- A m a r a R u s s o -
Nothing could prepare me for this as bullets from silenced guns started spraying out of multiple guns held by men who filed into the room.
The rain of bullets ensued for a few seconds, before it stopped, and only silence was left.
I couldn't even begin to comprehend what had happened as I saw multiple people on the floor with their eyes wide open. Even a small kid laid on the floor, blood leaking out of a bullet at the centre of his forehead.
Tears sprung to my eyes, and I let out a quiet sniffle that was muffled by Santino's shirt.
"Quiet." Santino hissed, right as I saw him flinch as I moved his back.
Wait a second...
I took a quick peek at Santino's back, only to see a bullet lodged into the left side of his back.
So... Santino was shot?
Santino was shot.
Santino was shot!
I heard quiet muttering coming from the men in black as I poked at Santino's shoulder. He glared at me.
"You're shot!" I exclaimed quietly, and he gave me a look of disbelief.
"I feel it." he responds in a bored manner. "But it doesn't matter right now. I have to get you out of here."
With that, my head was pushed back on the floor as he silently looked around.
"Where's Alessandro and the rest of them?" I asked, and Santino sent me a look that said, 'shut the hell up.'
"They are fine. They're probably with my twin and Sandeo."
"But where are they?" I pressed, and that is when Santino finally started looking around.
No one else was standing, and all of them were on the floor laying in their own pool of blood. I couldn't detect a single cry from Alessia, or another four different breathing patterns no matter how hard I tried.
I saw Santino gulp, but his eyes remained firm as his throat bobbed. "They'll be fine."
It sounds as if he was trying to convince himself more than me as he said it, and water started flowing down my cheeks.
'Tsk,' the voice commented, and I winced at the sudden intrusion of my brain.
'What.' I retorted.
'Look what happens when you jinx it.' the voice continued as if I didn't say anything.
'I didn't do anything though.' I protested, and the voice just hummed.
'Really? But you did say that no attacks were going to happen, didn't you?' it said, and I mentally nodded my head slowly.
'But that doesn't mean anything.' I said, and I could see the voice shrugging.
'Well, it might mean something. You do always cause the bad things to happen.' it said nonchalantly.
'How?' I whimpered. Their words made so much impact on me as it was one of my biggest insecurities. They had always hit the spot where it hurt the most.
I was always afraid of being the cause of something bad happening, and I always thought that until I was sent to live with my brothers. Through therapy, I learnt that not everything is my fault even if it may seem like it. Although I know it now, it was still hard to fully believe it. The voices weren't helping my situation either.
'You made your mother die,' the voice started to list, and it was like a stab to my heart. 'You made your father angry and hate you-'
'Step-father.' I corrected, but it continued as if I didn't say anything.
'You made your brothers' life worse.'
'How?' I interrupted, and it let out a humourless laugh.
'You've been so clingy with your brothers. Always asking them for help, and asking for new things even when you don't need it.' it replied simply.
At this, I knew that it was right. I have been relying too much on my brothers, and haven't been independent at all.
'You're finally realizing?' the voice asked wryly.
'But-'
'Think about it Amara. You used to be so independent, not needing help from anyone.' the voice said in a sickeningly comforting way. 'But you've lost your touch. You ask for help for every single thing you do, like making lunch. You ask a maid to make you lunch! How rude.' the voice commented, and I can literally feel my self-confidence - the confidence I worked so hard to build up for months - slipping out of me as it slithered away.
'You can be a bit nicer, y'know?' I advised, and the voice just scoffed at me.
'And you're weak as well. Can't even handle some constructive criticism.' it sneered, and I shrank into the back of my mind just as shouts were heard, causing me to jerk out of my head. However, I don't think I was out of my head just yet.
It was as if I was floating. My brain felt cloudy, and my body felt sluggish as I couldn't even move a finger without tremendous effort.
I turned my head to see the face of a dead person staring at me right in the eye, causing me to snap my head the other way, only to see the same thing.
I closed my eyes, trying to stop the sudden onslaught of images of dead people in my head. I opened my eyes again, and there was that picture, a picture of the toddler's eyes boring into my skull as it laid in its own pool of blood.
