Page 82 of Bound in Obsession
Nico shoves me behind him harder. “Stay back!”
One of Andrea’s men lunges from the side, knife in hand. Nico turns just in time, but not fast enough. The blade slices across his side, cutting through his tuxedo jacket. I see the flash of red blooming against white fabric.
“Nico!” I scream.
He doesn’t even flinch. He grabs the man’s wrist, twists it with a sickening snap, and fires two silenced shots into his chest. The man drops like a sack of stones.
Chaos explodes around us. Guests scream and scatter. More of Andrea's men surge forward, same as Nico's men.
I should run. This is my chance, the perfect distraction. I could disappear into the panicked crowd, slip through a side exit, and never look back.
But I don’t. I can't.
Instead, I grab a heavy champagne bottle from a nearby table and swing it with all my strength at the nearest attacker who’s raising a gun toward Nico’s back. The bottle shatters against his skull. He drops with a grunt.
Nico spins, eyes wild when he sees me. “Eleonora?—!”
Another man comes at him. Nico shoots him cleanly between the eyes, then grabs my arm and pulls me with him as we run.
Gunshots ring out behind us. We weave through screaming guests, Nico’s hand like iron around mine, shielding me with his body as we sprint toward the back exit.
We burst through a service door into the cool night air. Nico doesn’t stop. He keeps running, dragging me with him until wereach one of his waiting SUVs. He shoves me into the back seat and climbs in after me.
“Drive!” he barks at the driver.
The car peels away, tires screeching. I turn to look at Nico. Blood is soaking through his shirt from the knife wound, but he's not focused on that, eyes scanning me frantically.
“Are you hurt?” he demands, hands already moving over me, checking for injuries.
I shake my head, tears stinging my eyes. “No… but you are.”
He ignores that, pulling me against his chest, one hand cupping the back of my head like he’s afraid I might vanish.
I cling to him, breathing in his scent, feeling the rapid beat of his heart against mine.
“You’re bleeding,” I whisper, pulling away and reaching for the tear in his tuxedo jacket. The fabric is soaked with dark red.
I carefully pull it aside, exposing the knife wound on his side. It’s a long gash, but it doesn’t look too deep. Still, the sight of his blood makes my stomach twist.
“It’s nothing,” he says, voice tight, but he doesn’t stop me when I press my palm gently against the wound, trying to slow the bleeding with the edge of his ruined shirt.
“You got stabbed because of me.”
He catches my wrist, holding it firmly but not painfully. His eyes meet mine in the dark. “This wasn't your fault.”
I swallow hard, the adrenaline still coursing through me. I had the chance tonight, a real chance to run. To escape and find my sisters. But I didn’t. I stayed. I fought beside him. I chose him in that moment.
I tell myself it was smart. Staying with Nico keeps Sienna safer. As long as my father and Gallo believe he has both of us, they won’t hunt her as aggressively. It buys her more time to disappear completely.
But that’s not the full truth, and I know it.
Emotionally… something inside me has shifted. My loyalty isn’t to my father’s empire anymore. It’s cracking, splintering away from him. And it’s leaning toward the dangerous, complicated man sitting beside me.
Nico watches me closely, like he can see the war happening behind my eyes.
“We got what we needed tonight,” he says quietly. “Your father and the Gallos still have no idea Sienna isn’t with us. That gives us leverage. More time.”
I nod slowly, processing his words. “So… the plan is still working?”
