
Anthony hesitated.
That was his mistake.
In the fraction of a second that Anthony's mind processed the offer, Luca didn't wait for an answer.
Luca’s hand shot to his holster.
He didn't pull a gun. He pulled a heavy, tactical throwing knife.
With a flick of his wrist, the blade shattered the SUV's backseat window and embedded itself directly into Anthony's shoulder.
Anthony screamed, dropping the gun.
Leo threw his elbow into Anthony's face and scrambled out of the open car door.
I caught my brother as he fell onto the wet pavement. I wrapped my arms around him, burying my face in his soaking wet hoodie.
"I got you," I sobbed. "I got you, Leo."
Marcus and the guards swarmed the car, dragging a screaming Anthony out into the mud.
Luca walked over to us. He knelt down in the rain, placing a massive, warm hand on Leo's shoulder, and his other hand on my back.
"It's over," Luca said softly. "You're safe."
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I looked up at him through the rain. The ruthless mafia boss had just risked everything to save a maid's brother.
And in that moment, I knew I was entirely, hopelessly in love with him.
