I turn back to the foray and see that most of the attendees have left, leaving my men, the Irish and a few others left, there’s still some Bratva left but nowhere as near as many as there was. I walk toward my men, “I want at least one alive.” I want to find out just why they started shooting up my wedding.
“How’s Makenna?” Seamus asks and it’s in that moment that I realize, I didn’t even check. I knew she’d been shot, but I don’t know how bad. Fuck. He shakes his head.
“Finn’s with her, they’re making their escape.”
He nods, “Let’s get rid of the rest of these bastards and then you can go and check yeah?” There’s a fucking threat in there somewhere, there always seems to be with Seamus, he can’t just come out and say whatever the fuck he wants instead the asshole has to say some cryptic shit.
“Boss,” I hear one of my men call and I turn to face Stefan. He’s got a cut to his eyebrow, a bruise forming on his cheek and he’s grinning like a crazy asshole.
“What?”
“Boss, the Russian’s have retreated, there were four Escalades coming to the entrance and then they left. We’ve got three in the back of the car, we’re bringing them to the warehouse.”
My gut tightens at his words. “I need to find my wife. Fuckers are probably following her.”
Stefan’s grin fades, “Boss, what do you need?”
“Get them to the warehouse. Make sure you’re not followed and that they have no weapons. Once I make sure my wife is safe, I’ll be there.” He nods once and turns.
“Want me to help locate her?” Seamus asks.
“No, it won’t take me long.” I turn, not wanting to deal with this shit any longer. She’s my wife now, he has to come to terms with that. I make my way out the back just in time to see my wife shooting a fucking Russian bastard. Why the hell has she got a gun in her hands? My rage starts to surface again, she’s already been hurt and now she’s just killed a man. Fuck.
“Kenna.” Her name is a growl from my lips.
Her back stiffens and she turns to glare at me, “You here to help?” Her Irish accent is thicker than I’ve heard it before.
My cock starts to stir again, her defiance shouldn’t be a turn on, but it is. “Sure,” I drawl and see her lips turn up before she quells her features.
“There’s six out front,” she tells me. “Fucking Finn told me to stay here while he took the men with him. Arsehole.” She shakes her head. “Fuck knows where they’ve gone. Thankfully, Romero isn’t stupid and had a gun.”
“Where did you get that one?” I ask her and I’m surprised I’m able to keep my tone even.
She raises her brow and shakes her head. “When Romero put a bullet into arsehole number one,” she points to the dead body on the floor beside her, “I picked his gun up and used it on arsehole number two and three. Now, I’ve answered your question and as you can see I’m not going to have a meltdown because I killed someone; wasn’t the first time and certainly won’t be the last. How about we cut the chit chat and get to the car before your brother bleeds to death?”
I bite back my chuckle, whereas Romero and Alessio don’t. Fuck, I should hate that she’s not the quiet, shy woman I had expected but I’m not, I’m glad. I don’t want a docile wife, I want someone who’s full of life and looking at Kenna that’s what I’ve got. “Let’s go.”
“Atta boy.” Kenna laughs and I shake my head, fuck, how can I want to laugh during a moment like this? “The black Rolls, that’s where we’re heading. Try not to get shot,” she tells me.
“Don’t worry, princess, I’ll be fine.”
She smirks at me, “Good, you have your husband duties to take care of tonight.”
Jesus! My cock twitches at the thought of being inside of her. “Oh, princess, nothing, and I mean nothing will stop me from fucking you tonight.”
Her pupils dilate, then she shakes her head and runs out the back door, firing her gun as she does.
“I’m going to kill her,” I grunt as I follow behind her.
She’s standing in the middle of the parking lot shooting at the bastards. I snap out of my shock and start shooting too. There’s only a couple more of the fuckers left, and within seconds there’s more gunfire, the Irish are coming out of the front and taking them down. “Kenna, into the car now,” I shout at her and thankfully she has more sense than to argue with me. She runs to the car, fucking runs in her six inch heels like she’s been doing it every day of her life, and opens the doors. She pulls the back door open and jumps into the driver’s side.
