Chapter 137
137
Ilay on my belly, the muzzle of my rifle just barely peeking over the floor of the second story. I’d had to pile up a bunch of pillows under my body to give myself the right angle.
I just hoped it would be enough.
Down in the ground-floor hallway, I could just barely make out the silhouette of Alessandra’s dress – a shifting darkness against pure black.
The Turk was behind her, his pistol at her head.
Half of his men waited behind him, guns at the ready. The other half had already crept up the staircase to the third floor.
Gunshots rang out.
Muffled ones on the third floor –
And much louder ones below me.
BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG!
The hallway was lit up by a half-dozen muzzle flashes –
And in the strobing lights, all the Turk’s men fell to the ground.
The Turk shouted and pulled Alessandra closer to his body, pressing his gun to her temple –
Just as I’d feared he would.
His head was right behind hers, with only a couple of inches visible through my scope – and most of his head was obscured by her tangled hair.
Even if I took the shot and managed to not hit Alessandra, the Turk might still pull the trigger in his death throes.
As long as the pistol was aimed at her head, I couldn’t risk taking the shot.
Cold sweat poured in rivulets down my neck and back. I could feel the sharp edges of Rachel’s diamond ring cutting into my chest as it pressed against my skin.
Images flashed through my brain of Rachel on the rooftop in Kabul as I shot the gunmen trying to reach her.
This was entirely different, though.
This was a waiting game.
I heard Dario’s voice directly beneath me, though I couldn’t see him.
“Let her go,” he said, his voice steady and calm.
He was doing an excellent job of hiding his internal panic at seeing Alessandra in danger.
“STOP!” the Turk screamed. “STOP, OR I’LL KILL HER p>
Dario said calmly, “Adriano, Valentino… lower your guns and get back p>
Just as Niccolo had suggested, Adriano protested. “But – ”
“DO IT p>
It was all window dressing – a play designed to make the Turk think he had the upper hand.
We had to get him to point the gun away from Alessandra’s head.
Only then could I take the shot.
“There,” Dario’s voice said beneath me. “They’ve backed off. Now let her go p>
The Turk laughed. “I don’t think so p>
Dario and the Turk went back and forth, verbally sparring.
I kept my scope trained on what little of the Turk’s head was visible… and I tried to mentally slow the hammering of my heart against my ribs.
Finally the moment of truth came when Dario said, “Now, stop pointing your gun at her… and aim it at me p>
The Turk stepped backwards, dragging Alessandra along with him –
And disappearing out of my sights.
I adjusted my gun until the edge of his head was back between my crosshairs.
“Aim your gun at me,” Dario repeated calmly.
“Why bother?” the Turk hissed. “You’ll kill me no matter what p>
“No, I won’t – and neither will my brothers. I swear on my father’s grave p>
“And why should I believe you p>
“Because I’ll take her place,” Dario said calmly.
Alessandra screamed beneath the tape over her mouth.
“Shhh, it’s fine,” Dario comforted her, then addressed the Turk again. “Take me hostage, and you’ll walk out of here a free man. All you have to do is aim your gun at me, not her p>
“…get rid of your pistol first p>
“Alright… don’t shoot p>
I heard the slight clunk of metal being placed on wood, then the sound of the gun skidding across the floor as Dario kicked it towards the Turk.
“I’m defenseless. Take your gun away from her… and aim it at me p>
When it happened, it happened in the blink of an eye.
The Turk swung his pistol away from Alessandra’s head and pointed it at Dario.
As he moved the gun, the Turk pulled his head away from Alessandra’s – to give him a clear line of vision so he could shoot Dario.
“Fool!” he snarled –
Just as I squeezed the trigger.
The suppressor on my rifle barrel rendered the gunshot a muffled PTOK –
And the Turk’s head exploded behind Alessandra’s.
Then he collapsed to the floor.
Everything after that was a blur.
I slung my rifle over my shoulder and raced for the stairs. Underneath my sweat-soaked shirt, the metal of Rachel’s ring pressed against my skin.
Dario yelled out to confirm everyone was okay; the brothers yelled back that they were fine.
Our foot soldiers – Emilio, Gustavo, Giorgio, and the others I’d trained – cheered and gave each other celebratory high-fives.
Dario was holding Alessandra tightly in his arms as I reached them.
I ripped off my balaclava and asked Alessandra, “Are you alright p>
I knew she was alive, obviously – but I was terrified that I might have grazed her.
“What, you couldn’t see that from the kiss?” Niccolo shouted from above.
Alessandra half-laughed, half-sobbed as tears of joy ran down her face. “I’m fine p>
“That was the most stressful shot of my entire life,” I said, and I meant it.
Dario looked me in the eyes, grinned, and put a hand on my shoulder.
“I knew you could do it,” he said, and I could hear the profound gratitude in his voice. “That’s why I entrusted it to you p>
It was a moment that only the two of us understood.
Only I knew he had admitted his love for the woman he now held in his arms.
Only I knew that he had called her the One –
And only I knew he had told me that if I had to choose, I was to save her, even if it cost him his life.
Neither Dario nor Alessandra – or anyone else besides me – had any idea how close it had been.
Just a half-second more –
If the Turk had fired his gun before I did –
But then Alessandra hugged me and broke me out of my dark reverie, and I laughed as relief washed through my body.
A lot more happened in the chaotic moments that followed.
The old servant woman trying to kill Dario…
Alessandra shooting her instead…
And the revelation that the old woman had poisoned and killed Leonardo, Dario’s father.
I beat myself up in the weeks that followed, telling myself that I should have seen the old woman’s gun.
I should have been the one to shoot her instead of making Alessandra shoulder that burden.
Dario reassured me that he didn’t care. I had succeeded in the one thing that mattered.
More than anything, one moment stood out the most starkly in my memory:
Dario grasping me by the shoulder as he said, I knew you could do it.
That’s why I entrusted it to YOU.