Dark Saint [Romano Brotherhood, #1]

25 | Nina

"Take her, Nico. You and Leah are going to go with him, okay, Nina? Nina!"

The shock slides off abruptly, leaving the chaos around me to take center stage. I'm frantically nodding my head, not really processing what Santo is saying to me, as his hands frame my face and he shouts above the noise around us. The alarms are loud enough that I can barely hear myself think.

He squeezes my face once in reassurance because that's all we have time for, and snaps at Nico again to take us. I watch as he slips away, pulling a gun from under the couch cushions and disappearing with the rest of the men. As soon as I can't see him anymore, I feel the panic rising.

I'm shaking as Leah grabs my hand and pulls me after Nico, who leads us downstairs. We pass the cell I once feared for my life in, hurry down a long, narrow hallway, and stop in front of a random spot on the wall.

I watch in shock as Nico taps a lengthy code into a hidden panel and the wall opens before us, the previously hidden door caving in to reveal a small room.

"The panic room," Nico explains quickly. His movements are sharp with urgency but he doesn't appear to be panicked. "You will be safe here. One of us will come get you once the danger has passed. Nobody can get in here but us," he adds, seeing my face. "I promise you'll be safe."

We go into the room, the door clicks shut, and reality sets in.

"Oh my God. What the fuck."

"We need to relax. Everything will be fine," Leah rushes, grabbing both of my hands and holding them tight. But I can see the fear in her face, clear as day.

I can't seem to draw in enough breath to speak. I've never felt fear like this, knowing Santo is up there facing the attackers, whoever they are.

Leah understands. I can see it written all over her face. Samuel is up there too.

We huddle on the ground, holding each other and waiting for that door to open again, hoping against hope that when it does, we won't be faced with a reality neither of us will be able to live with.

+

I don't know how much time passes.

I'm grateful for Leah's presence, because without it, I know I'd go insane. Neither of us speak; there's nothing to say. This feeling of hopelessness is awful, but we know that if we were to try and leave, we would only make things worse.

So, we wait.

The faint beep of the door code pierces the quiet, and we're both on our feet when the it opens. Tommaso's grim face greets us, and I'm relieved that he appears unharmed. 

"Well?" Leah demands. We both scramble to follow him as he pivots and starts walking away without a word. 

"Everybody is fine," he calls behind him, and we both deflate in relief. A crushing weight is lifted off my shoulders. "Except the attackers," Tommaso continues, his tone dark. "We killed them all except one. You're gonna need to see this, Nina."

We enter the living room and I'm running to Santo as soon as I see him. His face is raw as he tucks me into his chest, running soothing hands up and down my back and kissing the top of my head. I hold onto him tightly, assurance flooding me at the solid, steady warmth of him. The panic I felt at the prospect of him dying is an adrenaline rush that's hard to come down from.

"There's blood," I notice, pulling away. His clothes are stained with it, but he doesn't look like he's in pain. His hair is a mess, and I push onto my tiptoes so I can shove it back, wanting to see from his facial expression if he's hurting. He grips onto me tighter, and I note the quick rise and fall of his broad chest.