Passion.

Chapter Thirty Six

"Roan! NO!" I scream.
Seven Hours Earlier...
After our date, Roan and I went back to the hotel. I decided to stay in a different room than him and David. I wanted more privacy. Even if that meant having two security guards outside my door while I slept through the night. Now I'm getting ready to meet David and Roan for breakfast, thinking about all the bad things that can come up from our plan making. We have to discuss where we're going to go, how we're going to stay safe from the madness. I know David and Roan are powerful, dangerous, and respected. But I don't think they've ever experienced something like this before. They are no longer protecting themselves, they're protecting me. I'm perfectly capable of handling myself, but I'm scared. I'm terrified. Terrified of what will happen to either one of them in the case that they sacrifice themselves for me. I'm terrified of dying. The worst thing of all, is if it comes down to it, I'd rather die than let any one I love die. I haven't been able to save my family or friends from their death, and if I get that chance, best believe I'm going to take it. I take a deep breath and walk downstairs into the dining area. I see David and Roan dressed in suits, per usual. Seems like it's no longer casual around here. "Hello boys." I grin and sit down. "Hello." They each say, way too seriously. Before the conversation begins, I shove a piece of bacon into my mouth. Bacon will get me through this. "So, what are we discussing here today?" I ask, taking another bite. "First off, we're going to sell the house." "What?! That's absurd! That mansion is ridiculously beautiful." I nearly yell. It is. Their mansion is something so beautiful and rustic, that I can't capture the essence of it with a few words. It's modern and not over the top, but still accompanied by over ten bedrooms. I can't imagine why they'd be selling it. "We need to sell it, to get rid of it. Of course whoever buys it will be in for a rude awakening when mafia men knock on their door, but that's not our problem." David explains. "And once we find a buyer, we're moving to Italy." Roan smiles. "Italy!" I scream. "We're, we're moving to Italy? Fricking Italy! It's so beautiful there." I cry. Yup, I'm crying. I'm crying because finally, well maybe, just maybe, we could get away from all this. We could live in peace and not fear. We could just be happy. "And when we do move there, you'll still have to choose between us. But it's safe for all of us. While we'll still have a duty as mafia men, we just won't be on the front lines of the business anymore." David says. Picturing Roan or David moving on and finding some beautiful Italian goddess to marry, ruins my excitement. "Like I said, I'm not choosing. But, I will happily move to Italy with the both of you." I smile. "Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but we won't be seeing that idea through any time soon. We still have work to get done, and the only place we'll be living for the next couple of months is this hotel. It's the only safe place, well no place is really safe, but it's good enough. As for this minute, as soon as you finish your breakfast, we have a stop to make." Roan says. So this isn't over yet. A part of me wonders, will it ever really be? We finish our breakfast and I wonder where we will be going. Neither Roan nor David tells me, and I'm stuck in the backseat of a car. "Come on! Tell me already." I beg. "It's a surprise. Something good, I promise." David says. We drive for an hour or two and finally we make it. "You can get out now, you know where you are. We'll pick you up in an hour." Truthfully, I don't know where I am because the windows are extremely tinted.  But when I step out and wave them goodbye, I see the house. The house my childhood revolved around. The tiny, two bedroom house that I adored. The house that felt like more of a home to me than Alexis Stone's mansion ever did. Aunt Ava's house. I run up and knock on the white door. She answers and I yell. "Oh my gosh!" and nearly squeeze her to death. "It's really you." She smiles. She's not old, but even at her tender age of fifty eight, she looks amazing. We hadn't seen each other in forever. My mother disowned her sister once she married a rich man. But I always snuck away to Aunt Ava's house, even if that meant stealing my dads car. Usually dad would voluntarily drive there, but when I was sixteen and lonely, I decided to drive myself. "Come in, come in." She gestures and I sit down at the kitchen table. It's just as I had remembered. Nothing has changed, and that makes me so happy. "Do you want a cup of coffee?" She asks. "Yes. That sounds lovely." I smile. "Wow, it's been what? Five years?" She asks. "Seven actually." I say, shocked at how long it's actually been. The years have passed by so fast yet so slow. "How is your mother?" She asks. Oh. She doesn't know. This is going to hurt. "She Um, she passed away." I relay the sad news. She doesn't cry. She doesn't break down. She takes a deep breath and calms her panic. "That's devastating. I wish I could've attended her funeral. How did she die?" I'm not about to tell her she had no funeral, and I'm definitely not going to tell her that her sister killed herself. That would break her. "A tragic car accident. It all happened so suddenly, but the man behind it is in jail now." I lie. One white lie can save her from an endless amount of unnecessary