Chapter 34
Alessandra Pov~
Leo paced back and forth across the living room while the rest of us waited. The younger kids were still sprawled out around the room, blissfully unaware of the danger closing in around us.
The moms were doing their best to distract everyone while our fathers waited in the foyer for the boys to return. We didn't know what Dad had heard over the phone, but whatever it was had everyone on edge.
It couldn't be good. I pushed myself off the couch and walked over to Leo. He looked like he was about to wear a hole through the hardwood floor.
I gently grabbed his shoulders, stopping him mid-pace. "What's wrong, Leo?" He looked at me, his brows furrowed. "Something isn't right."
He ran a hand through his curls. "And I know that's vague because we're basically at war right now, but... something's off."
He started pacing again. "If Aldo's goal is to get rid of us..." He looked back at me. "Why are they running?"
I frowned. "Why did Clara run when she'd been here all week?" he continued. "She stayed even while Kale was locked up downstairs." He shook his head. "And why are they only targeting you?"
His eyes met mine. "Why not go after one of the younger kids? It would be easier." The room suddenly felt colder. "It doesn't make sense." He rubbed the back of his neck.
"We're missing something." His voice dropped. "Something important."
I opened my mouth to answer...but nothing came out. Because he was right. We were missing a vital piece of the puzzle.
Leo sighed before turning toward the foyer. "I need to think." He glanced over his shoulder.
"Don't follow me." His voice wasn't cold., just distant. "I'll be back." I watched him disappear from the room before letting out a quiet sigh.
Then I made my way back to my chair.
As I sat down, I couldn't stop replaying his questions in my head. Why me? Why now?
And what were we all missing?
Leonardo Pov~
"Dad!"
I hurried into the foyer, where my father and uncles were gathered. All four of them turned toward me with hard expressions. I'd definitely interrupted something important.
"Leo," Dad said, his voice firm. "What are you doing out here? We told you to stay with everyone."
"I know," I said quickly. "But I've been thinking, and this whole situation doesn't make sense." Their attention shifted fully to me. "If Aldo's plan was to get rid of us, why would he leave now?"
No one interrupted. I took that as a sign to keep going.
"Aldo doesn't strike me as someone who leaves loose ends. He's patient. Calculated." I glanced between them. "Running away doesn't fit him."
I shook my head. "And if he and his people were trained anything like we were, then A.J. threatening him wouldn't have scared him off." I frowned. "They know how to take pain."
Silence. "So either we're missing something..." I swallowed. "...or they never actually left."
Uncle Adriano spoke for the first time. "You think Aldo and Clara are still here." It wasn't a question. It was a realization. His icy blue eyes locked onto mine. I nodded once.
No matter how long I'd known my uncle...he was still scary as hell. Something changed in his expression. Without another word, he pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed a number.
I looked over at Uncle Matteo. He wore the same confused expression I felt.
Then...his face changed. The color drained from it. Dread. Real dread. It made my stomach tighten. Who was Uncle Adriano calling?
The call ended. He slowly lowered the phone. "They aren't answering." His voice was barely above a whisper.
My blood ran cold. Then he looked directly at me. I didn't need him to say another word. The boys were in trouble.
"Shit," I muttered. Every muscle in my body tensed as I looked at the men, waiting for orders.
Uncle Adriano didn't hesitate. He snapped straight into action.
"Matteo, get Luca and Stefano on the phone. Have them track the truck the boys were using and find out where it is." Uncle Adriano was already barking out orders.
"Gio, you and I are going to inform the wives. Leo..." His eyes landed on me. "You are responsible for keeping them safe in the safe room on the lowest floor."
He pulled out his phone again. "I'll call Aldo and hope the fucker answers. Let's hear what he has to say for himself."
Everyone sprang into action. I hurried to the weapons vault and grabbed extra ammunition before strapping on a few hidden knives and several handguns.
Then I gathered extra pistols and daggers for the moms and the older kids. They were trained too. And if everything went to hell, I was going to need every capable person by my side.
I ran back into the living room just as Uncle Adriano finished explaining how serious the situation had become. Aunt Gia looked like she was seconds away from breaking down. But she held herself together.
She had to. The younger kids needed someone to lean on.
"Leo is going to take all of you down to the safe room," Uncle Adriano said firmly. "He is in charge, and he is fully equipped to keep every one of you safe."
