Royal Pain

37

The astonished look was comedic gold, really. If only I had a camera and useable hands.

"You know, as much as I hate the idea of little humans that are half Raya and half Vitale running around, I can't say I'm not excited to be an uncle! How cool will that be? I'll be the cool uncle, who tells them stories about all the badass stuff I do!" A very familiar voice interrupted whatever my father was about to say and I've never been more elated to hear it.

"What badass stuff do you do? Make PBJ in the middle of the night and not wash the dishes? C'mon, I'm going to be the badass uncle," Ian's voice counteracted Kyle as they finally stepped into the light, and immediate relief washed through my body at the sight of them.

In no time Giovanni was stood behind me, an arm around my throat with his gun pressed firmly against my temple. My relief soon turned into terror as I heard the irreplaceable sound of the safety click off.

"Make any move closer and she's dead." Giovanni's tone was even and composed, only making me that much more terrified.

"You wouldn't," Ian shrugged, glancing down to his own gun which was held firmly in his hand. I swear, this is the only time that I enjoy his arrogance, but only to an extent since my life is pretty much on the line at the moment. "Your goal is to threaten Vitale to not come after you, but if you eliminate the kings' queen, then really the king will just come after you until you're no longer a problem. While I don't believe that you're a very intelligent being, I do believe that you at least grasp that simple concept."

My father stood between us and Kyle and Ian, a torn expression on his face. I watched him closely as the three exchanged, trying to calm the anxiety that was overwhelming my every sense.

"Just let her go, Giovanni," my father commented, finally adding to the discussion about my life that was currently very on the line. "You promised you wouldn't touch them if I became apart of your group, and I've done that, for nearly two full years, I've done exactly what you've asked of me and abandoned my family in a different country. Let her go and I will continue to work for you and Raya will go back to North Castle with her mother."

Giovanni scoffed loudly. "Its not Raya I'm worried about, its her boy toy that is more so the issue here. If I let Raya go then I'm soft, Vitale will come after me until he succeeds and I can't allow that to happen."

"Let her go or I'm going to shoot you straight through the heart right now." A new voice entered the conversation, and I whipped my head over to find Vitale standing with Kyle and Ian now.

My heart nearly jumped out of my chest at the sight of him. His hair was disheveled, the bags under his eyes were dark and a very obvious sign that he hadn't slept much. I couldn't help but feel guilty for his distraught appearance.

When my eyes locked with his green ones, I quickly realized he wasn't very happy with me. I could feel the anger radiating off of him from here and I know it isn't entirely directed towards Giovanni but also me for making a rash and impulsive decision.

"You see, I would believe you but theres no way for you to do so without shooting little miss Raya here first, since my heart is very carefully placed behind her head. So, a little dilemma we seem to have here, huh?"

Vitale clicked off the safety of his gun, aiming it directly at Giovanni's head as he squinted an eye to get a more accurate shot. The thought of Giovanni getting shot above me was enough to send me into a frenzy but I closed my eyes and attempted to regulate my breathing.

"Dilemma solved," his voice rasped, and I nearly chuckled aloud at his words.

"Say I do let the girl go, Bianchi. What then? You hunt me down and terminate me when she's safe and tucked into bed back home?" Giovanni asked, dragging the gun down the length of my face, digging it harder than necessary.