Romero’s right behind me, pulling Alessio along with him. I reach for Alessio and Romero runs around the other side of the car. Looking down at my youngest brother, I see the pale skin and the sheen of sweat on his head, he’s not doing good. FUCK! Romero gets in and helps me put Alessio onto the back seat. Within seconds I’m around the car and sliding into the passenger’s side. Makenna doesn’t wait for me to put my seatbelt on, she puts the car into drive and pulls out of the parking lot.
When we put some distance between us and the church, my pulse starts to slow down, though the anger I have is still palpable. The fuckers shot my brother and wife. I’m going to kill every single one of them as soon as we get them safe.
“Phone, please?” Kenna asks not looking at me and I frown but hand it to her. “Thanks,” she whispers and gives me a small smile as she punches in some numbers.
Ringing filters through the silent car and I realize she must have put it onto speaker. “Hello?” A man answers.
“Doc, it’s Makenna.”
“Ah, my dear, congratulations are in order so I hear.”
“Thanks, Doc. We ran into a bit of trouble,” she tells him; not once has she taken her eyes off the road.
“Say no more. Same place?” he asks and my body tightens.
“Yep, I’ll be there before you.” Her face is blank, not a single emotion is running through her head.
“Okay, dear, I’ll be there shortly.”
She ends the call and I’m surprised to see her once again punching in numbers; the car’s filled with the sound of ringing. “Hello?” This time it’s a woman that answers.
“Angela, I’ll be there in fifteen minutes. Get the guest rooms set up, the doc’s on his way. I’m going to need the usual shit.”
“Of course, Ms Gallagher.”
“Bianchi,” she replies instantly and I smile. Damn, she surprises me at every turn.
“Of course, I’m sorry. I’ll get right on it, Mrs Bianchi. And congratulations, darling.” She once again ends the call and this time she passes me my cell.
“Where are we going?” Romero asks.
“My place. This is off the grid, nobody, other than Angela and the doc knows where it is. Kinsley has been inside but she doesn’t know where it is. Keep the pressure on his wound,” she instructs him.
“Why?” I ask, why would she need a house off the grid?
“Why, what?” She says with a frown.
“Why does nobody know where it is?”
She shrugs, “Because I didn’t want them to know. I prefer having somewhere I know is clean and that if I need to I can go.”
“So many secrets, Makenna.” My voice is low but there’s a bite to it.
She laughs, “Oh, Dante, you have no idea who the hell you’ve married. I’ve so many fucking secrets I’m drowning in them.”
Everyone’s silent as we weave through the city, heading toward the suburbs. I’m wondering where the hell she’s leading us, when she comes to a stop at an iron gate; trees surround it so you can’t see anything. From outside it looks as though it’s an abandoned lot, but when Makenna drives through the gates, I realize it’s a fucking mansion. The building is at least five stories high, huge windows cover the majority of the downstairs as well as scattered around the upper floors. There’s an obnoxious sculpture of a cherub on the lawn. Everything about this place screams money. It doesn’t fit with what I have seen of Makenna so far. She’s not flashy
like her father.
The garage door opens and she drives into it. Before anyone can react, she’s turning off the car and sliding out. I’m a nanosecond behind her, rushing to her side and opening the door to get Alessio out. “Let’s go, we need to get the bullet out and stop the bleeding.”
She leads us to an elevator, where she punches in a code. The doors slide open and she waves for us to go ahead. The doors close and she hits the button, the elevator purrs as it starts to ascend. “Holy shit, this is like some James Bond type shit.” Romero breathes and I want to rip his fucking head off for the look he’s giving my wife.
“Angela?” Makenna yells as soon as we’re out of the elevator.
“Mrs Bianchi…” A woman in her late fifties appears, wiping her hands on a cloth that’s attached to her apron. “I have the room set up, please let me know if you need anything.”
The two women start walking and I’m getting fucking annoyed; I hate being in the dark. Finally we reach a door and Makenna opens it. “Put him on the bed,” she instructs gently as her eyes survey the room and the instruments at the side of the bed. “Angela, the doc will be arriving soon, please let him in when he gets here.”
