Chapter 36
The Estate~
Leo grabbed Dantae quickly and rushed him over to the moms. He placed him safely into Aunt Gia's arms.
"They're here." That was all he said before turning around and sprinting back toward the security monitors.
His eyes scanned every screen. Men moving across the property. Vehicles surrounding the estate. Figures attempting to breach the doors, windows, and back entrance. They were testing every possible way in.
Leo didn't waste another second. He moved with purpose, grabbing the weapons he had prepared earlier.
The guns were secured around his waist, and the knives were hidden where they needed to be, every movement calculated because every second mattered.
His eyes shifted toward Ales, who was already prepared, checking her weapons.
Making sure everything was secure, there was no hesitation and no fear, just determination. Leo knew they would eventually make their way inside. It wasn't a matter of if, it was when.
And when they did, they would come straight for this room, but he wasn't going to let them get that far, not if he had anything to say about it.
He closed his eyes, taking one deep breath, then another.
He needed to think, not as a son, not as a nephew, not as a teenager who was scared, but as a leader.
When his eyes opened again, his entire posture changed. He stood taller, stronger, then turned around to face everyone.
"When those men make it into this house, I'm going out there with Ales." The room immediately went quiet. "Michel, Dean, and Antonio, you stay here."
He pointed toward the door. "Your guns stay aimed at that entrance the entire time." The boys nodded.
"Kalani and Kaia, you are right behind them. Second line of defense. Weapons ready." The twins nodded seriously. "No one opens that door for anyone."
His eyes moved across the room. "If it's me or Ales, we will open it ourselves."
Then he looked toward the mothers. "Moms, you have the weapons I gave you. Protect each other at all costs." His voice hardened. "These people are coming here to hurt us. Do not hesitate. Do not feel sorry for them."
A silence settled. "Your family's lives depend on it." Leo could feel the weight of every eye on him but he didn't let it shake him. Especially not right now. Not when the weight of the safety of his family was on his shoulders.
Leena stepped forward. The fear on her face was impossible to hide.
"Leo..." Her voice cracked slightly. "You don't need to go out there." She looked toward the locked door. "They can't get into this room. You would be safer here."
Leo swallowed. Then he walked toward his mother and gently took her hands. He was already taller than her, forcing him to look down slightly as he held her.
"Mom." His voice softened. "If I stay here, they come straight to this room." He shook his head. "And then everyone in here is in more danger." Her eyes filled with worry. "I need to go out there and keep them away from you. Away from the kids."
He squeezed her hands. "I have to do this." A pause. "I'll be okay." Leena stared at her son. Pride battled with fear. Because she knew...she knew he had already made his decision.
He was too much like his father, too stubborn, too determined, too willing to put himself between danger and the people he loved. She let out a shaky breath and nodded.
"I hate that you're right." A small smile tugged at Leo's lips. "I know." Before Leena could respond, Ales stepped forward. "I'll be out there too, Aunt Leena." She gave her a small smirk. "Don't worry. We've got each other's backs."
Gianna walked over to her daughter immediately and pulled Ales into a tight hug.
Gia was just as scared, her heart already carrying the weight of her sons and husband being out there, and now another child was stepping into danger.
But she knew her daughter, Ales had always been brave, and she had faith in her, even if her heart was already breaking.
Leo looked back at everyone one more time, the boys, the girls, the mothers, making sure they were ready. Michel, Dean, and Antonio all gave him a thumbs up as they pulled their weapons out. Kalani and Kaia following suit. They understood. They knew what was coming.
He huffs in amusement at the irony, these children were the last line of defense. To any sane person that would be laughable. It's a good thing none of them were sane.
Leo turned back toward the monitors. The men outside were almost inside. No more waiting.
"Let's go, Ales." She immediately grabbed her gun. Leo scanned his palm against the door panel, unlocking it. Behind them, Michel quickly shut it. The heavy door closed with a loud click.
Locked.
Leo took a moment to look at his cousin, his mind already working as every lesson, every training session, and every lecture from his father and uncles came rushing back to him.
It all clicked into place at once, this was why they trained them, not for practice, not for games, but for moments like this.
