Chapter 33
Julia
We are headed towards some random house in the middle of nowhere. Luca’s IT guy was able to hack into the cameras and see that my dad took both men, unconscious, into the back of a blacked-out SUV. He followed them to this house.
Luca has a plan, but of course, it involves me sitting behind him and hiding. I know it's for the baby's safety, but it still makes me feel useless.
“We have to be as quiet as possible, going in. We can’t risk you.” Luca says from the passenger seat of the SUV. I nod at him, not having any words to say to him.
He reaches back and hands me something black. “Put this on.” I grab it and examine it. A bulletproof vest: I take off my sweatshirt, slide it over my head and arms, and tighten the velcro straps, since I’m significantly smaller than Luca. Then place my, Kai’s, hoodie back on.
“You and Mel better have a vest also,” I say, looking to Mel, then Luca again.
“We have some. Worry about you and my nephew inside you.” Mel says without looking at me, pulls back the slide on her Glock 43, lets it go with a sharp click, then holsters it to her leg, grabs a second one from the bag on the ground between us, and does the same again, but putting this one in a chest holster.
“How do you know it's a boy?” I reach down into the bag and pull out a Glock 43X, smaller, but it is only as a last resort for me. Mel went deep diving down the interwebs and saw that shooting can be done while pregnant, but she said she would prefer me to use a knife.
“I just have a gut feeling. I am the aunt after all,” She says. I nod and pull back the slide and let it snap forward, the click echoing through the SUV, and then put it in my leg holster. I reach back into the bag and find a stiletto knife and a switchblade. I grab both and put them next to me.
“Luca, what’s the ETA?” I am getting impatient.
“About five minutes.” I nod at him and start messing with my nails. I am trying everything in my power to calm down and not go in guns blazing at my father.
How fucking dare he take what is mine! If he wanted me, he could have come talk to me himself and not sent his goons to have Mikey do it.
The rage is settling deep in my gut, but when I place my hand there, I remember that I have more than just me to remember about. This little bean inside of me is more important than anything else.
"We are parking a couple of blocks away and going to walk the rest of the way. Make sure to put your silencers on; we will have to kill the guards first, and don't want to announce ourselves." Luca is commanding the car like he has done this a million times.
I pull out my gun from my holster and bend down to grab a silencer from the bag. Luca grabs my arm.
"Not you." I raise a brow at him, "the fuck you mean, not me?"
"Keep yours holstered unless necessary; it won't fit in your holster with it on. Let Mel and me do the shooting." I glare daggers at him, but I know he is right.
"Fine, but I am the one to kill my father." He looks at me for a long moment, then nods.
"You ready to be badass bitches?" Mel asks while bouncing in her seat.
"You do realize we are killing people?" I raise a brow.
"I hope so. I need to get some of this pent-up rage out and put it to good use." I shake my head and chuckle. Leave it to Mel to make me laugh as we are sitting here getting ready to walk into a shit storm.
"Okay, Harley Quinn, have fun with that." I roll my eyes.
The car comes to a stop, and we all get out. There is a second SUV parked behind us, and men in black suits flow out of it.
"They are my guys," Luca says, calming my nerves just a bit.
"We are going to go around back. Julia, stay with me. Guys, you know what to do." All the guys nod in unison.
Luca grabs my arm, and we start to walk down the sidewalk, Mel trailing a few steps behind. I look back at my best psycho, and she is smiling and bouncing like a kid getting ready to walk into a candy store.
"Hey, little psycho, get your ass up here." Mel bounces up next to me, her blonde ponytail swinging with her step. We are all dressed in black to make it less obvious, but with her blonde hair, we stick out like a sore thumb.
"Okay, so what's the plan?" Mel asks.
"We go in the front door and find my brothers," Luca says with so much determination it hurts. “We will kill any man in our way, restrain De Luca, and let Julia do what needs to be done." She nods and grabs my hand.
"We are going to get them back, babe," She whispers, and all I can do is nod, not feeling anywhere near as confident as they are.
Luca stops outside a run-down house. It looks like a one-story house with a basement.
Vines are running up the side of the house, the concrete walkway leading to the door is cracked, and as soon as we turn, a man standing there falls to the ground.
A bullet hole through the head, bleeding all over the ground.
My stomach turns, but I hold it down. No time to pussy out now. I can handle blood.
We walk through the front door, and Luca starts to feel around his pockets for something, when he pulls out a lock-picking kit. I reach out and turn the door handle, opening the door. I turn and raise a brow to him, and he rolls his eyes.
Luca takes the lead and walks into the house, his gun drawn as he looks around every corner. I laugh; he looks like the main character in a spy movie.
"Come on," he whispers and waves his hand, leading Mel and me further into the house.
We pass a living room to our left, furnished with all pristine white couches and love seats.
To our right is a formal dining room with a solid oak table.
We are heading towards the kitchen, which has an old-school black-and-white square-tile floor that completely clashes with the rest of the house.
I guess this house doesn't have to make sense if he just uses it to kidnap people. We walk through the kitchen that screams 1950s. It's not even just the checkered floor; it has teal-blue cabinets, lime-green walls, and an old-school double stove.
