Chapter 22
“Fuck,” Alessandro’s curse echoes off the old building.
And I hear the vibration of doors slamming and a commotion behind me as they all work out what I’ve done, but I don’t care. I sprint as fast as my feet will take me, around the corner of the old building and down a side street.
I know Alessandro and Geovani are right behind me, I can hear them screaming to me to come back as they chase me down.
I’m not letting them catch me this time. I slip down another side street and duck under a fence into the back of a restaurant. The waft of Italian food fills the air. I run right through the back door and down a corridor, through the main dining room, nearly colliding with a waiter as I go. A plate of spaghetti falls to the floor, but I don’t have time to stop and check on him.
“Hey, watch out,” he yells after me, but I’m not stopping for anyone.
“Sorry,” I offer a wave as I plunge through the front glass door and into the cool of night once more. I glance up one side of the street then the other. I don’t have a plan. All I know is I can’t go back to Geovani’s with him. I take a right and fly back onto the main street then turn a corner and slip into an alleyway.
The light from the busy street doesn’t reach this part, and when I turn the corner and see a dead end, I stop for a second to catch my breath. Clutching my chest, I suck in ragged breaths. My ribcage burns, pain from running, pain from leaving them, but they left me no choice. I’m trembling all over, the adrenaline spiking in my veins. What the fuck am I going to do? I know how stupid it is to run from their protection. I couldn’t stay there with them either. I’m not safe with them. I’m not safe anywhere. I’m petrified, and I’m not thinking straight.
I scan the alleyway, looking for a safe exit. Or any exit. I see that I’m surrounded by brick walls of buildings and apartments. The only way out is to head back to the main street or climb. I lean into the door behind me and slide down to the ground, burying my head in my hands, more exhausted than I have ever been in my life.
Everything starts piling up on me. Knowing it was Enzo who took my ma from me, the lies, the secrets, the way they all look at me like I’m theirs, the new responsibility that’s on my shoulders with my papa’s businesses. It’s all too much. I want to be strong, to be able to work it all out. To get the revenge I set out for. Every day something new gets thrown at me.
My phone rings, echoing off the walls of the empty alley, abruptly bringing me back to life. I jump to pull it from my cargo pants pocket and flick it to silent. It’s Geovani, and I’m not surprised. He calls repeatedly, and I just stare down at my screen, watching his name light it up. He must be frantic. I can’t answer now. I’m too scared to answer. I don’t like what I saw tonight. Maybe part of me understands why they had to deal with him. Did it have to be like that? Why did I have to be there to see it? I didn’t need to see the pure brutality. Geovani was so… It was like it was fun, for him. He gets a kick out of killing people. Bad people, but still.
Eventually he tires of calling me, and I pull my jacket closer around my middle, moving my legs up higher. I clutch the necklace Maddox gave me, a shiver from the icy chill of the late time of night running over me. When he gave me this, I felt safe, like I knew I could count on him, but after the way he looked at me tonight, I don’t think that’s so true anymore. I can’t press this and be whisked off to safety. He’s with them, and none of them are safe.
Checking my phone, I see it’s one a.m. I have been here alone for nearly an hour. My phone has stopped ringing, and the adrenaline has calmed down a little. It might be time for me to leave the safety of the alley before I freeze to death. I’m not sure where to go next. I have no access to my money and no connections or anywhere to go. And something keeps me here rooted to the spot. I’m scared to go out into the world without them just as much as I’m scared to be with them.
A text pops into my phone.
GEOVANI: You’re not safe out there alone.
What does he expect me to write back to that? I stare at the screen, wondering if I should ignore his message. Part of me wants to text him back to let him know I’m still alive.
HARLEY: I’m not safe with you!
GEOVANI: Leave the alley now, and I promise to find you somewhere safe away from me.
Promises, promises. Goosebumps rise over my skin. How can he see me here? I can’t see a camera pointed at me or anything like that. There is literally nowhere I can hide from him. With shaky legs, I push up to standing and walk toward the corner of the building. Glancing toward the street, I make out a Geovani-shaped figure standing in the shadows. My heart nearly stops. He fucking found me. But I shouldn’t be so surprised. He always promised me he would. I just thought that maybe tonight I outsmarted him.
I pull out my phone again and start typing with shaky hands.
HARLEY: No! I’m safer here getting eaten by the rats than coming back to you.
Another number my phone doesn’t recognize pings with a message.
UNKNOWN: You have five minutes to take us up on our offer, princess, or we’re hunting you down. Trust me when I say you won’t like that option.
