“That’s impossible. Too many. Get out of there. I’ll find out where they are.”
She had no choice. Already the next cylinder came hurtling through the window, and she saw this bottle was stuffed with a fiery rag. Instantly, it was as if her apartment exploded with flames. She didn’t have time for anything but grabbing her pictures of her parents and Sandlin as she raced to the front door. When she tried to open it, it wouldn’t budge.
Her heart nearly stopped. There was a back way out, but it was a small balcony off her bedroom—nothing more than a fire escape. It was even smaller than the front landing and the stairs were really a fire ladder. If she didn’t go now, she wasn’t going to make it. Flames were licking up the walls to the ceiling, climbing the drapes, racing across the floor toward her bedroom.
She ran. The heat was intense. Fear was worse. Her heart beat out of control as she slammed the bedroom door closed and tried to open the one to the fire escape. Her fingers were shaking so badly, it took a few moments to unlock the door. As she did, a Molotov cocktail was thrown through her bedroom window and landed on the floor on the opposite side of the bed.
Sasha shoved the door open and jumped out, grabbing for the railing. The window was on the opposite side of the apartment so she figured there was a good chance her attacker couldn’t make it around to this side of the building before she could make it to the ground. She nearly fell down the metal ladder and hit the pavement. She screamed when arms came around her.
“You’re safe.” It was Stefano’s voice. “We’re here now. Giovanni’s on the way. The bodyguards were pulled off duty. I’m killing Cosimo for falling for an order like that. They left behind a new guy, and he was beaten senseless.” There was distaste in his voice, although he still sounded matter-of-fact.
All the while he talked, Stefano had swirled a long trench coat around her, covering her. She was wearing pajamas and little else. Her pajamas tended to be very skimpy because she liked feeling feminine after a long day in jeans and a tee when she’d been riding horses and working cattle. Also, she was the type who was always too hot. Going naked in bed or wearing a minimal amount of clothing was always what she preferred.
He kept walking with her. She couldn’t stop shaking. “Is the bodyguard dead? What’s his name? I didn’t have a chance to meet him.” Even her teeth were chattering.
“Raimondo Abatangelo. He’s actually Cosimo’s youngest brother. Cosimo and Tomas, the oldest of the Abatangelo brothers, were both shot during the attack on our family last year. This was the first assignment given to them since it happened. We thought it was going to be an easy one. Raimondo has a military background and trained for becoming a bodyguard, but you were also his first assignment.”
“You didn’t say if he is alive.” She was terrified he was going to answer in the negative and she knew she’d never forgive herself.
“He’s alive, but just barely.”
“I should never have insisted on going home. If I hadn’t, my stalker couldn’t possibly have hurt him.” Where was Giovanni? Stefano was holding her close, keeping her shaking, rubbery legs from letting her fall.
She didn’t know how many people were putting out the fire, keeping it from spreading to the buildings on either side, but they seemed to have come from everywhere. She closed her eyes. “The deli is going to be ruined. There were flames on the floor of my apartment. It had to have burned through. And the smoke and water will ruin all of the food if the fire doesn’t burn it to the ground. What am I going to tell Pietro?”
“We can rebuild,” Stefano assured. He had walked her down the alley. Lucia, Amo and Nicoletta waited. All three immediately put their arms around her and all but dragged her toward the open back door of Lucia’s Treasures.
Stefano shook his head. “I’d prefer all three of you to evacuate. Amo, my men are going to take you to the pizzeria. I’ve already asked Benito to open it. Taviano and Vittorio will go with you, and Giovanni’s meeting you there.”
“I don’t understand why he wants me dead,” Sasha said. It was true. What had she done that was so terrible to this unknown man? “What could I have done to set him off like this?”
“You haven’t done anything, honey,” Stefano assured. He glanced at his brother over her head, and Vittorio immediately put his arm around her. “Men like this, they’re sick. They have paranoid fantasies. When you don’t react the way their fantasies dictate, then they lose it.”
“I don’t want everyone around me,” she said. “Not Lucia, Amo and Nicoletta. He could burn down Lucia’s Treasures or harm them just because they’re associating with me.”
Sasha looked around her, suddenly afraid for everyone. “What if he has a gun? He could be about to shoot someone right now. He’s got military training. All of you have said that.” Even to herself, her voice edged toward hysteria. She didn’t want to sound out of control because she wanted them taking her seriously. Everything she said was the truth and the threat was very real. Especially for Giovanni. “He can’t come near me,” she whispered. “I mean it, Stefano. You have to tell Giovanni to stay away from me. He’s going to go after him next.”
“There is nothing you or I can say to keep Giovanni away from you, Sasha,” Stefano said. “If you know him at all, you’ll know that.”
She shook her head. What was there to say? Stefano was right about Giovanni. He wouldn’t stay away, but she suddenly had a very bad feeling that everything her stalker had done was to bring Giovanni out in the open. The Ferraros protected their homes. Security was tight, and it wasn’t as if someone could easily get close to the actual house where Giovanni resided. It was much easier to draw him out. What better way than to attack Sasha?
“He’s going to go after him,” she said. “Stefano, you have to listen to me on this. I think Giovanni is the real target.”
“Maybe, but if you get to the pizzeria, honey, you’ll find Giovanni isn’t so easy to get to. Hurry up. Go with Vittorio and Taviano.”
Vittorio tightened his arm around her. Taviano shepherded Lucia, Amo and Nicoletta. Around them, a tight shield of guards formed as they made their way quickly up the block to the pizzeria. Benito had the back door open, and they were swept inside.
“Helicopter will land on the roof,” Benito said to Vittorio. “Use the attic stairs. There’s a trapdoor. Wait inside the attic with her, Vittorio. The guards are going up to the roof now. It’s flat and has plenty of room. They’ll clear the surrounding rooftops. If he’s up there on any of the buildings waiting with a rifle, he’ll make a run for it. Giovanni’s going to hunt him with the chopper first and then he’ll bring it in to retrieve his woman.”
Her heart jumped. Giovanni was going to hunt him with a helicopter? “Can’t he bring down the helicopter?”
“It isn’t as easy to do that as it looks in the movies,” Vittorio explained, turning her away from the others so she could climb the narrow stairs leading to the attic. “He’d have to take out the pilot to bring it down, or make the shot of his life. Giovanni isn’t going to make it easy to shoot him. There’s going to be a hell of a bright spotlight sweeping the rooftops. If that gets in his eyes, he’s not going to be able to see to shoot at the pilot.”
“Wait, Giovanni is piloting the helicopter?”
Vittorio shrugged. “We were all trained to fly helicopters, planes, and drive fast cars. We have very specialized training. Flying a helicopter is very different than flying planes, I might add. We are required to maintain licenses for all three, and that includes very large trucks and motorcycles. In case you’re worried about your man, we’re also required to be more than proficient in hand-to-hand combat.”