Her Mafia Brothers

Shootout

"Get down," Paul hissed. "Quickly!"

But I was too crazed by fear and desperation to listen. I couldn't let them shoot Jacky.

There was a horrific crack and a bang and the car shook as a bullet ricocheted off the side of the vehicle, directly outside where I was sitting. Paul scrambled back over the seat and bodily threw me over into the back, pushing me down onto the floor.

"Stay there!" he ordered gruffly. "Don't move."

He spoke quietly into his lapel while scrambling back over into the front, back into the driver's seat. Quickly, he started the engine and we peeled out of the parking lot, leaving my brothers to face the enemy alone.

The next part happened so quickly it was almost a blur. I was on my knees in the back, screaming for my brothers, watching out the back window as Damon lifted his gun and without flinching, shot three men in quick succession. I watched them fall to the ground. I saw the blood. I saw the fear on the faces of the other men, I watched as they quickly scattered. Callously, without regard for the men who lay dying on the cold concrete, my brothers made their way to a vehicle parked nearby and then Paul turned the corner and we disappeared, out of sight.

Adrenaline coursed through my body. I couldn't stop shaking. If I thought I was afraid before, it was nothing compared with how I felt now. I couldn't believe what had just transpired. I couldn't believe I had just watched my eldest brother shoot three men in cold blood, right in front of my very eyes. My brother was a murderer!

Once again, I stuffed my fist into my mouth, trying to prevent my screams from escaping. Tears spilled down my face. Tears of disbelief, panic, fear.

What the hell had I gotten into? I'd just jumped out of the frying pan into the fire. I'd been rescued from one abuser, just to be thrust into the hands of another. But this time, I had been given to a callous killer.

Panic welled up inside me and I wished, more than anything, that I would wake up from this nightmare. Either that, or I wished I could die. I didn't want to live anymore, not if I was only going to be killed anyway.

Paul took a corner too fast and the Mercedes rocked sideways, throwing my body against the side of the vehicle. I cried out in pain as my head hit the back of the seat, hard. Then I did the only thing left for me to do: I curled up into the fetal position and I cried my heart out.

I was still sobbing wretchedly when the car came to a stop in our underground garage. I screamed and shrank back in fear when the back door opened and strong arms reached in and grabbed me, pulling me out, clutching me close.

"Shhhh, you're okay sweetheart," Jack whispered in my ear. "It's all over now and you're okay. We're all okay."

I didn't want him to hold me. I wanted him to let me go. I wanted to run away. I didn't want to be here anymore. But instead of fighting him, I clung to him, pressing my body against him, wrapping my arms tightly around his neck, sobbing into his shoulder as he held me close.
"No no no no no no no!" I cried into his shirt, trying to breathe, but panicking instead when I felt that familiar tight pressure in my chest - a lack of air in my lungs.

"Breathe darling girl," he said, as he rubbed my back soothingly. "You're safe. We're all safe. We're home. I need you to breathe for me."

"Damon ... gun ... shoot." I gasped the words, barely able to get them out, unable to form them properly and sure they didn't make any sense. The words were all scrambled up in my brain, incoherent, the sheer terror still ripping through my body was making it even worse. I couldn't focus at all.

"Shhhh," Jack whispered. "Calm down. It's okay, I promise." I promise. I promise. They were the only two words I heard, and they repeated themselves over and over in my head. Jacky promised, and Jacky didn't break his promises.

I sucked in a breath. Held it. Exhaled. Repeat. Slowly, I calmed down enough to take in my surroundings and realise that we actually were safe; we were at home. Jack had carried me inside and sat on the couch with me, the same couch where I'd fallen asleep on him last night.

My other brothers were nowhere to be seen, but Jack had assured me that they were all okay, and I believed him.

"Drink." Jack held a glass of iced water to my lips and I obeyed him, drinking greedily. The cold liquid soothed my burning throat, sore from crying so much.

When I'd drained nearly half the contents of the glass, Jack returned it to the coffee table in front of us and hugged me close again, rubbing my back gently, calming me down some more. I snuggled up against him, enjoying the security his hard chest and strong arms offered. Slowly, my heart rate returned to normal and I could breathe properly, without sniffling. The fear I'd felt for what seemed like hours, slowly left my body.

A noise in the doorway made me look up.

"Are you okay Carrie?" my oldest brother asked. Considering he'd just shot three men, he didn't look any different. His designer suit was still immaculate - unblemished, unwrinkled. Not a single hair on his head was out of place. No blood splattered his shoes. He didn't seem at all bothered by what he'd just done. A chill went down my spine, but I nodded at his question.

"Answer properly," Jack whispered in my ear, poking me gently.

"Yes, I'm okay."

"Good." Damon looked me up and down, as though I was the one who had just committed murder in a public parking lot. He stretched out his hand to me. "Come with me," he ordered. "You're in quite a lot of trouble, little girl."