Fucking hell was an appropriate phrase to describe the sight in front of us. Gianna's apartment was completely trashed. As in, ruined to such an extent that I could barely even recognise how it had looked before it had been broken into. Cazzo di merda. I reached out an arm behind me, tucking Gianna into my side as I raised my arm holding my gun. My eyes scanned the entire apartment that had been turned upside down as I made my way over to what obviously seemed like Gianna's room. I kicked the door open with my heel before checking and making sure that it was safe as well. It seemed like whoever had done the damage had simply done it to fuck with our heads and had left.
"Grab your remaining stuff and we're getting out of here." I said lowly as my eyes found hers. "Now, Gianna!" I bit out as she seemed to snap out of her trance.
Her face was white as a sheet as she nodded mutely before grabbing a couple of things from her room. I could see that she was visibly shaken - anyone would be after seeing their house completely ruined - and while I did feel bad for her, I knew that it wasn't safe here anymore. She wasn't safe here anymore.
Within minutes, Gianna had another duffle bag ready as I grabbed it from her before pushing her in front of me, the gun still trained ahead of us. Once we were out of the door, I texted Luca my location and told him to send some of my men over to do a thorough check up of Gianna's apartment and see if they could find any clues as to who had done this. If my suspicion was right, there was one man that was behind this as well as last night's incident. Someone really was out to get me and I had intentionally put Gianna in the line of fire.
My eyes roamed around the entire apartment, my guard still up as I waited for someone to jump out and strike. But none of that happened as we made it down safely and out through the doors. My heart was thundering in my chest as I waited for something else to happen - it couldn't have been so easy to get out, after all. There had to be some kind of trap.
Nonetheless, it seemed like I would have to have a word with the security in this apartment building because it sure as fuck was shitty. Although Gianna tried to hide her fear well, I saw right through her. The slight shake of her hands and her tense posture told me all the things that words couldn't. Fuck. This shouldn't have happened - not under my watch. Though, at least the good thing out of this was that Gianna hadn't been home when the intruder had broken into her house. I didn't even want to think about what could have happened if I hadn't demanded her to stay the night at my place.
Suppressing a shudder, I pulled open the car door as I all but shoved Gianna inside before barking orders to my men that had arrived.
"Sir, is there any problem here? We -
I shot a glare at the receptionist that had come up to me, no doubt wanting to tell me off for the amount of men in black suits that were now surrounding the building.
"Not another word, woman unless you answer whatever questions my men ask you." I said in a low voice as her eyes widened in surprise.
"I'm sorry but I think I'm going to have to call -
"Don't even think about it. One word to any of the authorities, and I'll make sure that there's a bullet in your head." I threatened before I slammed the door shut in her face and started the engine.
I had never threatened a woman until now but unfortunately, the situation deemed it necessary. I couldn't have some arrogant woman tattling off to the police - it wasn't worth the hassle, really.
My hands gripped the steering wheel tightly as I swerved to the right, deciding to change tactics and take a different route back to my place in case anyone was watching and waiting for me to drive by my usual route. My mind was a clusterfuck of thoughts as I tried to calm myself down for Gianna's sake. Out of habit, I reached out my hand towards Gianna, resting it lightly on her knee. The fact that she didn't even flinch or slap it away told me how out of it she was.
"Now what?" She managed to ask after a few minutes of the lingering silence. "What happens now?"
"I don't know." I muttered as I fought the urge to run a hand through my hair. "This was...unexpected. I didn't think they'd strike back at you so soon."
"Do you think it's the same person who dropped the threatening note yesterday?"
"Maybe." I replied as I took a left and headed for the lane which would cut right behind my building where I had private access to an elevator that we could take.
"There's more to it." I admitted as my gaze swerved left and right, my senses prickling with unease. "We'd gotten some messages back -
My sentence was cut off abruptly as a single shot was fired right at the rearview mirror. The mirror exploded into pieces as Gianna let out a scream. My instincts immediately took over as I pressed on the gas and propelled us faster.
"Get down and cover your head, Gianna!" I roared as another bullet whizzed by, denting the bulletproof glass.
"Cazzo!" I cursed as I took a swift turn, hoping that I could outrun the black SUV that was currently gaining on us.
Rolling down my window, I pulled out my gun and fired with one hand without looking back as I made sure that Gianna was still tucked down.
"Don't move." I warned, hoping that she could hear me over the roar of the engine.
Several gunshots were aimed towards our car as I changed direction and drove headfirst into traffic. People beeped and cursed at me as I cut through the lanes, driving at the maximum speed limit. My breaths were coming out faster as I peered behind me, a slight sense of relief inflating my lungs as I saw that the SUV wasn't in sight anymore. But I couldn't relax. Not until we reached home in one piece.
