Chapter 7 - Blood in the Dark
Sadi’s vision blurred rapidly as the powerful sedative coursed through her veins. Her legs felt like lead, her head spinning wildly.
"Walk, little girl," Marco Valenti growled softly, holding her tightly by her waist to make it look like he was merely escorting an intoxicated woman toward the private staff exit.
Sadi fought with every ounce of strength she had left.
She remembered Victor’s words in the Maybach: A person who bleeds in silence to protect someone they love... that is rare. You are the strongest woman I have ever met.
She wasn't going to let them use her as leverage against Victor. She wasn't going to be his weakness.
As they reached the heavy brass double doors of the side corridor, Sadi used the last burst of her adrenaline. She slammed her heavy metal evening clutch directly into Marco Valenti’s eye with all her strength.
"AGH!" Marco roared, letting go of her as blood spurted from his socket.
Sadi tumbled sideways against the wall, grabbing a heavy brass floor vase and knocking it over with a thunderous CRASH that echoed through the marble hallway.
"VICTOR!" she screamed with her dying breath before her knees collapsed under her.
In the main ballroom, sixty feet away, Victor heard the crash.
His dark eyes snapped toward the side corridor. In a fraction of a second, he recognized the sharp sound of Sadi's voice.
The calm, elegant billionaire vanished instantly.
Victor drew a sleek black gun from beneath his tuxedo jacket and tore through the crowd like an unstoppable force of nature. Guests screamed, scattering in terror as Victor kicked open the brass corridor doors.
He saw Sadi lying unconscious on the carpet. And he saw Marco Valenti, holding a bloody hand over his eye, running toward the loading dock where two armed hitmen were waiting.
"VALENTI!" Victor’s voice roared through the corridor like thunder.
Marco turned around, raising a pistol with his left hand, but Victor was faster.
BANG! BANG!
Two suppressed rounds struck Marco’s armed hitmen in the chest, dropping them instantly onto the wet pavement of the loading dock.
Victor closed the distance in three terrifying strides, grabbing Marco Valenti by his throat and slamming him backward onto the hood of an idling black SUV. The windshield shattered under the impact.
"You touched her," Victor growled, his face twisted into a mask of pure, murderous rage.
"Costello... wait... it was just a warning—" Marco choked out, gasping for air as blood ran down his face.
Victor pressed the hot barrel of his pistol directly against Marco’s forehead.
"There are no warnings for men who touch my queen," Victor whispered.
BANG.
Victor let the body slide off the hood onto the concrete floor. He didn't waste another second. He turned on his heel and ran back to where Sadi lay on the floor.
Dominic and three guards arrived a second later, their weapons drawn.
"Clear the floor! Get the medics!" Victor shouted, dropping to his knees beside Sadi.
He lifted her limp body into his arms, pulling her tightly against his chest. Her skin was cold, her breathing shallow. He spotted the tiny red puncture mark on her waist through her torn green dress.
"Dominic! Antidote kit from my car! NOW!" Victor screamed, his voice breaking—a sound Dominic had never heard from his boss in twenty years of service.
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Victor carried Sadi out to the Maybach himself, ignoring the flashing police lights arriving down the street, ignoring the crowd of reporters, ignoring everything in the world except the fragile woman shivering in his arms.
"Stay with me, Sadi," Victor whispered desperately, pressing his lips against her cold forehead as Dominic injected the broad-spectrum neutralizing agent into her arm. "Please, Sadi... stay with me..."
