One Of The Best Lessons In Life, Is Learning How To Remain Calm
The bullet hit its mark.
The man's dull eyes rolled into the back off his head before he fell face forward onto the ground.
Using the stunned silence of the other two I quickly crawled backwards getting out through the passenger side window. My hands grazed the glass lying on the roof of the car and ground as I stood but I didn't have time to think about it.
The second my feet hit the ground and I was able to stand, I sprinted.
There was no need to look back, I knew the men would follow me as I headed towards the port.
They would be expecting me to run away, not to run towards the danger.
Time though, was on my side. It was only going to be a matter of time before River and Ezra got here. That crash had only made the seconds tick by quicker.
The only real problem was that I no longer had Zoe to be my eyes. I knew there was Enzo and his men were down there but I had no idea of their set up or where my sister was.
The more I thought about the fact they had my sister the more my anger raised it's ugly head.
But there was a way I could get information.
Stopping I turned around on my heel, coming face to face with the two men that were left. They stopped a few feet away from me their breathing coming out in pants as they tried to catch their breath.
Raising my hand I pointed the gun at the man closest to me. He didn't even flinch as he looked between the gun and me.
"Tell me where my sister is, now." My teeth were gritted as it took everything in me to keep my anger in check.
My chest was rising and falling but that had nothing to do with what I had just went through. I was trying to keep calm, my body was alight with anger. The more I thought about my sister in the situation she was in, the more I couldn't help but let my mind overthink.
My quickly glanced over the men. They were nothing special, simple features that would blend into a crowd. It was probably why they were so good at what they did and Enzo probably looked for men for just that reason.
People who could blend into a crowed are far more dangerous than those that stood out from it.
What I did notice though was a wedding ring on one of them, and a tattoo of a name that ran along the inside of the arm of the other.
They had family, or at least someone important to them.
I could use that.
The same way they wanted to use my own family against us.
As I stood looking at them I realised my body wasn't as ok as I had first thought. My hand that held the gun was shaking and I could've sworn that every now and again there was four of them. My eyes wouldn't focus and I rubbed my hand over my eyes trying to clear them.
Instead, all I did was rub more blood across my hand. My heartbeat sped up at the sight of it. There was no way I would be standing much longer if I was losing this much blood.
I needed to make this quick.
Firing my gun the man moved out of the way but there wasn't much need to, my aim was off. He must have noticed my struggle to keep a clear head because he grinned as he looked me up and down.
"Not so brave now are you?" There was a chuckle in his voice and I narrowed my eyes dangerously but it was no use. I couldn't see or think straight and my head was starting the throb.
As the both of them took a step towards me two gun shots sounded.
Confusion took over my face. I knew they hadn't fired and it definitely wasn't me.
The men dropped to the ground just as I looked back up at them only to see River standing there in the background.
His eyes connected with mine and there was so many emotions running through them. From rage all the way to relief. Giving him a small grin I fell to my knees when a coughing fit took over my body once more.
"Shit, Kennedy." Spoke River as he fell to his knees beside me pulling me up to look at him.
His emerald green eyes clashed with my own cloud grey ones. River's hand reached up to my head and he took a good look at the mess that clearly rested there.
"Come on Rivvy, break the news to me. Is my hair still on my head? I don't think I would suit being bald."
River let out a scoff as he stood up pulling me with him. "It looks worse than what it is. You've lost a hell of a lot of blood by the looks of it but it's just a surface wound."
This time I scoffed and my eyes almost rolled to the back of my head in dizziness. "Tell that to my body, I feel like I got hit by a truck."
"You basically did."
He was right of course but that was a different conversation all together.
"Where's Ezra?" I asked glancing around not seeing the slightly older Knight brother. "Or has my eyesight gone completely now."
"Went to the port. Dad and Damon are making their way there with some of the other men. Ezra is away down to see what the layout is like before they get here. Though I'm pretty sure Zoe has been in my dads ear telling him everything he needs to know anyway."
Suddenly everything came rushing back to me and I went to take a step forward but River's grip on my arm stopped me.
"Where are you going?" He asked with a raised eyebrow already knowing what the answer will be.
"Down there. That dick has my sister and he's going to regret it."
"And he will." Agreed River but his grip didn't loosen on me. "But you're in no shape to fight this fight. Just the other day you were jumped and now you were almost killed in a crash."
There was a bite in his tone that River had never had with me before and it made me stop my struggle.
"But-"
"No." That one simple word from him made me stop altogether. His eyes narrowed at me in a way I never thought was possible. "I'll always have your back Kennedy, but you need to stop and think. This isn't school where your actions get cheers from the crowed. Your actions out here could get you killed, so you need to stop and think."