I felt someone pick me up and more shouting being yelled out, but it was all drowned out by the pounding in my ears. I snapped my eyes shut, refusing to open them. I won't look at the faces again. I won't.
"Don't worry, Amara. I'll protect you." the person holding me whispered into my hair, and although I didn't open my eyes, I knew who it was. It was the same calming and kind aura that Salvestro had on all the time. I immediately felt comforted as I wrapped my arms tightly around his torso.
More swearing and screaming entered my brain, but I blocked it out. This was too much, way too much for me to handle.
'Huh,' the voice hummed, 'You can't even handle a bit of death.' tt mocked, and I felt my inside clench.
'I-'
'What a sorry excuse for a human being.' it spat, 'I can't believe you rely on your brothers for everything. Even during an emergency, you are holding all of them back because you can't walk on your own.'
I felt my lips quiver at the voice's harsh words as I backed into the corner of my mind, wrapping my arms around my head, trying to protect myself from their true and unforgiving words.
'Pathetic.' it sneered, 'Such a weak, useless, and worthless being. If Salvestro dies, it'll all be your fault because you held him back.'
With those words, the voice retreated into nothingness, leaving me shaking in fear as my head span in circles. It was as if the world was tipping on its axis, my body swerving from left to right, none of my muscles holding me upright as Salvestro carried me like a sack of potatoes into safety.
I still wouldn't open my eyes in fear of what I would see, and it was only when the noises stopped coming did I peek my eyes open, only for me to regret it in a second.
The entire place was caked in blood. It was as if this attack was deliberately made to kill the people. Memories also started resurfacing. Memories of the horrid past I try my best to put behind me.
"Keep your eyes closed, Bambina." Salvestro's voice floated into my cloudy head. "You shouldn't see this."
I was more than happy to oblige as I continued pushing away memories. Memories that I didn't want to remember.
- S a l v e s t r o R u s s o -
This was a disaster.
Amara was not responding to anything I was saying, and she was sickeningly pale, shaking in her own skin. I had her in my arms as I ran away from the guns' line of fire, making sure that Amara was safe from harm.
It killed me to leave my family behind, but I knew what I had to do. Amara was our weakness, and we had to get her somewhere safe before someone else took her. The same goes with Alessandro and Alessia. At the moment, they were being led away by Samantha and Elena, who was more than capable of handling their own.
The rest of them were still in the fray, their guns out as Salvatore and Ace shouted orders to the other Mafia men to kill as many as possible.
This wasn't a normal attack. This was a planned raid to kidnap and give us a warning of what they could do now that they are growing stronger. It frustrated me to no end, not being able to put a bullet through one of their skulls. Alas, I had my orders and priorities, and Amara was at the top of the list of things needed to be done first.
I saw Amara peek her eyes open, and I immediately told her to keep her eyes closed. She didn't need to see the bloodshed her family was able to cause. She didn't need to know, not until it was time for her to know, which means until Salvatore decides that it was time to tell her.
Arriving at one of our safe mini shelters at the base of a tree, I set a limp Amara inside, making sure that she was comfortable before getting my handgun out of my holster and checking the mag, making sure that I had enough bullets to last us the entire night.
I wasn't stupid. I knew that after the shootings were done, the winning party would count the dead and take the ones still alive, bringing them in for torture. It was what every Mafia did when there was a battle between the two of them.
I could only hope that Salvatore and the rest of them come out of this alive, and more importantly, the media doesn't get wind of what's happening inside the estate. I don't even want to begin to discuss what will happen if they do.
- E l e n a F e r r a r i -
"I know this isn't a good time, Samantha." I panted, "But I wanted you to know something just in case we both don't make it."
Samantha was cradling both of her children in her hands as I guarded her back, making sure that no one was following us. With the amount of noise the two kids were making though, I didn't doubt that they would find us soon.
In the past, Samantha and I would've been able to make it miles away from the battle by now, but with the kids, we couldn't do the things we would normally do. Not without risking her children's safety. I may not know what it was like to have children to care for, and I knew that I wouldn't ever have nor get the chance if this continues.
"What?" she asked me, and I took a deep breath before blurting the thing that has been weighing on my mind.
"I'm pregnant." I said quickly, and Samantha stared at me with a blank expression on her face, before it turned into one of horror. "Yeah, I know. Bad timing."
