The Mob Queen Wants to Claim Me for Herself (In a Reverse World)-Chapter 74: Swat

[Adam's POV]

The heroin feels like a warm blanket wrapped around my consciousness, dulling the edges of all the pain. I'm floating somewhere between awake and asleep when the sound of gunfire penetrates my haze. It's distant at first, then closer, punctuated by screams and what sounds like explosions.

I should probably care, but the drugs make everything seem far away and unimportant. I hear shouting in the hallway, then a tremendous crash as the door flies open.

Through half-lidded eyes, I see a figure silhouetted in the doorway. Blonde hair pulled back in a tight braid. Combat gear. An assault rifle hanging from her chest.

I blink slowly, struggling to focus. I must be dreaming.

"ADAM!" The apparition yells.

"Oh hey, Cat," I mumble, my voice slurring from the heroin and dehydration.

She sprints across the room, her combat boots pounding against the concrete. The rifle swings wildly on its harness as she drops to her knees beside the mattress. Her hands hover over my body, not touching, just trembling in the air above my skin as her crimson eyes take in every bruise, every mark, the empty space where my tooth used to be.

"Adam," she whispers, tears streaming down her face. "Oh my God, Adam."

Her fingers gently brush my cheek, so unlike the rough handling I've grown accustomed to these past days. The touch feels electric, startlingly real.

'Maybe this isn't a hallucination after all.'

"You're really here? I'm not just dreaming?"

Caterina lets out a choked sob, her hand cupping my face like I might shatter. "I'm here, baby. I found you. I'm going to get you out."

Her tears fall on my face as she leans down, pressing her forehead against mine. "I'm so sorry," she whispers, her voice breaking. "I'm so fucking sorry I didn't protect you."

I try to reach for her, but my damaged hands won't cooperate. "You came," I barely manage. "You actually came. I really believed you would."

Without another word, Caterina slides one arm under my knees and the other behind my shoulders. She lifts me effortlessly from the mattress, cradling me against her chest like I weigh nothing at all. The sudden movement sends a wave of dizziness through me, and I let my head fall against her shoulder.

"Lara, lead us out of here!" Caterina barks, her voice commanding despite the tears still glistening on her cheeks.

Lara appears in the doorway, her assault rifle at the ready. Her usual manic grin is gone, replaced by genuine pity as she looks at me.

"This way, boss," she says, stepping into the hallway.

We move through the corridor, Caterina carrying me like I'm made of glass. My body feels weightless in her arms, suspended in a bubble of warmth and safety that I'd thought I'd never experience again. The heroin keeps everything at a distance, even the overwhelming relief of being rescued.

As we turn a corner, we're suddenly surrounded by a half-dozen women in tactical gear, all heavily armed. I tense instinctively, but Caterina holds me tighter.

"It's okay," she murmurs against my hair. "They're with me."

One of the women, tall with a jagged scar across her chin, approaches cautiously.

"Tell the medics to be on standby," Caterina orders, her voice brooking no argument.

"They already are," Lara calls back without turning around. "Full trauma team waiting at the trucks."

We continue through the warehouse, stepping over bodies I barely register. Blood pools on the concrete floor splashed across walls and crates. The carnage doesn't faze me. Nothing seems real except Caterina's arms around me, her heartbeat strong and steady against my ear.

As we approach the exit, the rapid pop of gunshots echoes through the warehouse. Caterina's arms tighten around me instinctively, her body tensing as she pulls me closer to her chest.

Two bodies crash through a doorway to our left. They tumble onto the concrete floor in a tangle of limbs and fury.

My stomach drops as I recognize them. Maddy and Luna.

Maddy's normally perfect appearance is disheveled, blood trickling from her split lip as she lands a solid punch to Luna's jaw. Luna is completely naked, her skin glistening with sweat. I feel a wave of nausea as I notice my cum from our earlier encounter still leaking down her thighs.

"You fucking bitch!" Maddy snarls, grabbing Luna by the hair.

But Luna is fast. With a savage twist, she breaks free of Maddy's grip and pulls a revolver from Maddy's belt. Before anyone can react, she's yanked Maddy against her, the barrel of the gun pressed firmly against her temple.

"Nobody fucking move!" Luna screams, her eyes wild with desperation as she backs toward the wall, using Maddy as a human shield.

The warehouse freezes. Caterina goes completely still, her breathing so controlled I can barely feel her chest rise and fall against mine. The women around us aim their weapons at Luna, but no one dares to fire with Maddy in the line of fire.

"Let her go, Luna," Caterina says, her voice deadly calm despite the fury radiating from her body. "It's over."

Luna laughs, the sound unhinged and echoing off the concrete walls. Her eyes dart frantically around the room, taking in the bodies of her fallen enforcers, the armed women surrounding her, and finally landing on me in Caterina's arms.