“Of course, Mrs Bianchi.”
“Shit,” Makenna groans as she rubs her head. “Angela this is my husband, Dante, and his brothers, Romero and Alessio.”
“Mr Bianchi.” She grins at me and shakes my hand, taking my attention away from my wife and to the woman shaking my hand as though she’s just met the damn pope. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. Can I get you anything? Coffee, beer, whiskey?”
“Whiskey neat, please, Ma’am.”
She nods, “Certainly sir.” She turns on her heel and leaves the room.
“Dante, take your belt off please.” Makenna asks and I see her looking over Alessio. She’s taken off his jacket and ripped open his shirt, blood pooling from his wound. He’s lost a lot of blood; too much blood.
I frown but do as she asks. As soon as I hand it to her, she folds it in half and turns her attention back to Alessio. “I’m really sorry, but this is going to hurt. I’m going to need you to bite down on this.” As soon as he does, she goes silent, putting on a pair of disposable gloves and picks up tweezers. “He’s going to end up passing out. There’s no other way, I don’t have anything to give him for the pain.” She looks at me and I see the depth of despair in her eyes, she’s worried about hurting him. Does she think that I’ll punish her for doing so? I nod, unable to say anything.
I watch in sick fascination as she gets to work, pulling the bullet out of him; Alessio grunts around the belt, his eyes full of pain. Romero slides up beside me, he too hasn’t been able to take his eyes off the scene in front of him. “Angela?” Makenna yells and instantly the lady is rushing into the room, two glasses of Whiskey in her hands and passes them to Romero and I.
“Yes, Mrs Bianchi?”
“Jesus, Angela, how long have you known me?” Her tone isn’t impatient, instead full of love.
“Since you were six.”
Makenna nods, “And yet you still won’t call me Makenna.”
Angela shakes her head, “Oh no, I can’t do that.”
Makenna grimaces before sighing. “Fine. Will you please call the doc and see what’s taking him so damn long?” She glances at me, “What blood type is Alessio?”
I stare at her in confusion, how the fuck am I supposed to know that shit?
“Angela, find out his blood type and inform the doc, he’s going to need a transfusion.”
“Of course, I’ll do that right away. Do you need anything else?”
“No, thank you. I’m okay. I’m almost done here, I just need doc and the blood.”
Angela nods and runs out of the room. “I just have to stitch him up, thankfully, it didn’t hit anything major. He’s lost a lot of blood but he’ll be fine as long as it doesn’t get infected. Once the doctor gets here, he’ll give him the antibiotics and transfusion.”
“Jesus, how the hell do you know how to do this shit?” Romero asks as she begins to put stitches in Alessio.
“Practice, years and years of practice,” she murmurs, her attention fully on what she’s doing.
I’m wondering even more what secrets she holds; this woman is a mystery, one I intend on solving.
Hearing my phone ring, I reach into my pocket, pull the phone out and quickly answer. “Yeah?” I bark, not in the mood for pleasantries.
“Boss,” It’s Stefan. “We’ve got a fucking problem. Those assholes we brought back to the warehouse, well they’re dead.”
“How the fuck are they dead?” I clip. What the fuck is wrong with these motherfuckers? They had one job. Just one and they can’t even do that right.
“Fucker’s must have had it planned. We were ambushed, fuckers shot up our vehicle. But they managed to hit the three bastards in the back and not Marco or I.”
Fucking Bratva. How the fuck are they one step ahead?
“I’ll check in tomorrow. I want every man on this. I want to find the bastards who shot up my wedding and then shot the prisoners we had.”
“On it, Boss.”
I end the call and look back at Makenna. Today has been a fucking clusterfuck. My wife has too many fucking secrets, but I’m going to find out every single one of them.
Six
Makenna
I stare down at my hands, Alessio’s blood coats them, even with the disposable gloves on. Alessio passed out once I removed the bullet. For the first time in my life, I was worried. Usually I’ve only had to stitch myself or Kinsley up. But today I had to do it to Alessio, my new brother-in-law, knowing that there was two people watching as I did; two men that wouldn’t hesitate to put a bullet in my head if I messed up. I was worried that if I did mess up, what would happen? I hate this unnerving feeling I have. It’s not me. I don’t care what people think, I never have.