"Shit." she muttered, before looking back at me. "I'm happy for you, but for it to happen now is horrible timing."
"Yeah, I just wanted you to know before we are busted out of our hiding place." I agreed, and she sighed as a conflicted emotion erupted onto her face.
"I-" She sighed again, and something I couldn't decipher flashed across her face.
That scared me. I was able to read Samantha like the back of my hand, and when I couldn't... It usually meant that she was hiding something from me, which is something she never does.
Samantha and I are two peas in a pod. We just don't under any circumstances, hide anything from each other, because our friendship depends on our honesty towards each other. If Samantha is making sure that I don't know something, it must mean that I won't like her idea.
Abruptly, Samantha used her fingers to apply pressure on both Alessia's and Alessandro's neck, causing them to stop screaming their lungs out and slump forward as they lost consciousness.
"What are you doing?" I asked, as she gently laid her children on the floor in the middle of a bunch of bushes. She made sure to cover them well, rolling their clothes in mud so that they could blend into the ground.
Samantha didn't reply as she straightened up and faced me, causing me to pale. Her expression was the same expression she had when she hadn't found Ace yet and was still working as an assassin. It was an expression I knew all too well because I too, had worn that mask before.
"You promised that you'd protect my children with your life, remember?" she said, and I nodded slowly, not getting where she was going with this.
"Then I need you to add someone else into that list." she ordered, "Add your child."
"Do you think I'm stupid?" I asked her, "I would protect my child with my life, but I know that I can't because I might die today."
I was too familiar with death, and it didn't scare me. Nor did it scare Samantha.
"That's exactly what I am saying." Samantha said before we both stiffened when we heard the faint sound of feet from above. People were closing in on us through the trees.
"You will not be in the line of fire when they come." Samantha whispered, and I frowned. That made no sense at all.
"What do you mean?"
"It means that you will be protecting yours, and my children as I distract the..." she cocked her head to the side as she listened for the number of breaths going in the air. "Six people coming towards us."
"And how in the world are you supposed to do that?" I retorted, and picked up my gun.
There was a nagging feeling in my stomach as I stared at my best friend. She was reckless sometimes, and right now was one of those times.
"You are going to be staying with my children. Hiding." she stated firmly, and I felt my hackles raise. Yeah, not going to happen.
"You think I'm going to follow through with that? We stay together." I raised a brow, and she shook her head.
"You have an unborn child, while I do not. You have two lives in you, while I have one. I need you to stay with my children so that more lives can be saved. You should understand. You've been wanting a child for years." she explained, but I stood my ground.
"Yeah, still not going to happen."
Samantha shook her head, "I know."
At that, I perked up. "So does that mean that I can stay with you?"
"No."
I didn't even see it coming, as Samantha knocked me out cold with a nasty, solid right hook.
~
- S a l v e s t r o R u s s o -
It has been hours since I've brought Amara away, and it hasn't been good. So far, I've managed to kill four different people who thought that they could take me off guard, and it's only getting worse as snow started to fall to the ground, darkness approaching.
The sound of bullets raining down in the mansion has also stopped, letting me know that one party has lost, while the other has won. I could only hope that Ace and Marco had managed to round up the Mafia leaders and put his good skills to use. I would usually include Samantha and Elena in this, but they were out, protecting her children.
We were supposed to be together, but I lost them in the chaos. I didn't bother looking for them though, because I knew that the both of them were a lethal unit together, and the both of them were tied at the hip. They would stay together no matter what.
Other than that, Amara has also been unresponsive. Her eyes have been closed, and she has been rocking herself back and forth, muttering things under her breath, and I can do nothing about it.
It kills me to leave her like this, but our survival at the moment, depends entirely on me, and I can't be comforting her while killing people. It just won't work because I have to focus my entire attention on my surroundings to make sure that no one can sneak up on us. The fact that the sun is almost down, and snow is starting to fall isn't helping either.
I have taken off my blazer, leaving me in a red dress shirt as I wrapped Amara in it so that she could keep warm, even if I was sure that she wasn't feeling anything at the moment. From what I know, Amara is stuck in her head right now, and I wouldn't be surprised if her voices took this moment of vulnerability to jump back into her head.
