V is for Violet (COMPLETE)

Chapter Three- And to Think I Was Going to Take Her Home

Vitale

I waited back behind the door leading into the room the shots had come from. My Crew had gone in, as well as Romano, the Boss. I was ordered by Romano to stay back and be backup in case the intruder broke through the doors, but I was on edge with the command; I should've been in that room with my Crew, fending off the intruder. I needed to protect the Family just as much as anyone else.

And so I stood, holding my gun towards the door, and listened. I heard Bill speaking, but I couldn't make out what he was saying. I heard one of my soldiers speak, and then Romano. And then I heard... a girl? What would a woman be doing in there, unless she was miraculously the only intruder? I waited, and I heard the girl say something else, and then, without warning, a gun went off.

I readied myself to bust in, even though I was supposed to hang back, but there were no other shots after that one. I heard my men ordering someone to drop their gun, and then the doors opened to reveal Romano.

"I don't have time for this sh*t," he said, shoving past me without explanation. I watched him storm off for a moment before I turned around to see what was going down. I pushed the door back open.

And I froze.

Before me, two of my men had none other than Violet, the pretty little art student I'd danced with just hours ago, by her arms as they drug her along. She wasn't resisting their pull, but she didn't seem to be completely there, as if her mind was somewhere else, unreachable by anyone but her.

"Where are you taking her?" I asked as soon as I could form words. And to think, I was about to sweep her off her feet and take her to a hotel for a roll in the sheets.

"Boss says basement," one of the men dragging her answered. "He wants you there."

I nodded slowly, and watched as Violet was pulled around the corner. When she was out of sight, I turned back to the door they'd come out of and walked into the room where everything had just gone down.

The first thing I saw were my men, crouched down and attempting to lift something. It took me a couple of seconds to realize that thing was Bill. They hoisted him off of the ground and his head drooped back, pouring out blood from the bullet hole going straight through his skull. The old bastard couldn't elude death forever.

"Any other casualties?" I asked as the two lifting Bill's dead body passed me by.

"No," one said.

"She just tranquilized the other two," the other man added. I frowned as I let this information sink in. Why would a quiet little art student attack a mafia warehouse and only kill one man? One man that wasn't even a part of the Family, at that...

I suppose I'd find out when I joined Romano and the others in the basement. Before I headed down, I quickly checked on the two men Violet had tranquilized. They were just coming to, and mentioned extreme headaches, but they were otherwise completely fine.

My men and I checked the side of the warehouse for any possible co-conspirators that might be waiting to attack, but when we found nothing other than a pile of smashed plastic, I resigned to heading to the basement. Maybe it was because I'd been hitting on her just hours before, or maybe it was because of the look on her face when my men dragged her away, but for whatever reason, I was oddly hesitant to go downstairs and watch the inevitable questioning of Violet. I didn't doubt that there would be violence involved, but that didn't matter, I suppose. She had broken into our warehouse, and posed a potential threat to the Family, and so she would be interrogated. It was as simple as that.

I heard Romano already speaking when I reached the basement door. He sounded frustrated, which was never a good sign. Pushing the door slowly, I cautiously entered the room.