His eyes swept across the room. "You will listen to him." His tone was mostly directed at the younger kids.
"Am I clear?" Everyone nodded. A small smile crossed his face. "Good."
"Is Ajax going to be okay, Daddy?" Callie asked, tilting her head back to look up at him. Adriano immediately knelt beside her. "AJ is out there looking for the bad woman who tried to hurt Ales," he said gently. "I'm going to make sure he's okay. Don't worry."
He brushed a curl away from her face. "No one is going to hurt him." Callie nodded, but an uneasy feeling settled deep in my chest.
Because there was a very real possibility that AJ wasn't okay.
That none of them were. The uncles and my dad quietly pulled our moms aside, whispering a few final words to them.
Then Dad looked at me. One nod. That was all I needed. A second later, they were gone.
I took a slow breath. I wasn't shaking because I doubted my ability to protect everyone. I knew I could do it. I was shaking because the guys out there...
They were probably hurt. Maybe worse. I forced those thoughts away. Now wasn't the time. I mentally shoved every emotion into a box and locked it away.
I needed my head, not my heart. I looked around the room. Everyone was standing now, waiting for me to lead them.
I nodded toward the hallway. "Let's go." No one argued. I led them through the house and toward the hidden stairwell. Opening the concealed door, I started down the stairs.
One flight. Then another, then another. Four flights below ground. As we passed the reinforced room where Kale was being held, I glanced toward the heavy steel door.
Mrs. Hart was already inside with him. They would be safe. The room was impenetrable.
No one was getting in...or out...without authorization.
I opened the heavy metal door and led everyone down the long cement hallway toward another reinforced steel door at the very end.
Stopping in front of it, I placed my palm against the scanner.
Then I pulled the small pin from my pocket, the one I carried specifically for moments like this, and pricked my thumb.
A drop of blood welled up. I pressed my thumb against the second scanner.
"Access granted, Leonardo Giovanni Volkov."
The A.I. woman's voice echoed through the hallway as a series of loud clicks sounded from inside the door. The locks disengaged.
"Cooool..." Dean whispered under his breath.
I glanced back at him with a smirk before wrapping my hand around the thick steel handle.
The door was heavy, but it swung open to reveal a surprisingly comfortable room. It was enormous. A fully stocked kitchen sat along one wall. A cozy living area with several couches faced a mounted television.
There was a large dining table, bookshelves overflowing with novels, emergency backpacks neatly stacked in one corner, and enough supplies to last for quite some time.
Along the far-right wall sat a command station.
Rows of computer monitors were mounted one above another, displaying live security footage from every room in the house and every camera positioned outside the estate.
"This place is like a fortress," Michel said as he flopped onto one of the couches.
"Yeah..." Antonio breathed, walking toward the wall of monitors. "It's like the Batcave."
A few of the younger kids immediately looked around with wide, curious eyes despite everything that was happening. I couldn't blame them.
Even after seeing this room countless times growing up, I still thought it was impressive. I walked over to the command station, pulled out the black office chair, and sat down on the plush cushion.
The first thing that flashed across the center monitor was one word.
Password:
I frowned. "...Seriously?" I looked around for somewhere to type it in, but there wasn't a keyboard prompt or text box anywhere on the screen.
"What the..." My eyes wandered across the desk until they landed on a small instruction manual tucked neatly beside the monitor.
I let out a quiet laugh. "Thanks, Unc," I muttered. "Way to have absolutely no faith in me." I picked up the manual and flipped through the pages until I found the section for the security system.
Password authentication: Place blood on the biometric plate located beside the monitor.
I stared at the page. "More blood?" I sighed dramatically. "At this rate, I'm going to bleed out before this day is over."
Closing the manual, I grabbed the pin from my pocket again and pricked my index finger. I pressed the fresh drop of blood onto the small metal plate beside the monitor.
The screen immediately changed.
Password: Leonardo Giovanni Volkov
"Well... that's convenient." I wiped the blood from my finger before cleaning the scanner plate with the cloth sitting beside it.
Might as well leave things the way I found them. I sat back down and accessed every security camera and audio feed throughout the estate. Every room, hallway, entrance. Nothing.
Ano V had already been sent home because things had become too dangerous. Besides Kale and Mrs. Hart in the holding room, everyone else was down here with me.
