The Dancer and the Don | ✔️

Chapter 20

Every single time I try to plan out this story, the characters just take it a completely different direction...I have no control whatsoever. though this continues to happen, I'm happy with what I'm writing and I'm going to stop planning ahead. we'll see what happens!

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Francesca had only ever experienced fear like this once in her life, and it had been when the shots rang out during her performance.

Nathan was shouting orders to Maran but his words were muffled. Fran was trying not to let her anxiety attack take over her, but so far it wasn't working. She needed to be brave. She could do this.

"Nathan?" She asked tentatively. His head snapped towards her and once again looked her over for injuries. Maran kept his eyes trained on the door.

"Mrs. Romano, we have to go," Nathan said quietly. There hadn't been a single noise since the explosion, but it didn't make her feel better. They were probably making their way to the front door now.

"Where can we hide? The house is big, but there's nowhere to go," she insisted. Maran chuckled and backed towards the duo with his gun still poised.

"Boss wouldn't be our boss if he didn't have multiple back-up plans. You two head to the second floor entrance, I'll stay in the security room and keep you updated," Maran suggested. Fran gulped nervously and kept her mouth shut. Nathan didn't.

"That would be stupid," he barked, "just come with us!"

Another explosion blasted outside, shattering a couple of the house's windows. Tears filled Fran's eyes at the sight of her home being destroyed, but refused to let them fall. She was stronger than this.

They could buy a new house, but they couldn't buy a new life.

"I'll be fine, Nate, just head out. I'll see you guys on the other side." Fran decided Maran was either a true hero, or didn't value his life much. Apparently they weren't going to stick around to find out.

"Fine, asshole, as long as you promise to stay alive," Nathan warned. Maran chuckled and nodded in return. Nathan grabbed Fran's arm and pulled her up the stairs he had just jumped down minutes ago. They rushed to their bedroom and Fran couldn't help but look and feel extremely confused when they entered her ensuite.

Nathan pushed her towards the toilet and told her to crouch down before moving back towards the door. He shut and locked it before turning towards her large bathtub.

"What are you doing?" She asked quietly. He didn't answer and she took that as a sign to be quiet. After moving a few things around he pressed his finger to one of the dings on the inside of the bathtub. A few seconds passed before one of her mirrors began to slide into the countertop.

"What?" She questioned. Tony had told her one of the construction workers had banged something into the bathtub to create that small little crater. It was yet another thing he had lied about, but she wasn't mad at all this time.

Nathan jumped to his feet and pressed his hand against the blank wall. First a fingerprint scanner, now a hand scanner? She watched as some lights flickered out from the wall but still couldn't figure out where they were coming from. The lights moved from the bottom of his face to the top, and she really wondered how she'd never noticed any of this.

"Alright, let's go," Nathan's voice snapped Fran out of her thoughts and she noticed the cabinet under her sink had opened up into a small tunnel. What the hell? Where did her hand towels and bath bombs go?