I glance down the alley again and see him. Alessandro is standing with Geovani. Nice to know I have reunited their friendship. How fucking adorable.
I look over my shoulder. The wall is high, like maybe eight feet, but I could try and take it on. I take a deep breath. Pocketing my phone, I move toward the wall, finding gaps between the bricks where my fingers can grip. I start to climb. My boots fit perfectly in the gaps as well, and before I know it, I’m halfway up the wall. My heart races wildly because I know I’m running out of time, but I’m getting closer to the top. As my fingers reach the top, a shadowy figure comes toward me, and I lock eyes with him. It’s Maddox. Panic courses through me. Fuck. I’m out of time. “Just let me go,” I cry.
“You know I can’t,” he taunts me.
I go to swing my leg over the wall as he lunges at me, capturing my boot with his hands. I grip onto the wall, trying with all my might to fight him off, but he’s too strong for me, and my sweaty hands slip. I lose my grip, falling into Maddox’s waiting arms. Fuck.
I stare up at him, my heart racing out of my chest.
“Still trying to run, temptress! You should know by now there is no escaping us.”
I shove at him, so frustrated I couldn’t escape him. I’m close to tears, but I won’t let him see me cry. Not tonight.
He carries me away from the wall, and as we move closer to the street, I can make out the other two. Alessandro is leaning against the brick wall, his leg propped up casually, and Ricky stands by his Army-style Jeep. No fancy Hummer or security guards in sight. The whole fucked-up crew is here. Good for me.
Maddox sets me down on the street.
Alessandro is the first to approach, looking at me like I’m a skittish animal about to flee again. “That wasn’t very smart, princess,” he tuts, circling me with cruel calculation, like I’m his prey.
Even though my heart races and my palms grow sweaty, I tilt my head in rebellion. Fuck him! Fuck all of them. “You didn’t leave me any choice.” I push the words through clenched teeth. I’m angry, but mostly at myself for letting them find me. I should have ditched my phone as I was running. I didn’t even think. So yeah, maybe he’s right, I’m not very smart. I should have known better. Of course they would find me with my phone still in my pocket.
He pounces, causing me to jump in fright, interlocking his fingers with mine, holding my hand uncomfortably. “Why do you care so much what happens to me? Just let me go. Let Enzo and Carlo get me, who cares.” I know I sound like a crazy person on a rant, but I think I’m at that stage. I have no fight left in me. I’m ready to give up.
A cold hard object comes into contact with my wrist, the one Alessandro is holding. “What the fuck,” I cry, wondering what was just slapped around my wrist. I try to pull away from him but realize we have been locked together with a pair of handcuffs.
Maddox comes into view from behind us. “Sorry, temptress, can’t let you get away again.”
“Like you actually care,” I snap back at him, bitchy as can be.
He shakes his head. “Oh, sweetheart, you have no idea,” he mutters.
Ricky steps in beside him. “We gave you some freedom, thought we could trust you,” he says sadly, and I know I broke his heart tonight by running. But he is breaking mine right now by forcing me to stay.
“Freedom.” I laugh bitterly. They all know that’s bullshit. I haven’t been free since I stepped foot in this country nearly a year ago.
Geovani moves in front of me, and I flinch with the haunted way he stares at me. He’s still covered in blood and looks like a fucking zombie come to life. “You talk so much of trust, Red.” He runs a hand over his beat-up face. “Demand we earn your trust,” he yells, bitterness dripping off his every word. “But tonight, you proved we can’t trust you at all.” He looks so disappointed in me that I want to burst into tears all over again. “Alex explained why you ran. The boys will take care of you until we have this situation under control, then you will have the freedom you crave.”
His eyes meet mine, a silent message passing between us. I know how badly I fucked up, but he did to. He can’t blame me for this. The warmth he normally holds for me vanishes, leaving a coolness that sends a shiver down my spine. He turns to walk away from me, and I feel a sudden sense of loss. I don’t know what’s wrong with me, this is what I want, to be away from him, but it’s also not. There is something between us, and when I looked into his eyes just now, I felt it still, even if he scared me tonight.
I go to reach for him. “But…” I don’t get to finish because we’re suddenly surrounded by a group of masked men. Before I have time to think, Maddox throws a punch, stopping one of them from grabbing at me. All hell breaks loose around me as the guys try to defend themselves against the ambush.
“You know how to fight right?” Alessandro snips, and I know he means because we’re now attached to each other. The smartass must have thought it was a brilliant idea to lock me to him, until right now when he realized he’s now handicapped.
“Yes,” I grit out. I know how to; I’ve just never really put it into practice, unless attacking them counts. A man runs at me from the side, and I lift my leg high, cracking him in the face, his head flies back and he collides with the asphalt below.
