Freya
Several more loud shots ring through the house, signaling a shootout that I'm not able to witness. They're in our bedrooms. My body jumps with each loud bang.
I'm trying to be brave for Arella. She's still holding my hands tight to her ears while rocking in my lap. Her eyes are bloodshot and red from her tears.
A twist forms in my stomach and chest. Was it the right thing for Damon and I to bring her into this life? We put a target on her head bringing her here with us.
A part of me doesn't regret it, though. As I stare down at Arella's angelic face, all I can think about is that she's mine. It may be selfish. No, it is selfish. I just can't seem to find enough regret.
The house falls quiet after the last gunshot. No voices come through the other side of the phone. Immediately the worst comes to mind. My husband and oldest baby are dead.
I cover my mouth to stifle my cries. It feels like my heart is being shredded. Like a big piece of myself is now gone.
"Dad? Andrea?" Gianni asks through a whisper into the phone.
One second. Two. Three.
"We're here." Damon's rough voice finally responds.
My mouth opens on a gasping breath. They're safe.
"We're coming down to you now." Andrea announces.
I watch them exit Alessandro's room through the cameras, spilling out into the hallway. My son is limping with Damon supporting him with his arm around Andrea's waist.
He's hurt. I scan the cameras to try and find where he's injured. The bottom of his suit pants catches my eye. The fabric is ripped along the side towards his ankle.
Andrea looks up towards the camera and says into the phone, "It's just a graze, Mama. I'm okay. Stings like a bitch, though."
Damon claps him on the shoulder, clearly proud of him. Those two have a penchant for killing. It's something they're good at. While I don't like them bonding over murdering people, preferring they bond over something normal like football, I also realize that it keeps them alive.
It's kill or be killed in this world.
After what feels like eternity, the boy's finally make it to the safe room door. I know the protocol. Don't open the door even if you know it's family.
So, we wait for Damon to put his hand on the scanner and type in the code. Several large clicks sound, signaling the bolts releasing.
The door slowly swings open, revealing Damon, Andrea, and our men looking worse for wear. I could care less if they're covered in other people's blood.
I jump up with Arella in my arms, rushing straight into Damon and Andrea's awaiting arms. They smell like sweat and the metallic tang of blood. I could care less.
I squeeze them tightly with Arella snug in between us. She wiggles and whimpers, trying to use Damon's shirt to climb onto his body. He takes her from my arms, pressing several kisses to her face.
"Daddy's got you, baby girl. You're safe." He closes his eyes, holding her tight to his body.
I'm not sure if he realized his slip up. That's the first time he's called himself daddy when speaking to Arella. The very first time. He seems too lost in the moment to have made the connection.
The rest of the boys come over, clapping Andrea on the back. All except Alessandro. He stops in front of his oldest brother, reaches up to scratch his own head, and puts his hand on Andrea's shoulder for exactly three seconds.
It might not be much to most people. It's the whole world to Andrea.
"There's two armored cars outside. Go pack a bag with whatever essentials you'll need. We're leaving this place until it's secured again." Damon states evenly, breaking the silence.
We all flow out of the safe room. Damon, Andrea, and Alessandro are all holding their guns at the ready. We don't know if all the men are dead and gone. They could be hiding somewhere.
Rather safe than sorry.
"Where are we staying?" I question Damon as I step into Arella's room to grab her stuff.
The two men who were shot in here are long gone. Some of our men probably took them to the kennels to be interrogated. All that remains is several dead bodies on the floor and blood splatter on the walls.
I try my best to ignore that. Choosing to walk over to her closet instead. The smell of death lingers in the air as I pick out several outfits, tossing them into a large duffel bag I grabbed from my room before coming in here.
"I was hoping you could call your cousin, Ares. His house is secure since he's in this life too. A hotel would be too risky."
That is right. Ares and I haven't spoken in a while. From what I've heard, he and his wife went through something similar to what I went through almost seven months ago.
They lost their baby too. Since then, they've adopted two children. A little girl and boy.
I would hate to bring drama to their doorstep. There's just no other choice. Dimitri had his men attack our home. He would be expecting us to hold up in a hotel.
We have other homes. They're just spread out across the country. It would also be risky to go there. If Dimitri is willing to attack us here, there's no telling what he's willing to do at our other houses.
Our best bet is to call Ares and ask if we can stay for a couple days. Just until our house is cleaned up and repaired.
"I'll give him a call." I state with a resigned sigh.
***
Two hours later and we're loading up onto our private jet. Andrea's leg was patched up in the car on the way here by our personal doctor. He swore like a sailor while drinking liquor straight out the bottle.
Technically, he's still underage. Who cares? My son did well today. He deserves to numb the pain in his leg with a couple of shots. I would've taken the bottle away from him before he overdid it.
Laws also just don't apply to people like us. Old enough to kill, old enough to drink.
Gianni helps Andrea into his cream leather seat. Arella looks around with wide eyes at our private jet. The colors are all creams and whites. Nothing but the best for us.