"Shit." I muttered as I narrowly avoided running over an old woman and her dog in my haste as she waved her cane at me.
Driving around the circle and passing by King's College, I managed to make my way back to the familiar lane which housed my building, feeling a sense of trepidation. That had been far too easy. Whoever it was that had been shooting us had only taken wide shots meant to make us falter and not actually kill us. But why? It was clear that this person had an agenda to get me - us now - killed. So why delay it? Or was there something else in play? Something much, much, much more worse.
"What the fuck just happened?" Gianna questioned as she rose up from her seat, her hair a mess and her fingers still gripping the corner of the seat as they turned white.
"Someone shot at us. That's what happened."
"Thanks Captain Obvious. That was supposed to be a rhetorical question, by the way." Gianna snarked as I held back a sigh.
"It's all linked." I murmured under my breath as I took towards the underground parking before cutting off the engine in front of the private elevator that I had built for security purposes.
"What's linked?"
"This wasn't the first time that we've gotten these suspicious messages." I admitted as my hands stayed glued to the wheel, knowing that we were safe now that we were in the building premises. "Someone's apparently out to get me. If my guess is not wrong, it's the same person who managed to pin Bruno's murder on me and sent you the note yesterday."
"That sounds like bad news. Especially now that the court date is coming up in two weeks." Gianna bit her lip as she mulled over that thought. "This person - whoever he or she is - is doing one helluva job at trying to distract us by putting so many hurdles in the way."
"What do you reckon we should do?" I asked, pulling out the second gun that I had stashed in my waistband before helping Gianna out of the car.
"Lay low. It's our best option as of now." She shrugged as I nodded my assent.
Just then, the shrill sound of her ringtone cut through the air as the voices of 3 girls mingled together. Of fucking course it was Little Mix - Gianna's favorite girlgroup. I had almost forgotten her immense love for them. With a slightly sheepish look sent my way, she picked up the phone as she addressed the person on the other end. Based on the way that her face immediately paled, I could tell that it was bad news before she even opened her mouth.
"Alright, I'll let him know. Thanks, Esme." She replied shakily before hanging up.
"Esme called to tell that somebody blew up our floor of the office." She muttered as she wiped her palms on her pants. "It's bad, Sergio. Like really bad. We've never had something like this happen and -
"Breathe, mia gioia." I whispered as I clasped her hands together, our foreheads touching now. "You got this. We got this now."
"We'll figure something out. Hopefully." She whispered back before she pulled away from me, tilting her head towards me.
Even though her withdrawal stung a bit, I managed to paste on a smile on my face as we headed upwards to my penthouse.
"Luca -
"On it, boss. I heard what happened." He cut in as I made my way towards him. "I've sent some of our men to check whether the car could be traced since we captured its plate from the CCTV at Gianna's building."
"And where's Alessandro?"
"He's at the apartment as well. They're trying to find out how the intruder got in."
"I wouldn't be surprised seeing the shitty security over there. Keep me updated if you find anything." I ordered as Luca left with another shake of his head and a squeeze to Gianna's shoulder.
As the door clicked shut, I turned to face Gianna as she leaned on the kitchen counter.
"I assume you know what this means?"
"And what does this mean?" She asked coyly, her arms crossing over her chest.
That little gesture had my eyes snapping to her cleavage where her buttons had popped open. They glided over the expanse of her smooth skin as my cock became hard, my hands aching to have a taste of her. The clearing of her throat had my gaze sliding back to hers as she arched an eyebrow, as if telling me just how much of an effect she had on me. That little vixen.
"My face is up here, stronzo." She snipped as I smirked, my dimple popping out.
And for a second right there, it felt like we had gone back to the old times. When it was me and her. Nothing and no one in our way. Just two people completely and utterly in love.
"You still haven't answered my question, Sergio." She quipped as she moved around the counter to fill up a glass of water.
My traitorous heart leaped at the way that she had frequently started calling me by my first name after trying so hard to be polite and professional for a while.
"It means that you're staying with me here. Indefinitely." I said as I slipped out of the tight t-shirt that I had worn this morning. "And no arguments." I bit out as she opened her mouth, no doubt to say something sassy.
"I wasn't going to argue, you idiot. I was just going to say that I want the guest room I slept in last night. Don't even think about dragging me to your room, okay?" She joked as I recalled the way that I had manhandled her and forced her to sleep in my bed back when I had held her prisoner.
It was laughable, really. How I'd thought that she was my prisoner, when she had been anything but.
I smiled, about to reply to that as her phone lit up. A frown marred her forehead before she smoothed it out, all signs of the previous lightheartedness gone.
"I'll see you later, then. And I'll let you know if I find something regarding the case." She said tightly before turning around and heading upstairs.
I slammed my hands on the countertop before letting out a heavy exhale. And just like that, we were back to square one.
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