Mafia Kings: Massimo: Dark Mafia Romance Series #3

I jumped off the dam rather than dove because I figured it would be better to break my legs than my neck.

I needn’t have worried – the water was deep enough.

That was the one piece of luck in my favor.

Seconds after I jumped, I plunged into hell.

Not a fiery abyss, but chaos and cold.

Ice water swallowed me whole.

Everything was black, and a deafening roar filled my ears.

I whipped around like a monster had me in its jaws.

I covered my head with my arms to protect my brain –

But the rest of my body slammed into outcroppings and boulders.

I held my breath for as long as possible – maybe two minutes, though it felt like an eternity – but I finally broke through the surface to try to get some air.

I ended up with a mouthful of water and got plunged back under.

I was sure I was going to die –

I saw Lucia’s face in front of me in the darkness –

And then I slipped into a slower part of the maelstrom.

I raised my head above water to catch a breath –

And I saw my salvation.

A freshly downed fir tree was drooping over the water 50 feet away.

I kicked with all my might until I was underneath it and managed to snag a branch.

Water roared all around me and dunked me under –

But I was able to grab another branch, then another.

Bit by bit, I pulled myself towards land…

Until I heaved myself onto the muddy shore and collapsed.

I lay there for nearly 10 minutes – battered, exhausted, and chilled to the bone.

But I thought of Lucia…

And how she needed me…

And I shakily pulled myself to my feet.

I looked back up the river from where I had come.

It was impossible to see the dam or what was left of it –

But I estimated I’d been carried half a mile downstream. Probably more.

I had three big problems.

One: Zollner and Lucia were on the other side of the river. No bridges were in sight, so there was no way to get across the churning waters without almost certainly dying.

Two: I was wet and freezing, and the cold night air was only making it worse. I had to find shelter and get warm or I would succumb to hypothermia.

Three: even if I could get across the river, it would take forever to catch up to Zollner. My guess was that he was going to steal a car and get the hell out of Padola.

As though to confirm my suspicions, I heard a distant gunshot on the other side of the river.

Crack!

My heart stopped in my chest as I pictured Lucia getting shot –

But I knew that Zollner wouldn’t do that. He wanted to deliver her safely to Aurelio.

The gunshot had probably been for some unfortunate soul who stood in the way of Zollner’s escape.

The one thing I had going for me (other than being alive) was that I knew where Zollner was taking her: the cemetery island of San Michele.

It was obviously a trap. Zollner would never have revealed that information unless Aurelio wanted me to show up.

But at least I knew where Lucia would be in just a matter of hours…

So I knew where to go.

I limped away from the muddy riverbank, intent on finding someplace to warm up…

After which, I would go save Lucia and get my revenge.

As I stumbled through the darkness, I imagined her smiling face…

And all the horrors I would inflict on Zollner for taking her.