Exhaustion makes my shoulders droop as I sit down across from Damon. The adrenaline from our ordeal is officially gone from my system, making me feel tired and ragged.
Damon and Andrea have yet to shower. Their normally white undershirts are stained with blood splatter. They're not even worth saving. I'll toss them as soon as possible.
It's a good thing our jet is equipped with a full bedroom with an en-suite bathroom. They'll take their showers once we reach thirty-five-thousand feet.
Arella rests her head against the swell of my right breast, tapping the left one with her hand. She looks up at me with those big puppy dog eyes of hers.
Lifting the left side of my shirt, I unlatch the middle clasp of my bra. She latches on with ease, drinking while staring up at me. I'm hoping this puts her to sleep. We have a long way to go and I just need to recharge my mind.
The jet starts beneath us, taxiing down the runway. Soon enough, we're in the air. Arella handles takeoff like she's done it a thousand times before. She relaxes into my body, rubbing her eyes.
Damon watches the two of us with the softest look in his dark eyes. As soon as the captain announces we can take off our seatbelts, he comes to sit next to me.
Andrea stands from his seat with the help of Gianni.
"I'm going to hop in the shower. Unless you want to go first?" He questions Damon.
"No, I'm good. You go first. I want to spend some time with Freya and Arella."
Andrea nods, holding his palm against Gianni's chest when he tries to help him to the back of the plane where the bedroom is.
"I can wash my dick on my own. Thanks, dude."
Gianni steps back, raising his hands in surrender, "Nobody wants to see your shrimp dick anyways, bro."
"Can you guys please stop saying dick in front of Arella?" I snap.
Normally, I let them use crude language with each other. Now that we have an impressionable toddler around I don't think it's wise.
"I haven't seen cousin Ares in forever. I think the last time we saw him was when Alessandro was born." Davide comments while crossing his ankle over his knee.
He's good at changing the subject when needed.
"What can I say? He's been busy." Shrugging, I pull up the arm rest that separates Damon and I's seat, leaning into his side.
I notice that Arella isn't drinking anymore. Looking down, I see that she's fast asleep.
"Who's going to take care of Cerberus while we're gone?" Gianni inquires.
"One of our soldiers has taken him while Marco oversees the repairs of the house." Damon answers.
"Arella still hasn't met Cerberus. She would love him. He's been hiding away in Alessandro's room until it's time. Well, was hiding."
A sadistic smirk takes over my husband's face. He knows something that he's not telling me.
"What?" I nudge his stomach.
"He took out one of Dimitri's men himself. They opened the door to the wrong room. By the time we got there, Cerberus had one of the men by the neck. The other man was scared to shoot the dog. He didn't want to shoot his friend by accident."
"Good boy. Make sure you tell your soldier to spoil him." I advise. More like demand.
The cabin falls quiet as we all settle in for the flight from the east coast to the west coast. Andrea eventually returns from his shower, wearing a pair of sweatpants and a white tee shirt.
Damon heads into the shower after him, placing a blanket over Arella and I before he goes. Shutting my eyes, I fall into a dreamless sleep.
Arella's squeals are what wakes me. I take notice of her weight missing on my chest. Sitting up, I see her sitting on the table in front of Damon and I. She's holding a granola bar while my husband tickles her nub.
"Look who's awake!" He directs Arella's attention to me.
She gives me one of her trademarked dimpled smiles that I love. Even after all the trauma she endured today, she still smiles at me like I'm her whole world.
"We're landing soon." He whispers to me.
All the boys are sleeping. All except Alessandro. He's twisting his hair while tapping his foot in threes. It's something he does when he's out of his element.
Today was hard on him. His room is his sanctuary. It was disturbed by Dimitri's men. It's just not something he gets over quickly. Add to that, he had to leave his computers behind, only able to take his laptop and tablet.
"Alessandro?" I call to him.
His head jerks to the sound of my voice. His dark eyes are bloodshot with heavy bags underneath them.
"We'll have two computers delivered to Ares' house. Tell me what you need and we'll make it happen."
I sit in silence while I wait on him to collect his thoughts. With Alessandro you can't force him to speak. He'll talk when he's ready.
"My room." He states in his deep voice.
"Something that we can get for you when we get there, son." I clarify
The speed of his heel hitting on the floor increases. Six taps, a three second pause, six more taps. The process repeats.
"Three computers. Not two." He finally responds.
"Then that's what we'll get. You might have to share a room with one of your brothers while we're there. Which brother do you want to share with?"
Giving him the option is always better than choosing for him.
"Gianni."
I knew he was going to pick Gianni. Those two get along better than the other two. It's perfect.
Alessandro goes back to focusing on the tablet in his lap. His way of telling me he's done with this conversation. That's fine.
The captain's voice comes over the speaker system, telling us to buckle up. Grabbing Arella who's still playing around with her snack, I pop her on my lap and click my seatbelt around the both of us.
Ares better be ready. These boys are crazy.