A female sob sounded on the other end. I tensed and Aria moved closer.

“Gianna?” I asked carefully as I headed toward the door and walked outside. Aria had trouble keeping up with my pace. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

“He’s dying,” Gianna said.

I stopped in my tracks. “What are you talking about? Give me Matteo.” My breath left my mouth in clouds from the blistering cold, and Aria shivered beside me.

“I can’t. The Russians attacked us. There’s so much blood, Luca, so much blood.”

My throat constricted. “Is Matteo alive?”

Aria gasped and pressed up to me. “Luca?” I shook my head, and her eyes filled with tears. “Call Romero and tell him to bring Sandro.”

Aria took out her mobile, following my orders.

“He’s not breathing. He was a moment ago, but he’s not anymore,” Gianna whispered.

If he’d still been breathing not too long ago, he could survive. Matteo was a fighter. Aria nodded at me and lowered her phone.

“Gianna, you have to do CPR. I’ll be there soon. I have your GPS coordinates. But you’ll have to get him breathing or it’ll be too late.” I motioned for Aria to follow me as I jogged toward my car. She was fast on my heels and we both got into my Aston Martin.

“Give me your phone. I need to track Matteo’s cell,” I told her, still pressing my own mobile against my ear, but Gianna had been silent on the other end for a while.

“Gianna?” I said as I revved the engine. Static crackled in my ear and for a heart-stopping moment, I thought Gianna had hung up. This was her fucking chance to escape once and for all. If Matteo died, she’d be free. But if she let him die to be free, even my love for Aria wouldn’t stop me from hunting her down.

“I know you feel like Matteo trapped you, that he ruined your life, but no matter what you think, he didn’t do it to make you miserable. For some unexplainable reason Matteo loves you. You don’t have to believe me. You can keep hating him but don’t leave him alone, not now. If you help me save his life, I’ll grant you freedom. I swear it on my honor and my life. Aria is here. She’s my witness. You will get money, a new identity and even protection from the Outfit if you want. It’s all yours, if you save his life.”

Aria’s lips parted in shock, eyes wide and incredulous but I kept my eyes on the street, following the directions of Aria’s phone.

“Okay,” came Gianna’s reply.

That fucking bitch. I stifled my fury and focused on saving my brother’s life. “You have to do chest compressions. Hard and fast. Don’t worry about breaking his ribs. Thirty pushes, two breaths. Fast.”

I could feel Aria’s eyes on me the entire time.

“He’s not reacting!” Gianna shouted.

“Keep doing it,” I ordered. There was silence on the other end, and my throat got even tighter. Aria touched my leg but didn’t say anything.

“We’ll be there in ten minutes,” I got out past the lump in my throat. “How’s Matteo?”

More silence, and I stiffened. “Gianna? Are you still there?”

“Yes. Matteo is breathing again.”

Relief surged through me and Aria squeezed my thigh tightly. She let out a shuddering breath. “Good. Stay where you are,” I said quietly. My eyes were drawn to the rearview mirror where I could see Romero’s car approaching.

“Don’t worry,” Gianna said.

The moment we arrived, I saw Matteo’s smashed car. I hit the brakes, shoved open the door and ran toward Matteo. I fell to my knees beside him and did a quick scan of his injuries. His head was covered in blood, but like Gianna had said he was breathing. Romero and Sandro joined me.

“Called the Doc,” Romero informed me as he sank down on the ground beside me. Aria was talking to Gianna, who still hovered beside Matteo as if she actually gave a damn if he lived or died. Since we’d been little Matteo and I had protected each other; it had been us against the rest of the world—against a sadistic father, against a mother who let her despair out on us, against the enemies that wanted to see us dead.

I looked up from my brother to Gianna. Just seeing her face made me want to kill her. To think that I had to convince her to save Matteo’s life… “Get her away. Take my car and drive her to our apartment.”

“Where are you taking Matteo?” she dared to ask.

“To the hospital. This is too serious for our Doc,” I said, trying to keep it together in front of Aria, but I gave Gianna my coldest smile. “Don’t worry. I’ll honor my promise. When I return to the apartment, we’ll make the necessary arrangements to ensure your freedom.”

“Maybe Gianna wants to go to the hospital with Matteo,” Aria suggested softly as Sandro and I lifted Matteo off the ground.

“She doesn’t. Help her gather her things from Matteo’s apartment, so we can get her settled in her new life before my brother returns home.” I didn’t want her anywhere near my brother ever again.

ARIA

I grabbed a few clothes out of Matteo’s wardrobe even if it felt strange to rummage in his underwear, and stuffed them into the small bag with a couple pairs of sweatpants and shirts as well as socks.

After that, I went into his bathroom and grabbed his toothbrush. My eyes lingered on Gianna’s hairbrush that she hadn’t taken with her. Sandro had driven her to a hotel. She had taken Luca up on his deal. I couldn’t believe her decision was final. I’d seen how she’d looked at Matteo when she thought no one was paying attention. Sighing, I turned and headed back to the elevator.

Even if she changed her mind, I didn’t think Luca would ever forgive her. He was convinced she would have let Matteo die if he hadn’t made his offer. I’d rarely seen as much hate in his eyes as when he’d looked at Gianna yesterday.

The elevator took me back up to our penthouse. Luca perched on a barstool, a coffee on the counter in front of him and his eyes trained on his phone. He looked up when I entered but the tension didn’t leave his face. I walked over to him, dropped the bag beside the bar and stepped between his legs. He put the cell down and cupped my face. “Where is he?”

“In the big guest bedroom,” he said, looking exhausted, shadows under his eyes.

“Soon he’ll be back to annoying you,” I assured him.

Luca smiled wryly. “He was already a pain in the ass when I picked him up from the hospital today.”

I searched his eyes. “I’ve never seen you as worried as you were yesterday.”

His fingers trailed down my throat then pushed my collar off my shoulder, revealing the small scar there. “You didn’t see my face when you got shot.”

“You didn’t lose me back then, and you didn’t lose Matteo.”

Luca stroked my scar then his gray eyes met mine, full of emotion. “You took a bullet to save my life, while your sister would have let my brother die for her own fucking freedom.”

I didn’t try to defend Gianna, even though I knew deep down that he was wrong. Luca leaned forward and kissed my scar, then my throat until his mouth claimed my lips. His phone rang and he pulled back with a sigh, glancing down at the screen. It was Sandro. He picked up and listened for a moment, then nodded. “I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.” He hung up, sighing. “I need to go to a meeting with my Captains. We’re going to plan our retribution.”