I am looking around the kitchen like I am in a museum when I run into a solid wall of muscle. I look up and see that Luca has stopped, his hands are slightly shaking, and he is staring at the door to our right. The only other door is one with a window, and you can see that it goes outside.
Mel walks up to the door first, opens it, then turns back to look at us.
Luca finally steps forward and takes the lead, walking down the stairs. The stairs are old and rickety, and make you claustrophobic with the concrete walls that surround them; you can barely see the bottom. We reach the bottom, and it's a hallway with several doors on each side.
What the fuck is my dad doing with some horror movie shit in the basement?
We hear a laugh that sends a chill down my spine, and makes my skin crawl... my dad.
Luca picks up his pace, and we make it to the end of the hall, in front of the last door to the left. His and Mel's guns are drawn, and I pull out my switchblade and flip it open, ready to take on whatever is happening behind this door.
I look up from the blade that I am flipping around, and I have two sets of eyes staring at me. I can see both of them checking me to make sure I will be ok. I give a slight nod, and then Luca slams the door open, Mel follows, and then I am the last to enter.
I look around the room, and I see Mikey and Kai facing each other, both of them are beaten up pretty badly.
Then there is Reyes, standing tall and smiling at me.
He is to the left of them, his knuckles are bloody and bruised.
Then, to the right is my dad, straddling a chair, looking like he is watching his favorite show.
"See!" My dad stands up, hands raised like he just won something. "I told you she would come. But what a surprise to see a Moretti here and whoever this is." He gestures to Mel.
"Let them go," I say, trying to push my way in front of Luca.
"Now, dear daughter, you know I won't do that until you are fully in my care again. Now tell your dogs to back off." I finally push in front of Luca and stand in front of my father.
"I'll come back home, but the four of them are to be set free." I stand firm.
"NO!" I hear Mikey growl, and then a fist meets flesh.
Before I can process anything, Reyes falls to the ground. I turn around, and Mel is blowing off her gun, like in the movies.
I blink, and Luca is pulling me behind him just in time to miss my father reaching for me. Mikey and Kai are screaming and fighting against the chains, and Mel has her gun pointed at my dad.
His hands go up, and he steps back. I have never in my life seen my father surrender, let alone to a girl.
"Now, let's not be hasty." He says with an unamused chuckle.
Mel steps towards him, and he takes another step back.
"Give me the key, Dad." I stick out my hand.
"I don't have it on me," He laughs again. I swear I have never hated his laugh so much in my life.
"Luca, go with him to get the key, please." Luca nods his head, then steps out of the way for my dad to walk by.
As soon as they are out of the room, I run up to Mikey and Kai, hovering my hands over their broken and bruised faces. Tears are running down my face.
"Oh my god, I'm so sorry, this is all my fault."
"None of this is your fault, princess." Mikey's voice is strained.
"I won't lie, I deserve most of this for all the fucked up shit I have done in my life," Kai mutters.
I shake my head hard, "No, you don't deserve this. This is all my fault. If I had never left him and just done what he said, this wouldn't even be a thing, and you two would be safe, just playing hockey."
"Baby girl. We were wrapped up in this long before we met you. It just so happens your dad found something on me."
Before I can say anything, the door opens, and in comes my dad, followed by Luca.
I stick out my hand, and my dad drops the key into my hand. I pocket the key and nod to Luca. Without a second thought, he shoots my dad once in each of his legs, and my dad crumbles to the ground.
"So I am going to make this very clear to you, father dearest." I bend down in front of him, but far enough away that he can't grab me. "If there is anything at all that I learned from you, it is that you don't touch what is mine." I point over to Mikey and Kai. "Do they look untouched to you?"
My dad just sits there, not saying anything. I swing out my hand, holding the switch blade, and slice across his cheek. He hisses at the pain, and I smile. "There we go. Now you are bleeding also."
"The next thing I learned from you is that love is earned, not just given freely." I punch him in the face, feeling the bones of his nose crack under my knuckles. I want to shake out the pain in my hand, but I don't; I can't show weakness here.
"And the last thing I can tell you, one-hundred percent learned from you, is to make sure when you kill someone, make sure to give them a little something to regret when they pass." I smile down at him, my blade still in my hand, with a tint of red on his cheek.
"Aren't you going to ask me what it is you will regret?" I raise a brow, and he spits at me.
I stand and cross my arms, "Well, that's just rude. But I'll tell you anyway, because I am feeling generous. You will regret that you never got to see your grandchild. " He laughs his manic laugh at me. "You act like you are already pregnant with the baby." His words break off.
"That's because I am." I smile at him, grabbing him by the hair and running my blade over his neck, as hard and as deep as I can. He looks at me and smiles as the blood pours down his shirt and onto the concrete floor.
As soon as I hear him take his last breath and the light leaves him, I feel a sense of peace, like my life is finally mine again.
I drop his body and kick him away, turning to my men, who are both looking at me with wide eyes and complete shock on their faces.