Everything in me told me to argue but I knew deep down her was right. I was acting like a child who wanted to do things her way. I wasn't thinking what could happen to me or others around me.
River's eyes softened when he must have seen the realisation cross my features. Slowly his grip loosened on me before it completely dropped. He was given me space to process his words and my thoughts.
"I get that you don't want to be like your parents, trust me I do. It's hard being compared to them and even if you haven't noticed it yourself I've noticed that you've been trying to do things the way they wouldn't." He sighed and ran his hand through his hair in frustration. "You're smart Kennedy, probably the smartest person I know. But, you have this thing where you completely ignore that side of you because you're always comparing yourself to your mom and Reagan."
"No, I don't." But there was no fight in my voice and River grinned at my response making me shove him back. "Well, not all the time anyway."
His words made me think back to when I talked with mum, a chess board between us and nothing but questions that I could only understand. She was testing me, the same way she had tested Reagan and I was the only one to get them right.
So why is it, that I look up to my mom but when it came down to a fight I couldn't keep a straight head.
My emotions overrule everything.
The pain in my body was long gone as my mind ran around in circles trying to work out why I do what I do.
It was simple really.
I'm scared.
Scared of not being able to live up to the standards being set for me.
Not being able to survive in this world like my parents.
Not being able to make a name for myself and just become another face in the crowd.
There was so many reasons why I let fear overcome my emotions but it was something that I knew I could conquer.
Taking a deep breath I calmed my racing heart. River give me a slight nod letting me know that he was still here for me. He would always tell me the truth even if it was something I didn't want to hear in the first place.
"Let's get you home and checked out." Remarked River when I finally snapped my eyes to look at them.
"No." I stood straighter and there was a determination in my body that I had never felt before as my mind started to race.
It was racing with ideas as I thought back to the port. I knew that port more than I had first thought and I let my mind wander to all the times I had been down there.
It used to be one of the bases of my dads shipments but it was clear that the Italians had taken it over.
Or maybe they hadn't taken over at all, maybe mom was only given them what she allowed them to have.
Mom wouldn't have let them stay if she thought they brought a risk to this City and it was clear she knew about them being there. She had said just as much.
Which meant mom had eyes on the port one way or another and it wasn't just through Zoe.
Turning around to face the port my eyes narrowed in thought as I took it in from a distance.
Watching it from afar wasn't my moms style and it wouldn't give her the information that she was infamous for gathering. She would have eyes on the inside, which meant some of the men down there were secretly working for my mom.
The Italian's don't trust anyone outside of their own circle and it was hard to get in. Between the information in my dads office and the folder Reagan had given me I had information on just about everyone that was apart of them.
Which meant mom was using something against them. They weren't our men who had somehow gained access to the Italian's. No they were men that my mom had gotten something over. She was controlling them in a way that only she could do.
Then I thought about what Mom had said.
"Do you know what's my favourite piece?" This time moms question was a rhetorical one so I shook my head and she went on. "The pawn."
Then it all clicked.
A pawn was moms favourite piece because they were the people that she used to get what she wanted and needed. She was using them and she didn't have to sacrifice any of her own to get the information she wanted.
They were the pawns in my moms own game.
And now they were about to become mine.
"Where's Ezra?"
There was a new determination in my voice and I knew what I needed to do. I couldn't fight these battles the same way I had in school. I couldn't be reckless and I couldn't expect people to follow behind me and fix all my problems. I needed to stop avoiding who I really was and start playing this game the way it needed to be played.
If my mom was the one that made the rules then I needed to start playing this game the way she would.
River sighed but there was a small grin on his face as he closed his eyes and shook his head. When he finally looked at me once more there was something dancing in his eyes that told he knew what was about to happen.
"You finally going to play this game the way it needs to be played?"
The smile that crossed my face was a dangerous one. It was a promise that I knew it was time for me to grow up and that if I wanted to win in this world I was going to have to be smart.
Very smart.
There was far more to this world than just being ruthless and ruthlessness was something that I had plenty of. I had no issues with doing what needed to be done. I've tricked, I've tortured and I've murdered. Ruthlessness wasn't enough if I wanted to be number one in this world.
The trick was to get inside your enemies head and it was something my parents were very good at doing.
Something that I would too, become a master off.
"Let's go." Turning on my heel I started to make my way once again towards the port but this time with a clear mind. I knew what I needed to do but first I needed to see for myself what was going on down there. "We need to get on top of the containers I want to see what they are actually up to. Mom has let them get comfortable for a reason. She has given them an inch to see what they would do with it and now they are starting to make their move. This is what she has been waiting for."
