Devil's Advocate: A Dark Mafia Romance (Devil's Playground Book 1) by Vivi Paige (different ereaders .TXT) 📗

Renewed gunfire spurred me back into action. I pocketed the empty Beretta and grabbed Sophie’s hand, dragging her to her feet.

“Come on and stay low.”

We crouch-walked through the stacks of pallets as bullets rained down on our position. I turned around and squeezed off a couple of rounds, knowing I wouldn’t hit shit but also knowing it would give them pause.

I wanted to work my way back to the service entrance I’d used to get inside the warehouse. Only problem was, the Loggia thugs stood between us and it. Then I caught a whiff of water.

The warehouse opened up onto the lake. All we had to do was follow that smell and we’d be scot-free.

“Come on,” I growled, tugging her along. I winced when a bullet smashed a wooden plank to splinters right next to her head. I stuck my arm out behind me and fired blind while throwing her forward.

“Go, run toward the smell of water.”

Sophie stumbled a few steps, then stopped, looking back at me as if unsure.

“Now!”

I spun around and fired again. My gun made the dreaded clicking sound, indicating it was empty.

“Fuck.” I only had one clip left. Yeah, I know it’s called a magazine and not a clip. Fuck you, too. It’s my God damn story.

After casting a glance Sophie’s way to make sure she was still running, I ran toward a stack of pallets and shoulder blocked it. Pain shot up through my arm. Fuck, why did I have to use my bad shoulder?

The pallets teetered toward the Loggia thugs, then back my way, and for a scary second I figured I was going to get crushed by my own stupid plan. Then, it swung back their way and I threw myself against it again. At last, the entire column toppled over onto the Loggias.

I didn’t wait to see how many of them I got with it. I made tracks something fierce. I caught up with Sophie, my heart jumping with elation when I saw an open bay door and Lake Michigan’s sun-dappled surface.

I wasn’t even bothered by the ominous clouds looming on the horizon. All I knew was we were going to escape the death-trap warehouse.

I spotted an aluminum four-seater boat bobbing in the water. We were still neck-deep in Loggia territory, but their turf ended at the water line.

“Get in the boat,” I cried.

Sophie ran to the edge but skidded to a halt. “There’s no ladder, or stairs or anything.”

“Not going to be a problem.” I grabbed her hand and we leaped into the boat together. She screamed the whole way down. We collapsed onto the floor, setting the craft to rocking wildly.

“Are you okay?” I asked, holding her arms.

“I’m okay, I think,” she said. “Twisted my ankle a little but it’s not bad.”

I yanked the ripcord on the outboard engine, and it rumbled to life. The boat surged forward, nearly knocking me right into the water. That would have really sucked, as I was a shit swimmer and the water remained frigid.

“Can you pilot a boat?” Sophie asked as I leaped behind the wheel.

“One way to find out.”

We tore away from the warehouse, heading out over the choppy waters of Lake Michigan. I figured we were safe, at least for the time being.

As usual, I turned out to be dead wrong.

Chapter Thirty-One

Sophie

I hugged myself, shivering from the cold wind kicked up by our mad flight across the water. The clouds rolling in threatened rain, but worse, they drove a stiff wind before them.

Fun fact: Lake Michigan has more shipwrecks rusting at its bottom than the Bermuda Triangle. Part of the reason is how suddenly storms can whip up out of nowhere.

And it looked like we were barreling right into one.

My heart sank when I saw a large swell looming before us. Indro glanced over at me and scowled.

“Sophie, sit down for Christ’s sake.”

I sat, looking for a safety harness, but finding none. That just seemed dangerous to me.

I settled for sticking my arms between my legs, splayed in an unladylike fashion, and gripping the seat for dear life.

We hit the swell with a loud slap of the hull, careening into the air for a good dozen feet before slamming back down. I bounced in my seat but held on tightly enough not to fly over the side. Indro glanced over at me.

“Are they still following us?”

“What do you mean, still?”

“I mean I heard another set of engines before the wind picked up.”

I turned about in my seat and spotted a larger boat bouncing along in our wake. It featured one of those half-canopy things to keep out rain, and a sunken cockpit for the pilot. Several of the masked men clung to the back, guns in their hands and menace in their hearts.

“Yes, and they’re gaining—”

I had forgotten about the swells. We hit another, and I was jostled out of my seat to sprawl onto the floor of the boat. I picked myself up, thoroughly drenched and more miserably cold than ever.

“Sophie, you all right?” Indro gasped.

“I’m fine, keep your eyes on the road—water, what the fuck ever!”

I climbed back into my seat just in time for us to hit another swell. This one rolled up on us taller than the boat itself. The impact made me bite my tongue, causing me to yelp.

I slammed back down into my seat and risked a glance behind us. The Loggias were still closing the gap, though the heavy swells had slowed their ascent somewhat. Their heavier craft seemed to fare better in the high sea—er, lake.

“Indro, they’re still gaining on us.”

“Yeah, they’ve got three outboards to our one.” He grimaced as clouds rolled overhead, blotting out the sun. I fairly whimpered when I saw how high the water had truly become. White caps tickled the tops of the waves now.

“We’ll be fine, Sophie,” he said. He glanced over at a storage locker. “Open that and see what we’ve got to work with.”

I flicked open the lid, remembering to brace myself afterward