The second bullet wasn't far behind the first. I yanked Nora inside the building, keeping her away from the tall windows that stretched from nearly floor to ceiling. She was gasping, trying to keep up with me, but I couldn't worry about that now. I had to focus on getting her out of here. She wasn't supposed to be around this part of my life. Other customers were staring at us and exclaiming loudly, but I didn't give a fuck about them. I could afford to lose a couple of customers. We sprinted down the spiral staircase and slammed through the doors that led to the kitchens.

Close calls like this never phased me. I had long gotten used to people wanting my head on a plate, but the beautiful angel I had in tow was not. She must be terrified. I glanced back at her and her face was flushed and her eyes were wide. Just get her out safe.

"Raff!" I barked as I burst into a manager's office. "Sniper in the building across from my private balcony. It looked like it came from above, the third or fourth floor maybe. I didn't get a great look. Get some men and find him. I want him alive." I demanded. "And have the valet park my car in the back alley."

"Yes Sir." Raffaelo answered immediately.

He not only managed my restaurant but also managed the less than legal dealings that happened behind the scenes here. He was one of my more trusted men. That raised the question of who notified the enemy gunman where I was. I would need to get Raff to look into all of our staff, but right now, I had other things to prioritize.

"We're going to get out of here through the back alley okay?" I informed Nora as gently as I could in my adrenaline-fueled state. "I don't know what's waiting for us on the other side of that door, but if things go to shit, leave me if you have to, but get yourself out of here. Do I make myself clear?"

Her eyes were brimming with tears and as badly as I wanted to comfort her, now wasn't the time. "I need you to be my brave girl right now. Can you do that for me?" She nodded and clutched her trembling hands to her chest. I pulled my gun from its holster and made sure it was loaded.

"Good girl." I kissed her forehead and opened the back entrance that exited into an alley, where my car should already be waiting for us.

As soon as we stepped out, a man rushed me. My reflexes were fast enough to shove Nora out of the way and sternum check the man. He stumbled for only a fraction of a second, but it gave me enough time to put a bullet between the man's eyes without hesitation.

Nora was picking herself up off the alley floor. It looked like she had scraped her palms from the fall but was fine overall. I heard her breath hitch when she spotted the man I had just killed.

"Don't look baby." I ordered. She looked away obediently, wrapping her arms around her tiny frame.

Footsteps were approaching us and fast. I looked down the alley where two more men were running down with guns drawn. It sounded like they were speaking Russian to each other.

Damn, Russians. If the Russian mafia was after me, it would be a minor inconvenience; a headache at most, but if they'd seen me protect Nora, we were in deep shit now. They would use her to try and get to me. I couldn't leave anyone alive.

They started firing at us. The only thing I could do was throw Nora behind a dumpster and return fire. I was so concerned about them getting to her, I left myself open and one of them got a clear shot directly at my head. I couldn't shoot them before they shot me. I dropped my gun and put my hands above my head.

"Let go of me!" I heard her little voice plead. The man who grabbed her had pulled her wrists together behind her back with one hand and held a knife to her throat with the other.

"Get your filthy hands off of her!" I growled at him, but he just laughed.

"Don't worry. I won't kill her. She's well acquainted with the sharp end of my knife, aren't you Nora?" he shook her roughly and I heard her whimper. They had met before?

"Please, no." She begged him. She was leaning back, away from the edge of the blade, and he took it as an opportunity to take a long sniff of her hair. Red started to cloud my vision.

"You're just as sweet as I remember pet." he moaned; his Russian accent thick. She fought hard against his grip on her, but I knew he was too strong. She just shut her eyes tight, as if she was trying to block out the reality of the situation. This son of a bitch was one of Stuart's vile customers. My hands itched to wrap around his throat and squeeze the life out of him.

"What do you want from me?" I fumed through gritted teeth, not taking my eyes off my sweet girl.

"Varlam would like to speak to you personally about a partnership, and he is very interested in the girl." he pressed the blade into the soft skin of her cheek but drew no blood. She cowered away from his weapon desperately.

