Sleeping with the Enemy

Chapter 4: Gunfire and Adrenaline

"We are completely boxed in," Luca told me. "Do exactly what I tell you, Siena, or we both die right here."

Before I could even answer him, a loud explosion shook the church.

"Bomb!" a man screamed from the front row.

Thick black smoke filled the air instantly. People started running in different directions. Women screamed in terror, Men yelled and pulled out their hidden weapons. Complete chaos took over the church hall.

"Luca! What is happening?" I yelled as I grabbed his tuxedo jacket tightly.

"It is an ambush," Luca growled. He pulled me hard against his side. "Stay close to me!"

"Where is my father?" I looked around wildly. The smoke was too thick that I could not see the De Luca side of the church anymore.

"Forget your father!" Luca snapped. He shook my shoulder to get my attention. "Look at me, Siena! Look at me!"

I looked up into his cold blue eyes, He was not even panicked at all. He looked completely calm, and that terrified me even more.

"He left you," Luca said bluntly. "He ran out the side door."

"He would not just leave me!" I argued.

"He did," Luca said. "Now, I am the only one who can keep you alive. Do you understand?"

"Yes," I whispered, my voice shaking.

"Say it louder," he demanded, his grip tightening on my waist.

"Yes! I understand!" I yelled over the loud noise of another window breaking.

"Good," Luca said. "Enzo! Give me a report!"

Enzo, Luca’s huge head of security, ran over to us. His face was covered in dust. He held a large automatic rifle in his hands.

"Boss, we have shooters on the roof and at the main doors," Enzo shouted over the loud gunfire. "They are not De Luca men. They are wearing black masks, It is the third syndicate."

"I do not care who they are," Luca said. "Kill them all. We need a clear path to the back doors."

"The middle aisle is a death trap," Enzo warned.

"We go through the side," Luca said. He looked down at me. "We are going to run okay so keep your head down."

Suddenly, a small red light flashed through the thick smoke. It landed right on the white lace of my wedding dress. It rested right over my heart.

"Sniper!" Enzo yelled loudly.

"Siena, get down!" Luca roared.

He did not wait for me to move. Luca grabbed my shoulders and tackled me hard to the marble floor.

We hit the ground with a heavy thud,breath rushed completely out of my lungs.

Luca rolled us over quickly. He pushed me flat onto my stomach and completely covered my body with his own. His massive frame shielded me from every single angle.

Crack!

A bullet hit the marble floor exactly where I was standing one second ago. Sharp pieces of stone hit my bare arms, but I did not feel any pain.

All I could feel was Luca.

His heavy and hard body pressing me completely flat against the cold floor. His thick thighs trapped my legs.

"Are you hit?" Luca shouted right in my ear.

"No!" I gasped, trying to pull air into my lungs. "I am okay! But you are too heavy!"

"I am staying right here," Luca growled. "Do not move an inch."

"I can't breathe," I complained. But it was a lie. I could breathe perfectly fine.

More bullets hit the wooden pews around us. Wood shattered everywhere.

Luca reached around my body with his right hand. He pointed his black handgun toward the balcony.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

He fired three fast shots.The intense friction of his muscular body moving against mine made my breath shaky.

My heart pounded wildly, but it was not just from fear anymore. It was from his raw, primal dominance.

"I got him," Luca muttered. The red laser dot disappeared from the floor.

"Can we get up now?" I asked. My voice sounded weak and breathless.

"Not yet," Luca said as he shifted his heavy weight that was pressing his hips firmly against my backside. I gasped loudly at the direct physical contact..

"Luca," I whispered.

"I know," he replied in a low, rough voice. He leaned his head down, pressing his lips against my ear. "You feel it too."

"People are dying," I said, my face burning red.

"I do not care about them," Luca said. "I only care about you. Are you hurt? Tell me the truth, Siena."

"I am not hurt," I promised him. "You protected me."

"I will always protect you," he whispered fiercely. "You are my wife."

Hearing him say those words made my chest feel strangely warm which was weird because he was a ruthless monster to the rest of the world, but right now, pinned to the floor under gunfire, he was my only safe place.

"Boss! The balcony is clear!" Enzo shouted from across the room..

"We move!" Luca yelled back

.

Luca grabbed me by the waist and helped me up to my feet in one smooth motion. His grip was so tight it bruised my skin, but I did not care. I wanted him to hold me as tight as possible.

"Run!" Luca ordered.

He kept his left arm wrapped tightly around my waist dragging me through the thick smoke. I coughed, my eyes watering from the burning chemicals.

We ran past broken wooden benches and shattered glass.

"Wait!" I cried out.

I tripped, The heavy skirt of my wedding dress caught on a broken piece of sharp wood which made me fell hard to my knees.

"Siena!" Luca stopped instantly dropping down to his knees right beside me.

"I am stuck," I panicked, pulling at the thick white fabric. "The dress is too heavy. I cannot run in this!"

"Stop pulling," Luca said calmly.

He reached into his boot and pulled out a sharp, black hunting knife. He grabbed the front of my expensive wedding dress and sliced the heavy fabric right above my knees. He tore the rest of the skirt off with his bare hands and threw it aside.

"Better?" he asked, looking at my bare legs.

"Yes. Thank you," I breathed heavily.