River followed behind me keeping his eyes peeled for anything that could jump out at us. I didn't expect anyone else. If they thought something was wrong they would've came up here by now but there was nothing but silence. Those men must have told them it was delt with the second their car had crashed into mine.
That was there mistake, because they were right.
A Kennedy was hard to kill.
Soon enough we reached the back of the port where the containers ended. Pallets were dumped around the side of one of them giving us the foothold we needed to get on top of it. River climbed it first and then leaned over the edge to help me up. I let a hiss of pain out but did my best to cover it.
"You sure you're ok?" Asked River with a concerned look his hand still on my waist with where he had helped to steady me on my feet when I reached the top. My body was now coming awake for a completely different reason.
"I'm fine." I commented through a cough and it had nothing to do with the trauma my body has went through in the last fifteen minutes.
Quickly but as quietly as possible we started to sneak closer to where we knew the action was happening. Soon we crossed paths with Ezra who was lying flat against the container as he looked over the edge. Slowly we approached him and he brought his finger to his lips, telling us to keep quiet.
Lying beside him and River on the other side I was quick to spot what he was watching.
A yacht.
People were coming in and out of it talking amongst each other. They were clearly getting ready to leave and I would bet any money that my sister was on that boat.
My body reacted before my mind did but Ezra placed a hand on my forearm stopping me from getting up. He was right of course and I knew I needed to think about what to do next. It was just hard sometimes to go against your natural instincts when you've been doing someone a curtain way for a while.
Ezra didn't comment on my movement as he leaned over to his brother. "Dad's ten minutes away."
"We don't have ten minutes by the looks of it." River's jaw was clenched as he eyed the boat. His mind had clearly came to the same conclusion mine had. Ezra nodded with him agreement and the two brothers shared a look that only they understood.
I on the other hand started to think. There was no way we could take on that many of them by ourselves. Even if I wasn't injured and we were all more prepared we were still vastly outnumbered.
Looking around me I noticed one of the containers a few over from our had pallets sitting on top of it.
A distraction, but how could we take full advantage of the distraction. One of us needed to get on the yacht to get Emilia but at the same time be able to get off without being caught.
Or at least come back still alive with Emilia in hand.
This time my eyes went back down to the men and I quickly spotted the car that Zoe had told me about before we got cut off from each other. Zoe of course was right it was a Ferrari but completely custom made. In fact I wasn't even sure anymore what style it was meant to be. It was clearly well looked after, more so than that one that I had gotten not that long ago from Enzo.
Then I seen him and I wasn't the only one, River's eyes must have fell on him the same time mine did. The whole atmosphere changed amongst the three of us and Ezra was the first to notice.
"What's wrong with you?" Asked Ezra with a raised eyebrow at his younger brother. Ezra was the kind of guy that lover the first sign of trouble. He would always start shit and then sit back and watch the show as everything exploded around him.
He was a master of manipulating the situation around him and his favourite people to work his magic on was his brothers.
For some reason, something told me Ezra pushing River's buttons wasn't a good idea right now when it came to Enzo. So I quickly answer before River got the chance too.
"That there, is Enzo Giudice." I whispered pointing down at the tall man that stood between two other men. His suit was clearly fitted just for him and I couldn't help but admit that he was handsome even from this distance. He ran his hand through his hair, looking clearly annoyed about something.
Good, because I was about to make his life a whole lot worse.
Ezra scoffed back a laugh. "Where did they find him? He looks-"
A single footstep was heard and all three of us snapped around to look at the person behind us.
They wore a black hoody with the hood up covering their face, but even from here I could tell who it was. I'd never forget that long wavy hair and small stature.
"Isabella."
"You mean the girl that punched River here, in the face?" Ezra didn't even bother to cover up his low laughter as he looked between River and Isabella. Even I had to cough to cover up the laugh that threatened to raise its head.
Isabella tilted her head as she looked at the three of us.
She was definitely judging us right now.
Hell, I was judging us right now.
"Sweetheart, I have to give it to you not many people can get one up on River here. Well done." Commented Ezra when he finally calmed down. I didn't miss how he looked Isabella up and down with a look I knew all to well coming from River. He was checking her out, eyeing up the person that stood in front of him and I couldn't help but roll my eyes.
These Knight brothers were all the same. They were attracted to the girls that couldn't literally kick their asses.
"I think that's the last thing we should be talking about right now." Growled out River, reminding me and Ezra what the situation was like in front of us.
This girl knew what she was doing and she had clearly caught us spying on her brother.
This was going to go only one of two ways.
If there was ever a time to think about how to get out of something now would be the time.