I was fucking done with that piece of shit.
Also known as my brother.
Coming here was a bad idea. I've told this a million times to Salvo but he wouldn't get it through his thick skull. And ended up dragging me out to here. Father would murder us if he found out we were here at a damned street race match out of our territory. He allowed all of us Romero brothers to go to street races or us racing ourselves and didn't think twice of it as long it was within his mafia territory where we had power and serenity.
Sure, some of us sneaked out time from time to some matches out of our territories before. A few of these times we were caught by our father and got our asses in deep shit. But we've managed to convince him it wasn't big deal although I'd admit it was stupid and reckless.
But this? A race settled in Russian territory. Our fucking biggest enemy who would give us no mercy if they got their filthy hands on us. This was the next whole level of stupid.
I've refused to go when Salvo asked to go at first but he threatened to go here alone. So being the good brother I am, I went with him.
The thing is that I didn't know where we were going and assumed we were going a minimum of one hour outside the territory.
I've fallen asleep while Salvo drove us and woke up only to find out he had driven us five goddamn hours outside of the territory. And worst, basically under the Russians' mercy.
Now I'm here feeling uneasy and uncomfortable, around enemies and worst - hundreds of people. And it was too fucking loud here.
I hated humans.
I preferred my devices, computer, and the silence in my room. The only times I didn't mind the presence another than my family is people were doomed to die by my hands.
I glanced at Salvo and he was surrounded by a few Russian girls one of them looked like she was eating his face off. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes and kept my infamous Romero cold mask on. Of course, he didn't come to watch the Ghost "fucking greatest driver in the Underground ever" as Salvo had claimed but rather to see, or I should say fuck, some Russian girls.
And I was supposed to be the brains of the family.
Being a top hacker of the Italian Mafia and all, I was supposed to be smarter than be deceived by the dumbest brother in the family.
Fucking awesome.
In the crowd of people, I spotted a girl next to her mother with a gleeful expression on her face who was no more than four years old. My breathing hitched.
The girl had light dirty blond hair just past her shoulders just like her. She had a flower tucked behind her ear like she used to.
The resemblance ended there but it still made me think of her. My little sister who I loved so dearly. Ariana Romero. The people knew her as the Lost Mafia Princess.
Taken by her mother at four years old for her safety. Only to never be seen again.
I could still remember her toothy giggles and her adorable dimples like yesterday. How she would beg me to cuddle with her as we binged shows together. It always annoyed me that she chose these stupid cheesy kids' shows but I could never resist her in the end. Each morning I woke up back then, the thing I was looking forward to was seeing her.
I had no idea how much I took it for granted until one day she was suddenly just gone.
We still didn't know Ariana's fate. If she was happy. If she was safe. If she's even alive. That was the worst thing ever.
She would be fourteen in two weeks.
The family fell apart when she disappeared. It affected all of us and everyone changed. We never had been the same ever since. We smiled and laughed far less now than we had when Ariana was with us.
Now, ten years since we all last seen the youngest Romero, it was more likely she had forgotten us and that we would never see her again. But I knew there was a glimmer of hope in all of us that we would see her at least one more time.
Cata was smart and knew her ex-husband well enough to stay hidden even with the whole underground world looking out for her. We all hated her for abandoning her kids and taking our little sister away from us. However, in all of this mess, we found solace in the fact Cata loved and doted on Aria even when she neglected all of her sons when we were younger. She would do anything in her power to keep her daughter safe and happy.
It was our only source of comfort.
We never mention her name out loud nowadays. Everyone walked on eggshells on anything that might remind them of Ariana.
We didn't want to remember because it hurt too much remember yet we cling to the memories of her because it was too precious to forget.
My personal phone vibrated in the back of my jeans, crashing my train of thoughts of my long-lost little sister.
Fuck. I knew what it meant. Only my family had the number of my personal phone. Someone knew we weren't at home. I only hoped it wasn't either Father or the oldest three brothers or we were so dead. I took it out and glanced at it.
Apollo, my youngest brother. I exhaled in relief. He was the less likely to report on us. He was the most laid back and playful
I clicked the text open and my heart dropped.
Apollo
father knows. he said to come home rn.
you're so dead lmao
Fuck! I should've said fuck you to Salvo. I should've had not fallen asleep in the car. No, fuck it all, I should just have stayed in the bed this morning!
And stayed in bed all day.
Either Ace or Alex must have told Apollo to text me to play around with my feelings. Apollo never texted me to inform me like this. My jaw clenched.
Noah
omw
I shoved my phone back down my jeans.
Too worked up to keep up my mask, I let out a huff and stormed toward Salvo. This piece of shit got me into this shit. Although I was happy we were leaving, even though I would never admit it. I was beginning to have a bad feeling about here.
You're being too paranoid, Noah. I told myself.
I grabbed Salvo who was about to shove his hand down into a girl's mini shorts. His muscles tensed, his hands going to his hips where his gun was hidden underneath the shirt but relaxed as soon he saw me. At least this dumbass had the common sense to be on guard.
"Hey!" Salvo shouted while I dragged him towards the underground parking where our car was at. "I was about to get laid before you ruined it, bro! Let me go."
"Father knows," I grumbled. He stopped resisting me instantly and I let him go. He was probably letting me drag him because we both knew he could fight off anytime. He may be stupid but he was one of the best muscles of the family.
He knew, even with his pea-sized brain, our father was a force to be reckoned with when we seriously disobeyed him. After all, Salvo got the worst of it when he failed his senior year because of his attendance and had to repeat the grade. It was safe to say Father was pissed off.
Today, he would be more pissed off. And this time, it will not be only Salvo who would take the anger but me, too. I wasn't looking forward to it.