Growing up with older brothers it helps shape you, they take you under their wing and teach you to take care of yourself. Show you how to be strong and resilient, show you what it’s like to not be afraid and I wasn’t. Until that day. The day when the facade fell and I came face to face with the devil incarnate. Then the young girl that was fun and outgoing became the woman I am today. Since then I’ve learned a lot of things about myself about the world and I’ve used every single thing to my advantage.
“Kenna?” His warm tone makes me look up from my hands.
“Mrs Bianchi…” Angela calls out just as Dante’s hand grips hold of my hip. Having him so close makes me shiver. “The doc’s here.”
I nod, “Thank you, Angela, you may go home now.”
She glances between me and Dante. “Thank you, I have dinner for you all, and the guest rooms are made up.”
I give her a soft smile, one that she returns. “Send the doc up and have a good evening.”
Within seconds, the doc is walking into the room, he takes a sweeping glance at us before moving to Alessio. “Nice work, Makenna, not that I should be surprised. You’re an old hand at this now. Must make a change from stitching yourself up.”
The hand on my hip tightens as the air in the room changes, this is more dangerous.
I ignore everyone and focus on what the doc’s doing. Hanging the antibiotics, before giving him the blood transfusion. It takes a while, nobody says anything we’re all watching the doc intently. Well Romero and I are, Dante however, has his gaze firmly on me. I glance up and I’m shocked by the intense gaze he has on me. My hand reaches for his and I hold it tight. Up until today, I hadn't really had anyone to lean on, but right now, in this instance I have Dante. I’m not sure how long it will last but I’ll take whatever is on offer, for however long it lasts.
“Do you want me to have a look at your arm?” Doc asks and I shake my head. Up until that moment, I had forgotten that I had been shot. It’s just a graze, but the pain has hit now. “I’ll leave the gauze and things for you. You know the drill. I’ll be by tomorrow to check on Mr Bianchi h
ere.” He packs up his bag and starts to head out.
“Thanks, Doc, I’ll see you tomorrow.” He nods before he leaves the room.
“Romero, would you like me to show you to your room?” At my words, Romero’s gaze leaves Alessio and moves to me; the softness in his eyes is unlike I’ve ever seen. He gives me a sharp nod. “Follow me.” I take my hand away from Dante and realize I’ve left blood on him. “Sorry,” I whisper as I rip the gloves off me and throw them into the trash beside the bed.
He doesn’t take his hand from my hip, instead his other hand goes to the other side. We’re all still in our wedding attire and I’m dying to strip off and put on something more comfortable. But first, I need a goddamn shower.
We walk out of the room and I leave the door ajar, needing to hear in case Alessio needs any help. We walk down the hall, “Romero, your room is on your right. There’s food in the kitchen, help yourself to anything you need.”
He gives me a nod as he walks toward the bedroom door, when his hand touches the handle. “Thank you for saving him,” he says softly.
“Good night, Romero,” I reply, not wanting to answer any questions. I know they all have some, but there’s only one person who’s going to demand them and right now, I don’t have it in me to answer them. Not now.
Dante and I are silent as we make our way to my room. I’ve not been here in a couple of weeks. This house has been my safe haven. It will always be and yet, today, I let three men I barely know walk into it. That’s something that has never happened before and I’m still trying to figure out why I did this.
Once we reach my room, I close the door behind us. The floor length mirror in front of me shows me just how fucked up I look. When Alessio went down in the church and I saw the blood pouring out of him, I did the only thing I could. I reached for the skirt of my dress and I pulled as hard as I could, ignoring the ripping sound as I tore it from my body. I couldn’t think about what I was doing, I just did what I had to. But staring at myself, all I see is what I am. A bloody bride. Blood covers my arms, legs, face and what’s left of my dress. I look like a fucking corpse. My gaze goes to the man behind me; his focus is on me. His eyes dark and hard, as he too takes in my appearance.
Bloody Union Page 5