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"Look at you," she spits, pressing the gun harder against Maddy's head. "So fucking noble, coming to rescue your little boy toy. Did you like the videos I sent? Did you enjoy watching him get fucked by my girls?"

I feel Caterina's muscles tense beneath me, but her voice remains eerily steady. "The only reason you're still breathing is because you're holding my second in command. Let her go, and I'll consider making your death quick."

Luna's eyes narrow, a desperate smile spreading across her face as she focuses on me. "He was so good for me, Cat. So responsive. Should I tell her how hard you got for me, Adam? How you came inside me again and again while I rode you?"

Lara's eyes narrow as she stands just in front of Caterina, her rifle perfectly steady in her hands. A strange calm comes over her as her lips quirking up into that familiar psychotic grin.

"Don't even think about it," Maddy hisses through gritted teeth, her eyes locked on Lara as if she can read her mind.

Luna's brow furrows in confusion. "Huh?"

Maddy squeezes her eyes shut, her body tensing in anticipation.

The crack of Lara's rifle is deafening in the enclosed space. The bullet whistles past, close enough to graze the armor on Maddy's neck before finding its true target. Luna's left eye explodes in a shower of blood, and... eye goo? The back of her skull shattering outward in a spray of brain matter, blood, and splintered bone. The exit wound leaves a gaping cavity where the back of her head used to be, painting the wall behind her with a grotesque Jackson Pollock of gray matter and crimson.

She slumps to the ground, limbs splaying at unnatural angles, her remaining eye still open and staring at nothing. Blood pools rapidly beneath her naked body, spreading across the concrete like spilled wine.

Maddy's hand flies to her neck where the bullet grazed her armor, her eyes snapping open as she stumbles forward, freed from Luna's grip.

"Jesus FUCKING Christ, Lara!" she shouts, spinning around to face the redhead. "You could have killed me!"

Lara shrugs, lowering her rifle with a self-satisfied smirk. "But I didn't."

"That's not the point!" Maddy's face flushes with anger as she gestures wildly at her neck. "You almost shot THROUGH me to get to her!"

"Nah," Lara says, tapping the side of her head. "I know my angles."

Caterina says nothing, her crimson eyes fixed on Luna's crumpled form. There's no satisfaction in her gaze, just a cold, empty detachment as she holds me tighter against her chest.

"Boss?" Lara prompts, her voice unusually tentative.

Caterina finally tears her eyes away from Luna's corpse. "Get the medics," she orders, her voice flat. "Now."

Lara nods, immediately turning on her heel and jogging toward the exit. Maddy remains behind, her hand still pressed against her neck where the bullet grazed her armor.

We move swiftly through the warehouse, Caterina's stride purposeful and strong despite carrying my full weight. Sunlight blinds me as we exit through the shattered loading dock, the sudden brightness sending pain lancing through my skull after days in dim captivity.

A medical team rushes toward us, wheeling a stretcher across the cracked asphalt. Caterina gently lowers me onto it, her hands lingering on my shoulders like she can't bear to break contact.

"Get him stabilized," she orders, her voice steady but strained.

Anxiety runs through me at the loss of presence. "Wait Cat, don't go."

Caterina smiles with tears in her eyes. "I'm not going anywhere Adam."

The medics immediately surround me, securing straps across my chest and legs. They wheel me rapidly toward a waiting black van, its back doors already open. Inside, I glimpse medical equipment, monitors, IV bags, and what looks like a small pharmacy.

Caterina turns to Maddy and Lara, her face hardening into something terrifying. "Stay back and clear everything out. Find out what the fuck they were doing here and then fucking torch it."

"On it, boss," Lara responds, that manic gleam returning to her eyes at the prospect of more destruction.

The medics load me into the van, the stretcher locking into place with a metallic click. Caterina climbs in behind them, positioning herself at my head where she can maintain eye contact.

"Will the command center be enough?" she asks the lead medic, a stern-faced woman with close-cropped gray hair.

The medics work around me, one attaching monitors to my chest while another shines a penlight into my eyes, tracking my pupil response.

"Nothing looks like it'll need surgery besides his hands," the gray-haired medic reports as the van lurches into motion, tires squealing against asphalt.

Caterina shakes her head, her expression grim. "No, that's old."

"Understood," the medic nods, turning her attention to my vital signs.

An IV needle slides into my arm, and almost immediately, warmth spreads through my veins. Different from heroin, cleaner somehow, less fuzzy. The pain begins to recede, replaced by a floating sensation that's not quite as disorienting.

"What are you giving him?" Caterina demands, her eyes never leaving my face.

"Saline with a mild painkiller," the medic explains. "Nothing that will interact badly with whatever's already in his system."

Caterina's fingers brush through my hair, her touch feather-light. "You're safe now," she whispers, leaning close enough that only I can hear. "I've got you, baby. I've got you."

"Cat, I really missed you." I say as I drift off.