Alessandro is busy dealing with another dude. The knife of his blade dug deep in his side, he twists it before dragging the thing upwards, the guy’s insides spilling out as he crumbles in a bloody heap.
I cover my mouth, trying to stop the bile from rising. There’s no time to be sick. Another man comes at me from behind, his arm slipping over my head and locking in place. My chest tightens as I try to suck in breaths. Alessandro is right there, and he swings his blade, slicing the man’s arm open. He releases his grip on me, and I bring my head back as I simultaneously lift my leg backwards, my boot connecting with his junk. Alessandro moves around my back, slicing the dude again with his blade. In a gory scene, he collapses to the side. Alessandro backs me towards the Jeep. The sight before us a mass of bodies, blood, and destruction.
Maddox lifts some guy and smashes him into a wall, while Ricky has some dude by the throat and in one swift move, he cracks his neck, the man’s body going limp in his hands, then he tosses him aside like he weighs nothing.
My heart races so hard I think I’m going to have a heart attack. What the fuck is this. My eyes rise to Alessandro’s in fear.
“I won’t let anything happen to you,” he promises me. But right now, I think this situation is out of his control.
“Get her out of here,” Geovani shouts toward us, dealing with another two of them, but they just keep coming. Like an army of masked white walkers crawling from the dingy streets of Ravens Hollow.
My heart constricts for him; he looks in such a bad way from the fight tonight already, and taking on one thug after another is sure to end badly.
Alessandro moves me toward the car, still fighting off a masked man who tries to grab at me. When we get there, he shoves open one of the doors.
“We can’t leave them,” I cry knowing this is all my fault. I’m not leaving them here.
Alessandro reaches in the car and grabs something. “We won’t. This is my responsibility.” He shoves a gun into my chest. “Do your worst, just don’t shoot one of us,” he says with a sly grin.
Oh, for fuck’s sake, the pressure when there is so much movement all around. I aim at a guy coming right for me and pull the trigger, getting him right in the forehead. He goes down right in front of me, and I have to stop myself from screaming as his brains explode.
Alessandro’s fingers curl around the cool metal of his newly acquired gun. With each calculated squeeze of the trigger, the sharp crack of gunfire fills the air. The acrid scent of spent gunpowder mixes with the metallic tang of adrenaline and blood. Alessandro’s aim remains unwavering, his focus unyielding, as he systematically eliminates his targets, one by one, shielding me as best he can with his own body. I feel the vibration go right through me.
I aim over the car and take out another dude who was coming at us from behind.
“Good girl,” he compliments me.
And for some unknown deranged reason, I find myself smiling at his praise. When I turn back around, my grin vanishes. “Geovani!” I scream. He’s caught between two guys in a brutal fistfight that he looks like he’s losing. In a moment of clarity, I aim my weapon and pull the trigger, hitting one dude right between the eyes. At the same time, Alessandro takes out the other.
Ricky rushes to Geovani’s side, helping him up to standing. The two of them look like old friends, not mortal enemies. Geovani sucks in ragged breaths, trying to catch his breath, but I don’t miss the subtle head nod of acknowledgment he gives me. For saving his life. Of course, I’m fully aware we wouldn’t even be in this situation in the first place if I didn’t fucking run. I’m such an idiot. I should have listened to them.
Ricky’s panicked eyes come to me. “Where’s Maddox?”
We do a sweep of the street, still aiming our guns up and down, searching for signs of any more movement. But it appears that they’re all down. Ricky clutches his arm as he limps back toward us. He’s a little beat up, but considering the size of the ambush, he doesn’t look too bad. My stomach drops when I realize I can’t find Maddox. “Where is he?” I cry, panicked, toward Alessandro, searching the street again.
Maddox’s large frame emerges from the shadows, a knife to his throat. The masked man shoves him forward. My hands tremble, trying to get a clear shot, but I can’t. “Alex,” I cry, wanting him to do something, to shoot.
“I can’t get a shot on him without getting Maddox,” he mutters, sounding just as stressed.
Ricky rushes toward me, shielding my body with his. And Geovani backs toward the car, joining us. I’m filled with panic knowing there is nothing any of us can do.
A second man appears, creeping from the shadows, gun drawn. I peer under Ricky’s arm and take aim, but the bullet does nothing, even though I know I hit him in the chest.
The man removes his mask, smirking at us all like the crazy motherfucker he is. “Well played, kids.” Carlo chuckles, his psychotic excitement reverberating off the brick walls of the alley. “Well played.”