At the mention of the name Varlam, any color Nora had in her face was gone. She was shaking worse than ever and it seemed like if this man wasn't holding her, she would have collapsed. She looked as if she would hyperventilate, and she started fighting even harder against him.

"No! I won't go back!" she outright screamed. I'd never seen her like this. What the fuck did they do to her?

"Shut your filthy whore mouth before I shut it for you!" he roared in her face.

I had been trained from a young age to be stronger than the rest. I was taught to keep my emotions in control, so for the first time in my life, I was overcome with helplessness. They had me unarmed and had her terrified at knife point. I didn't necessarily believe in a higher power, but if there was one, I could really use a miracle.

My prayers were answered apparently because a movement at the end of the alley caught my eye. Taking a closer look, I saw it was Fiero and Gino. I just had to keep these idiots talking long enough for my men to get close.

"What kind of partnership?" I sneered. "I don't need to weaken my ranks with the likes of you fuckers."

"You watch your mouth when speaking of Varlam." the man with his gun trained on me growled.

Suddenly, Fiero burst through the same back door Nora and I had exited through, and easily silenced the man holding her. I took advantage of the other Russian's surprise and shoved his gun away from me. Gino took his shot, taking care of the problem. Gino never missed.

"He's the one who should be watching his mouth." Gino spat.

I rushed forward and held Nora by her shoulders. "Are you hurt anywhere?" I scanned her over, but she didn't seem to be horribly injured. Her beautiful black dress had a torn sleeve, and her hair had completely fallen out of its twist, leaving her looking wild.

She didn't say anything at first. She gave me a good inspection before concluding I hadn't been injured. "Thank goodness you're okay." she whispered more to herself than me. Of course, she was more concerned about me. She was selfless and caring and wasn't concerned with her own health nearly as much as she should be.

"I'm so sorry baby. I didn't mean to get you involved in this part of my life. You're okay right?" I brushed her hair out of her eyes and tucked it behind her ears.

"I'm okay. You don't have to be sorry. You didn't know" she touched my face gently.

"Boss, we should get out of here." Gino grunted, his eyes constantly moving, taking in our surroundings.

"You're holding up pretty well kid." Fiero ruffled her hair. "You're almost as brave as your big brother Fiero." She glanced around at the dead bodies that littered the alleyway and shuddered.

"Almost." Fiero muttered, too low for her to hear.

"Don't look at them baby." I wrapped my hands around her waist and pulled her to me, but she flinched at my touch and her dress felt moist.

"Sweetheart?" I questioned. I loosened my grip on her and saw that my hand came away bloody. I just registered how cold she felt and how pale she looked. "Baby talk to me!" she began to sway slightly in my arms. "No. Stay awake for me." Her dark dress had hidden any evidence of a severe injury.

"Enzo?" she slurred.

I couldn't even be happy she had dropped 'Mr.' and had just called me 'Enzo'.

"Yes baby, what is it?" I encouraged. Hopefully if I could just keep her talking, she would stay awake.

"I don't feel good." her head bobbed forward slightly. I could tell she was fighting for me, but there was only so much her little body could do.

"I know sweetheart. We're going to get you taken care of." I scooped her up in my arms and she rested her head in the crook of my neck.

"No doctors Enzo." She pleaded. Fuck. What was I supposed to do now?

"Gino went to get your car. Go to my house and have Rosie look at her. We'll take care of the mess here." Fiero informed me. His tone was serious, all previous joking gone.

"We're going to get help baby girl." I vowed. She didn't respond. I glanced down at her, and she had fallen unconscious. "No, no, no! You said you were okay, so be okay!" I shouted at her. I didn't even notice Gino pulling my car into the alleyway.

"Lorenzo!" Gino barked. "Get out of here and get her some help. Go!"

Gino had always been a reliable man, and he never would have spoken to me so disrespectfully in any other situation. I gave him a nod and deposited my angel in the back seat.

Screeching out of the alley, I looked at her in my rearview mirror. "Be okay. You have to be okay."