"Get up," he said, pulling me back to my feet.

Suddenly, a man wearing a black mask stepped out of the smoke right in front of us. He raised a shotgun, aiming it directly at my chest.

I screamed in terror.

Luca did not even blink. He pushed me firmly behind him and raised his gun.

Bang!

Luca shot the man right between the eyes. The assassin dropped to the floor, dead instantly.

I covered my mouth with my hands, trembling violently. I had never seen someone die right in front of me before.

Luca grabbed my bare shoulders and shook me slightly. "Look at me, Siena."

I looked up at him, Tears streaming down my face.

"Do not look at the bodies," Luca ordered softly. He wiped a tear off my cheek with his rough thumb. "Look at me. Only me."

"He was going to kill me," I sobbed.

"I will not let anyone kill you," Luca said, his eyes burning with intense, protective fire. "I told you earlier, if anyone tries to hurt you, I will kill them and I keep my promises."

"I am scared," I admitted.

"I know," he said pulling me against his chest and kissed the top of my head hard. It was a fast, primal kiss, but it warmed my entire body. "Use the fear. It keeps you fast. Now, hold my hand."

I grabbed his large, rough hand and squeezed it as hard as I could.

Seeing this lethal, cold-blooded killer tear through trained assassins just to keep me safe triggered a massive rush of adrenaline. I did not hate him right now. I felt wildly, desperate and attracted to his strength.

"Enzo! How far to the back doors?" Luca yelled into his radio.

"Fifty feet, Boss!" Enzo replied through the static. "The hallway is clear!"

"Let's go," Luca said to me.

We ran down a narrow hallway behind the main altar. The loud sounds of the shootout faded slightly.

When we finally reached the heavy wooden back doors of the church. Enzo was already in there, holding his rifle ready.

"Is it locked?" I asked, panting heavily. My chest beating fast.

"No," Enzo said. "But we do not know what is on the other side."

"My father's men," I told them quickly. "My father always stations his private guards in the back alley during big events. They have armored cars waiting for us."

Luca looked down at me. His blue eyes were suspicious. "Are you sure about that?"

"Yes," I nodded frantically. "Marco was the only guard at the front doors. The rest of the team is always in the back. They will help us. We can use their cars to escape."

Luca looked at Enzo. "Get ready."

"Yes, Boss," Enzo said, aiming his rifle at the door.

Luca turned back to me letting go of my hand and grabbing my face. He forced me to look right into his eyes.

"Stay exactly behind me," Luca commanded.

"If shooting starts, you drop to the ground and you do not move. Promise me."

"I promise," I whispered.

Luca let go of my face raising his right leg and he kicked the heavy wooden doors as hard as he could.

The doors flew open and crashed loudly against the brick walls of the alleyway outside.

Cold fresh air hit my face, clearing the smoke from my lungs. I stepped out behind Luca, expecting to see my father's guards rushing forward to help us. I expected to see open doors on armored cars, ready to take us to safety.

Instead, I froze completely.

There were twelve men standing in the narrow brick alleyway. They were wearing dark blue suits. They were De Luca family suits. They were my father's men.

But they were not smiling and were not running to help us.

Every single man had his heavy weapon raised.

And every single gun was pointed directly at Luca, And at me.

"Drop the weapons, Moretti," the lead guard shouted. He clicked the safety off his rifle. The loud metal click echoed in the quiet alley.

My heart completely stopped in my chest.

My father's own men were pointing guns at my head.

I looked at the lead guard's face. I knew him well. His name was Carlo. He worked directly for my father. He used to drive me to school when I was a teenager.

"Carlo! What are you doing?" I screamed at him, stepping out slightly from behind Luca. "Put the guns down! We need help! The third syndicate is inside the church!"

"Step back, Siena," Luca ordered. He grabbed my arm and pulled me firmly behind his massive body.

Carlo looked at me with dead, empty eyes.

"I am sorry, Siena. The Don gave us strict orders before the ceremony started."

"What orders?" I demanded, my voice shaking with pure terror and confusion.

"Nobody walks out of this alley alive," Carlo said coldly. "Not the Phantom Boss, And not you."

My stomach turned completely sick. The horrible realization hitting me like a physical punch to the face. My knees gave out, but Luca held me up by my waist.

My father did not run away in a panic. He knew the attack was going to happen. So

He did not arrange a truce to save our family. He never planned on ending the mafia war at all.

He arranged this wedding for one reason only. He wanted to get Luca Moretti out in the open, distracted by a bride, so he could kill him.

And he used me as the bait. He willingly left his own daughter inside a burning church to die.My father set us up to be slaughtered.

"Get behind me," Luca growled. He raised his black handgun and aimed it right at Carlo's face. Enzo stood shoulder to shoulder with Luca, his rifle ready.

"There are too many of them!" I panicked, grabbing the back of Luca's tuxedo jacket. My hands shaking violently. "Luca, we cannot fight twelve men! They will kill you!"

Luca did not take his eyes off the guards. He leaned back slightly, pressing his solid body against me.

"I am not going to die today, little bird," Luca said in a deadly, ca

lm voice that sent a shiver through my entire body. "And I will burn this entire city to the ground before I let any of them touch you."

Carlo aimed his rifle directly at Luca's chest.

"Fire!" Carlo yelled.