The house should have been empty. Quiet. I hoped it stayed that way.
Standing up again, I unpacked the extra weapons I'd brought. I carefully unloaded the ammunition before laying everything across the table.
Then I picked up several daggers and a few handguns before walking over to the moms. Their conversation immediately stopped when they saw the weapons in my hands.
"Here," I said, handing them out. "Hide these on you." I gave each of them a knife before placing a handgun in Ales' hands.
"Ales, you take both." She nodded without hesitation.
"I'm giving Dean, Michel, and Antonio, Kalani and Kaia the rest of the guns." I had barely turned away when I stopped.
Without even looking back, I already knew what they were thinking. "Don't worry, they know how to use them," I said quietly. "They've all been trained." The room fell silent. Then I continued walking away.
Alessandra Pov~
"Do they really know how to use those?" Aunt Mili asked, staring toward the weapons Leo had handed out. I nodded. "Yup. They've been trained in combat and weaponry. It's one of the first things you learn when you start training."
I adjusted the gun behind my back and made sure the knife was secure in my boot. "Protect yourself and others at all costs."
Aunt Mili let out a small breath, shaking her head slightly. "Impressive..." She paused. "And unsafe."
I looked at her for a moment before shrugging. "When you live our lives, there isn't really such a thing as safe or unsafe."
I glanced around the room. "There's just being prepared..." I tapped the gun hidden behind me. "...or not."
Damien Pov~
My eyes fluttered open. The first thing I noticed was the sunlight.
Way too bright.
I immediately squeezed my eyes shut, groaning as I lifted my head. A sharp, throbbing pain exploded through my skull. I clenched my teeth.
Slowly, I tried rolling onto my side, but pain erupted throughout my entire body. I could feel blood running down the side of my head.
I didn't care. I had to get up. I had to find Raf. Using every ounce of strength I had left, I pushed myself off the gravel road.
My legs shook beneath me as I forced myself upright. Then I tried putting weight on my right leg. A blinding pain shot through me. A scream tore from my throat before I collapsed back onto my knees.
"Damien!" Someone shouted my name. My vision blurred as tears filled my eyes from the pain. A body collided with mine, and instinct took over. I shoved them away.
"Hey-hey!" The voice sounded familiar. "Damien! It's me. It's Marcio." I blinked through the haze.
"M-Marcio..." The memories came flooding back. The truck....the impact...the explosion. "Where is Raf?" My voice came out desperate.
I tried standing again, but my body refused to cooperate.
"Come on." Marcio grabbed me, helping me onto my feet. I leaned heavily against him as he guided me toward the others. As my vision finally cleared, I took in the scene around me.
The SUV was overturned several feet away. Smoke rose into the air as flames continued to consume what was left of it. And then I saw him. Raf. A few meters away.
Unmoving.
A.J. was crouched over him, his hands covered in blood as he worked desperately. As I limped closer, my heart dropped. Blood seeped from Raf's head. Scratches and bruises covered his arms and face.
"Come on, Raf," A.J. breathed. His voice cracked. "You're not dying today, man."
He started CPR. Thirty compressions. Head tilt. Pulse check. Then repeat. "Come on, you fucker," I hissed. My heart was in my throat. I hated this. I hated standing here and not being able to do anything. Not being able to control the outcome.
Our phones were gone. Probably destroyed in the crash or thrown somewhere along the road. We had no way to call for help. I looked over at Marcio. He was grimacing, but not from fear. Pain.
I noticed his right hand and neck were injured. Those bastards came out of nowhere. They hit us from behind and from the side, sending the SUV flipping. Luckily, we saw them coming seconds before impact. We had enough time to react.
Enough time to get out, except Raf. He was the last one out. And he was closest to the explosion. I didn't even know who attacked us. I had been too busy trying to survive.
But I didn't need to know. There was only one person who benefited from this.
Aldo.
A sharp inhale pulled me back I turned toward A.J. His face was pale. His breathing was uneven. But he was still focused on Raf. "His pulse is back," A.J. whispered.
Relief hit me for half a second. Then he continued. "But he needs medical attention fast."
His forehead lowered onto Raf's stomach as exhaustion started catching up to him. "He won't make it otherwise." I looked around us.
The road stretched endlessly in every direction. Empty. Silent. There were no cars, no people, no help...just us, broken and stranded.
“What now?”