Blood & Roses

Bianca's POV~ The first bullet shattered the window beside my head. I didn't scream this time, not like I did the first time. Was I getting used to this lifestyle then? Adrian's hand closed around my wrist like a manacle. "Run," he instructed. I did, because the alternative was dying on the marble floor of a penthouse that had felt cozy twenty minutes ago. Glass crunched under my heeled feet. Somewhere behind us, more gunshots sounded and were reciprocated by Adrian’s security team. Adrian didn't look back as he pulled me through a corridor with the kind of certainty that came from memory. Trust a mafia boss to know every exit in the building he owned. That was the thing about Adrian Moretti. He planned for everything. He had contingency plans for his contingency plans. A safe house in every city, a gun in every room and always ready to dart away. This was not how I planned for my life to turn out and for sure he had not planned for me either. But ever since that night, he looked at me from across his club and I have forgotten how to breathe. He refused to let me go. Once he told me as I lay in his arms, with his lips against my hair. “You walked into my life and ruined every plan I ever made.” “Same here,” I muttered. Now running through a burning penthouse with a target on my back, I was afraid of losing him. Of losing my family. It was at this moment I realized I loved Adrian Moretti more than I feared dying. We reached the stairwell and Adrian shoved me through the door first, his body between me and the corridor behind us. His gun was already in his hand — a black matte thing that looked like an extension of his arm. He fired twice without looking, and I heard a man shout, then fall. "You're bleeding," I said. He glanced down at his shoulder where a dark stain was spreading across his white shirt. He looked almost annoyed, like the bullet was an inconvenience rather than a wound. "It's nothing." "That's not, nothing—" "Bianca." His voice was sharp enough to cut me off. Then softer: "I need you to keep moving. Can you do that for me?" I nodded. We descended, six flights or was it even seven? I lost count, but my legs didn’t, they burned from the exertion. My chest ached. Somewhere below us, I heard more footsteps. More of Adrian or Salvatore's men? I hoped for the latter. Adrian stopped at the fourth-floor landing. He pressed me against the wall, one hand flat on my stomach, his body caging me in. His breath was warmed against my ear. His heartbeat was steady, mine was erratic. "Listen to me," he said quietly. "This is my private elevator. It leads to the back of this building and only goes down to my private garage. Roscoe will be waiting for you there." "What about you?" I shouted. “I can’t leave you here, come with me!” "I'm going to distract them for a little while." "No." "Bianca—" "No." I grabbed the lapels of his jacket and pulled him closer. I don't want you to die and leave me like—" My voice broke. He looked at me then and for the first time since the shooting started, something in his expression cracked. His mask slipped, and the man underneath looked at me like I was the only thing keeping him tethered to the earth. "I'm not your father, and I will. Not. Die," he said softly. "I'm going to buy us some time. And then I'm going to follow you down that elevator and take you somewhere safe. I’ll spend the rest of my life making sure you and your family are safe." "You promise?" He kissed me. It wasn't a gentle kiss. This kiss was a desperate, bruising kiss. A promise — his hand twisted in my hair, his body pressed harder against mine, as his mouth devoured mine, telling me things words couldn't. That he would burn the world down before he let it touch me. That I was his, and he was mine, and no one was going to change that. When he pulled back, he rested his forehead against mine. "I promise," he said. Then he keyed in some digits into the elevator panel, pushed me in, and we watched each other as the door slowly snapped shut. Adrian's POV ~ It pained me that I had to lie to her. But she was as stubborn as a mule sometimes. If she knew what I wanted to do, she would not bulge. I have to end this, one way or the other. Strengthening my shoulders, I made my way back into the building. Bianca's POV ~ I followed his instructions. Roscoe was the first person I saw immediately when the elevator opened. He pulled me into a car and sped off. “NO, Roscoe! Wait for Adrian, he says he’s coming.” “Sorry ma’am, master’s orders.” “What no!” All attempts to wrestle the door open were useless. He had locked them all. While I still struggled and screamed at my bodyguard to do my bidding, an explosion shook the ground. Roscoe battled with the wheels while I stared dumbstruck at the building. I just exited crumbled to the ground. “Oh God … Adrian” That was the last thing I remembered before I passed out.