"Shit, shit, shit!" Salvo cried out, tugging his dark curls. "Father's going to gut us, watch us bleed to death slowly, and dump our bodies in the middle of the ocean from a plane!"
This guy has an interesting way of thinking.
I let out a humorless chuckle. "He's going to do worst than that."
Salvo scoffed. "Definitely. Ace and Alex probably will help, too."
"Of course, they are! And you dragged me into this, asshole." I glared at him.
"Me?" He scoffed. "You was the one who ultimately decided to willingly go into the car with me to a race."
"Do not act like you didn't trick me."
"Father or Ace won't believe someone like me tricked a genius like you" Salvo shrugged, somehow both avoiding and answering my statement. Perhaps he wasn't as stupid as I believed. Fury began to burn through me. This was one of the reasons I liked my computers more than people. People get the worst out of me, even my brothers sometimes.
I inhaled, trying to get a hold of my emotions. I was nothing like Ares, Apollo's twin, who was the hothead of the family but I could be as bad when pissed off.
I also considered myself controlled in my emotions although I was nothing near as good as Father, Alex, or especially Ace. Ace is the one you'd think his face was made out of stone no matter how much you tried poking the bear. Only the closest ones could make out a hint of anger in his eyes occasionally but that was rarely shown. That would serve him a lot of good once he become the Don.
It wouldn't be long beforehand. Father was retiring in a month.
I was about reply to Salvo before my phone vibrated again. Only this time it didn't stop. Someone was calling me. Crap. I pulled it out and checked the ID name.
I'm so dead.
"Salvo, father's calling me" I looked up at him to see his eyes widen and he groaned.
"Oh hell no!"
I knew there was no way out of this and not answering would make everything worst. So I tapped the answer mode and slowly brought it to my ear.
"Yes, Father?" I winced at how nonchalant my tone was. I didn't know how I was going to face this. I've never gotten in this serious trouble before. Salvo and Ares were the troublemakers. Maybe Salvo should've handled this call.
"I would expect this much from Salvo to my disappointment. But not from you, Noah." Father's deathly calm voice spoke. Even on the phone and the five hours apart, his dominating aura came straight through the phone. It was the voice he used as the Don of the Italian Mafia.
A laugh boomed in the background. "Bro, you're in big trouble," came Apollo's voice. I scowled and glared at the phone. Someone snickered, probably Ares - backing up his twin as usual.
"Shut up, boys, or you'll join Noah and Salvo." Father snapped. The laughter suddenly stopped. Good.
"Are Salvo with you?" Father asked, attention back on me.
"Yeah."
"Put me on the speaker now."
I obeyed and put it on speaker after indicating Salvo should shut the hell up.
"You're on the speaker now. I'm sorry, dad. I'll accept any punishments." I knew there was no point in blaming this on Salvo. I hated to admit it but Salvo was right. I was the one who went in the car willingly.
"Are you fucking serious, Noah?" Salvo exclaimed. Jesus. This guy was going to get us in deeper shit. "We're just at a street race event. I don't see any big deal about it!"
Now, this guy was going to us get in trouble for lying. And that comeback was so dumb.
And I can't believe this fucking idiot was related to me.
"Salvo," Father growled. "If I was in your shoes, I would suggest you close your mouth right now. I am slowly losing my patience here. I believe I have been too lenient with you, Salvo Angelo Romero."
Not the government name.
Salvo must have been thinking about the same thing because he gulped visibly.
"Sorry, dad."
Hopefully, he shut the hell up from now on.
"Going to a street race isn't a big deal, I agree. However, going to one on Russian territory with no backup is just stupid. Even for a dumb guy like you, Salvo."
Ouch, that low insult must have taken a toll on Salvo's pride. He grimaced. I knew Father was coming from a good heart. Ever since Ariana was kidnapped, he was obsessed with security and our safety. Especially with the younger ones such as Salvo, and the twins. I didn't think he could bear losing another child after losing his most precious girl. I knew fathers wasn't supposed to have favorites but it was obvious Ariana was his. She was everyone's favorite.
Father continued as if he didn't call his own son dumb.
"We will speak when you both are home. I believe you two are on the way home now, am I correct?"
"Yes, dad," I answered before Salvo could and fuck this up even more. "We're about to get into the car."
"Good. Do not make any stops. Not even one."
"What if I need to pee?" Salvo whined. This fucking guy's audacity! He's lucky he's my brother.
"Find a bottle. I am sure you know how to aim even with your childish tendencies."
Father hangs up on me. I glared at Salvo. "You got some balls there. You should learn to shut up and open your mouth at appropriate times."
He grinned and shrugged. "Sorry, Noah."
He didn't sound remotely sorry.
I shook my head and started walking to the car again.
BANG!
A bullet went past my face. If it wasn't for my fast reflexes, my face would have been blown in.
I instantly crouched to the floor, going behind a random Jeep. I grabbed my gun that had been hiding underneath my T-shirt. Salvo followed suit, using the truck next to me as a shield.
Pointing my gun towards where the gunshot echoed from, I slightly brought my head sideways to see who was shooting at us. My heart dropped at the sight.
Fucking Russians.
There were around thirty of them with their guns pointed at us.
We're dead meat.
Salvo had the same thought but he had the balls to joke about it. "At least we won't have to face father's wrath if we're dead. "
I gave him a pointed look that said "this is the time to joke."
"Hey! I'm just looking at the bright side."
"Well, well. Noah and Salvo Romero in our territory and mercy! This must be our best fucking Christmas!" One of them boomed in laughter. "As you can see, you guys are surrounded. So come out, would ya?"
I knew coming here was a bad idea...