Queen of the Underworld

66

And when Nick came, trying to do the same, I lost it.

I shook my head as I took several steps back. "No," I held up a hand and pushed him away. "Not you. Listen to me Nicolas Alfonsi, you say goodbye to me and I swear I'll break up with you."

He smiled at me and grabbed the hand I was holding up, using it to pull me close to him. "I love you," he said to me, his lips so close I could feel them move as he spoke. My eyes closed instinctively.

He kissed me then, softly and slowly. I let myself be entranced in his taste until I realized this felt suspiciously like a goodbye kiss. I pulled away faster than you can say 'see ya'.

He frowned and tried to kiss me again, but I dodged him. "You can kiss me when we see each other at the airport. We will see each other at the airport. You can kiss me then."

He smiled, that amused smile that looked like he had no idea what to do with me. I love that smile as much as I love him. "I love you," he said again. He looked at me, love and adoration in his eyes.

I smiled at him and kissed him on the cheek. "I'll say it back when we see each other again. See you in a little while, Nicolas Alfonsi."

"See you in a while, Anastasia Bianchi."

The car was silent, everyone too immersed in their own thoughts to break the ice. Kiara had come with me in the same car as Armando and Elijah. The three of us were good when it came to defending ourselves, she wasn't. Putting her with me was a risk, but a safety net for her at the same time. At least that's what Lorenzo said through the phone to Elijah.

We had been riding for fifteen minutes. There was one backup car behind us, riding not too far behind. I haven't seen any of the cars with the others. The routes were supposed to have at least half a mile of distance from one another.

I nearly fell asleep on the way there, but when the car screeched to a stop, any sleep left me.

"Leo? Leo, do you copy?" Elijah was speaking into the earpiece he had. Every guard in every car had one.

Leo didn't answer.

"Nathaniel?"

Him either.

"Bart?"

Nothing.

"Ricardo? Ricardo, answer."

Elijah banged his hand against the steering wheel and cursed. "None of them are answering," he said to Armando.

"What's going on?" Kiara asked.

Elijah looked at me through the rearview mirror and looked away just as fast.

"Boss doesn't answer the phone either," Armando responded.

I've learned to notice that when the word "boss" is used to refer to my dad, the situation is always dire.

"We should turn around," Elijah whispered.

Armando shook his head, "let's keep going. We have to get them to that plane. Come on."

Huffing, Elijah checked his phone once more.

"Look out!" Kiara screamed.

A bullet pierced through the windshield, little glass bits exploding everywhere. I felt one on my face and a few more on my chest. Then, something bigger followed it. The loudness of the bang wasn't enough to remove the sudden paralysis I was in. By the time I realized, it was too late.

The gas was already spreading fast.

I counted thirty seconds before everything turned to black.