heartbreak. Besides, her sister treated her poorly all her life. "Wow that's horrible, how are you coping with it?" She asks, concerned. "I'm doing okay Aunt Ava. I really am." I lie about that too. Only this time I'm half lying. I am doing okay. Not always, though. "There's something so different about you. Have you blossomed into a woman yet?" She asks. Oh that's such an Aunt Ava question. "If you mean have I lost my virginity, yes, yes I have." I laugh. If only she knew the kinky adventures I've been on. "Was it good?" She whispers, as if there's anyone around to hear us. "Extraordinary." I emphasize. "Good!" She cracks up. "After your father died, I tried to contact you. But your mother had just made it so difficult..." I cut her off. "There is no reason to feel ashamed on my mother's behalf. I'm glad we're here now, discussing and enjoying coffee together." I smile. "So who is the lucky man you're seeing?" "How did you know I was seeing someone?" I ask. "I had an inkling." She winks. "Well. There isn't just someone. There's multiple men." She gasps. "Multiple? Oh honey, tell me all about it!" And I do. I don't give away every detail of my sex life, or the little fact that they're in the Mafia, but I explain how I've fallen completely in love with two men. I also tell her how they've given me a propaganda to choose between them. "Being in love, and feeling love for someone are two different things. You may be in love with one, while still loving the other. One woman is not capable of loving two men with all her heart. You have to devote yourself to one of them entirely. It's just up to you to realize who that person is." She advises. It's always been so easy to talk to her. She is gentle and loving, but sassy and witty. She is more a mother figure to me than my own mother ever was. "You're right. I'll let you know who I turn out with." I smile. But even though her advice was very good and detailed, I still have no clue who I love or don't love, more. Only time will tell. I feel a buzzing in my back pocket and answer my phone. "Hello?" I'm being called from an unknown number. "Meet me at The Smith's house. I have your men." I hear. It's Michael. There is only one person who sounds that vicious yet snarky at the same time. He has my men? That means he kidnapped Roan and David. But neither Roan nor David can harm him. It's Mafia Rule. But I can. "I have to go. Something urgent came up. I will come back soon! It's been nice seeing you." I give my aunt a swift hug and run out the door. Fuck. I don't have a car. I run back to her house and pound on the door. "Give me your keys. I'll return your car tomorrow, I promise!" She sees that it is an emergency. I eagerly get into the car and drive as fast as I can. I don't care if I have to murder a cop on my way there. Carrying a gun has become something I don't even think about anymore. It's necessary. Hours. It takes hours to get to The Smiths house. Finally, I'm here. I park, running out and into the house. I don't see any one. There's no one here. Just as I'm about to walk out, I hear a "Yoo-hoo!" From upstairs. I walk upstairs and again no ones there. It's just a video recording. What the fuck is happening? At last, I see Michael's smug face from downstairs. "Michael Richardson." I walk down the stairs. "In the flesh." He wickedly smiles. I want to murder him right here and now, but the gun in his front pocket and knife he's holding has an advantage over me. "So? Have you figured it out yet?" "Figured out what?" I yell. "Well, I have lured you here to kill you." "You can't. Roan and David made a deal." "You think I follow rules? I don't give a fuck about a deal!" He shoots the corner beside me and I yelp. I'm scared. For the first time in a long time, I actually have no back up plan. I have no way out of this. My men aren't here to save me. "You don't have to do this. I'm not one of them, I didn't choose this life." I plead, asking for an evil man to not commit himself to his evil intentions. "Stop whining. You sound pathetic. This life was chosen for you, so now you will die. Just like the rest of them." I hear the doors open and Roan and David burst through. Thank God. I wasn't getting out of that one. "We can't kill you. But we certainly can hurt you." David says and pounces on Michael. He stabs him repeatedly, but only in tissue areas, this way he really won't die. They're taking this deal very seriously. Michael laughs. Through being stabbed, he laughs. "You think I won't kill her? Or your son? Or Reggie? I killed Sal. I will murder every single person you love Roan Smith." Terror, pain, and rage flashes across Roan's face. He loses it. He runs over and pushes David off of him, knocking David to the ground. He picks up Michael from the floor and puts his arm around his neck. Nearly choking him to death. "There is no deal anymore!" He screams.
Now.
"Roan! NO!" I scream. He can't do this. He'll be killed. Reggie, along with whoever else will come after him. There's danger in his eyes, and he no longer cares. He unlocks his arms from Michael's neck, puts one hand around the back of his head, and one hand around the front. "Bye bye." Roan says and snaps Michael's neck. The cracking noise runs through me like nails on a chalkboard. Michael collapses to the floor and is instantly dead. Roan smiles. A revengeful, ferocious, smile. David is in shock. He's so mad he nearly looks like he wants to kill Roan. "You've just started a war."