"We're going up those stairs," Leo instructed quietly. "We'll wait for them at the top." Ales nodded.
"We hold them off for as long as possible." His eyes moved toward the hallway.
"They're going to head straight for the safe room. If Clara is with Aldo, then she already gave them the layout of the house." His jaw tightened. "They know where we're going to be."
Leo glanced at Ales and could see it, the slight shake in her hands, the nervousness in her eyes, the fear. And honestly, he understood. Ales had never imagined this would be her life; she was always the one being protected, always the one everyone worried about.
But now... she was standing beside him, fighting, protecting, and strangely enough, Leo could see a sense of peace in her expression. She was finally getting the chance to prove she was capable. She wasn't just someone they had to save. She was one of them.
"Ales." Her eyes snapped to him. "You need to shove that heart of yours down." He tapped his chest. "Way down." She stared at him.
"We're not walking into a training room. We're not practicing." His voice lowered. "We are fighting to survive." He tilted his head slightly. "Are you ready?"
For a moment, she hesitated. Then she heard it, the footsteps downstairs, heavy, slow, coming closer. Her fear was still there, but so was her determination. She nodded. "Yeah." Leo studied her for another second, then nodded. "Good." He moved first.
They climbed the stairs silently before stopping outside the second metal door. Leo shoved it closed.
Locked.
Then he moved about fifteen feet away, pressing himself against the wall, his gun raised and his eyes focused down the hallway. Ales moved to the opposite wall, mirroring his position. Two sides, one goal: protect their family.
Their hearts were racing, their adrenaline was pumping, but their minds were clear, focused, ready. Then they heard it, the sound of heavy boots climbing the stairs, closer, closer, closer. Leo adjusted his stance, bending his knees slightly, a small smirk crossing his face. "Here we go."
The first booted man appeared at the top of the stairs. Leo didn't hesitate. The second his foot stepped onto the floor, Leo fired. The bullet hit his leg, forcing the man to stumble forward with a cry of pain.
That was all Leo needed. He stepped forward, driving his elbow into the man's face before following it with a hard punch that sent him crashing to the ground.
No hesitation. No wasted movement. Training. Pure instinct.
Ales moved at the same time. Her gun raised as she fired down the hallway, moving with Leo as they pushed back the wave of men coming toward them.
And then she saw them, so many, thirty, maybe fifty. Her stomach dropped, but she couldn't stop; there was no room for fear anymore.
Bullets flew past them, close enough that she felt the air move as Leo and Ales moved together, barely avoiding the attacks coming at them. Every punch, every kick, every shot they returned it all. They had spent years training for this moment.
And now... it was real. Ales grabbed one of the men rushing toward her, using his momentum against him. She twisted, pulled, and flipped him over her shoulder. He hit the ground hard, and before he could recover, she fired. Then she turned.
Another man to her right, a punch, a kick, a shot; another attacker on her left. She spun, fired, moved.
Never stopping, never giving them the chance to surround her, she suddenly heard a heavy step behind her. She turned quickly, her gun lifting on instinct, but it only clicked...empty.
The man's lips curled into a smirk, knowing what was coming as he pulled his arm back, ready to strike. Ales ducked, the punch missing her by inches, and in the same motion she threw the useless gun aside and reached down, her fingers wrapping around the knife hidden in her combat boot.
In one smooth movement, she drove it into his side, his face twisting in shock as he barely had time to react before she brought her knee upward, knocking him back and sending him falling to the ground while she kept moving.
Pain screamed through her body, her ribs ached, her face throbbed, and the wounds on her shoulder and leg burned with every movement, but she didn't slow down.
If anything, it fueled her, an anger, a rage, a need to protect. She finally understood the Basilio Curse. Everyone talked about it like it was some kind of monster hiding inside them, and maybe it was.
Because once it came out, it consumed everything. It wasn't logical or gentle, it was primal, a beast created from years of survival, from the need to protect the people you loved, from the desire for revenge, and from the demand for justice, burning through her veins.
It made every part of her body feel like it was on fire.
She understood now why her dad, uncles, and all the others carried that darkness inside them, because sometimes you needed the beast, and sometimes the beast was the only thing standing between your family and death.