The fact that Amara has been abused before, and is now scarred for life with the images of dead bodies... I don't even want to think of the repercussions and the thousand steps back we will all have to take.
I felt the flakes of snow falling onto my head and I just took a moment to see how Amara's doing, only to see that she was still the same. Her entire body rocking back and forth as she talked unintelligible things to herself with her eyes closed.
Sighing, I could only hope that Salvatore would find us soon, before I ran out of bullets and would have to resort to killing up close. I could do it, but it was too risky with Amara not cooperating with me right now.
If you were wondering why I didn't take out my phone... Well, I already crushed all other devices Amara and I had brought with us so that the enemy - I doubt it's anyone but the Irish - couldn't track out location through our signals.
"Where are you?" I breathed, and misty clouds were let out in the air, clouds caused by my own breath.
I picked Amara up, and walked deeper within the huge garden Triton had. I could only be thankful that he loved his plants, and decided to keep a huge forest with trees surrounding every corner of his property. His garden-like forest gave me coverage from people, letting me blend into the dark as night fell upon us and the weather became colder.
Goosebumps erupted onto my skin as I shivered, but I ignored it as I continued making my way around the property, making sure that I don't stay in one place too long before moving onto another. I also made sure that I kept a safe distance away from the mansion, just in case.
Sprinting, I got my blood circulating as I ran around the perimeter, Amara weighing nothing in my arms as her head bounced back and forth and her arms lulled to the side.
God, what was happening to her?
Yes, she might be in shock but-
Tripping over something, I nearly face planted into the floor if it weren't for my faster reflexes as I got my feet underneath me.
"Shit." I swore, and looked behind me, only to see the familiar heel Elena was wearing on the ground.
I can't believe I tripped over a heel. Out of all things, I tripped over a high heel. But, if the heel was here, that must mean that Elena and the rest of them had passed by here, which means that they must be close.
I started searching for the four of them, looking up at trees, and on the ground, but thanks to the darkness, I could barely see anything as I bumped into a bush, only for my feet to land on something... Squishy.
A groan was heard, and I instantly jumped back, hiding behind a tree and taking out my knife as I prepared for the worse.
The person who I stepped on by accident shuffled around, and sat up, and that is when I remembered the face of Elena.
Relief flooded through me, before rage took over it as I stormed over to her.
"Elena!" I harshly whispered, and her entire body stiffened up, before relaxed at the sight of me. "Were you sleeping?" I asked incredulously, and a look of confusion flashed across her face.
"No, I wasn't." she denied as she stood up, rubbing her temple on the way. I looked at the place where she laid on, and saw the calm faces of Samantha's children sleeping on the floor.
"Then what were you doing on the floor?" I nearly shrieked out loud, and her brows furrowed in confusion.
"I was with Samantha." she recalled, "And then she-"
Elena's eyes widened, as panic over took her beautiful features.
"Oh my fuck!" she exclaimed as I shushed her for making such a big noise.
"What?" I asked, and her entire body faced towards me as fear showed on her face, causing me to tense up as I prepared for the worse.
'Elena' plus 'scared' equals 'never a good combination'.
The situation didn't look good right now either. Samantha was nowhere to be found, and Elena was found on the floor with Samantha's kids. Samantha would never leave her kids alone, unless there was something important for her to do. Never.
"Samantha." Elena whispered in horror. "She's gone."
***
MUAHAHAHA! Look at me, leaving you guys on cliffhangers all the time. Don't you all just love me (I'm joking by the way)?
Anyways, thank you all so much for almost 30k reads. I really appreciate it, so thank you all so much for all the support. To all the people who comment, an extra big thank you to you because reading all of y'alls comments about my story really makes my day.
By the way, how was the chapter? I really hope that you guys loved this chapter because to be honest, I spent almost nearly four hours on this chapter, and I swear my eyes might just give up on me any minute now. I don't know if there will be an update tomorrow as I might not want to look at my story for at least another 24 hours, but there will definitely be another update by Friday, so look out for that.
I hope you all have a wonderful day/night, and as always, stay safe!
~ CRAZY40429 💋
QotC: Whose Mafia would you want to be in? Ace's or Salvatore's?
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