Chapter 36 #2
Ales grabbed the second dagger from her boot, and before the man in front of her even had time to react, she struck, sending him falling to the ground. For a brief second, there was silence as she looked around and saw bodies covering the hallway.
Her and Leo's work left a heavy silence behind. Her stomach twisted as she took in the aftermath, a small part of her heart aching at the sight. A part of her wondered when exactly she had crossed that line, because she still cared, she still felt, and she wasn't like them, not completely, not yet.
Then movement caught her attention, her eyes snapping up to see Leo, someone was behind him. Leo had just driven his blade into the stomach of the man in front of him, the attacker falling, but another one already advancing, and Leo didn't see him.
Leo was covered in blood and bruises.
Sweat mixed with the blood running down his face, causing strands of his dark hair to stick to his forehead. His chest rose and fell with heavy breaths as he fought to stay ahead of the relentless wave of attackers.
Ales knew she looked no better. Sweat trickled down the back of her neck, her hair plastered against her skin, her muscles burning from exhaustion.
But none of that mattered. She caught movement out of the corner of her eye. A man was charging straight toward Leo.
"Leo! Behind you!" she screamed. Leo reacted instantly, spinning toward the voice. But it was too late. The man's fist slammed into his stomach, forcing the air from his lungs before another punch cracked across his jaw, splitting his lip open.
Leo doubled over with a grunt as pain exploded through his body, but before he could recover he shot back upright, ready to fight again.
However, two more men rushed in behind him and grabbed both of his arms, pinning them tightly against his sides.
Leo thrashed violently in their grip, but they didn't budge.
His icy blue eyes locked onto the man standing in front of him.
Without hesitation, Leo spat a mixture of blood and saliva straight into the man's face.
The man barely reacted, instead slowly wiping his cheek clean with the back of his hand.
Leo heard Ales scream, and his head whipped toward the sound as panic shot through him. "Ales!"
He struggled harder, trying to turn around, but his heart sank when he saw she had been captured too, two men held her tightly by her forearms, forcing her to her knees every time she tried to break free. "No!" Leo roared, throwing his weight against the men restraining him.
The man in front of him smiled. Then he drove his fist into Leo's ribs. Once, twice then three times. Each blow stole another breath from Leo's lungs. A kick followed, crashing into his side. Then another. Leo grunted and growled, his entire body screaming in agony, but he refused to scream.
He refused to give them that satisfaction, even as his ribs burned with every breath, each inhale sharp and punishing, and he was almost certain at least one of them was broken.
Both eyes were already beginning to swell, his face had gone almost numb from the repeated punches, and his head slowly sagged forward as darkness threatened to pull him under.
No. Not yet. He forced his head back up, looking through swollen eyes. The man in front of him smirked.
"Truth is... he leaned closer, saying "I only needed one of you.", his grin widening as he added "She'll do just fine." Leo's stomach dropped. "Bring her."
The two men restraining Leo tightened their grip as footsteps echoed across the hallway, and Leo watched helplessly as Ales fought against the men dragging her toward the massive metal door, every instinct inside him screaming to move, to help her, but he couldn't.
He hated how helpless he felt. The scar-faced man stopped beside Ales, grabbing her chin roughly and forcing her to look up at him. "Now, Princess..."His voice dripped with amusement. "I need you to scan your palm and open the door."
Ales glared at him, then spat directly in his face. "Never." The man sighed dramatically. "You really do like making things difficult." He released her chin, then slowly pulled back the long side of his coat. Leo's eyes widened as he saw the knife.
He knew exactly what the man intended to do. He wasn't going to ask again. He was going to slice open Ales' hand...then force her palm and bloody fingerprint onto the scanner.
Leo scanned the hallway. Only these fucking idiots were left. The rest either lay unconscious or dead across the bloodstained floor. This was his chance.
Ignoring the agony ripping through his body, Leo planted his feet and twisted hard. The man gripping his right arm lost his balance for a split second, and that was all Leo needed. He yanked him forward with all the strength he had left, making the man stumble.
Leo drove his knee into his chest before throwing him over his shoulder. Without missing a beat, he spun and launched a hard kick into the second man's ribs, sending him crashing into the concrete wall.
Finally free. Leo didn't stop. He grabbed the first man by the collar and slammed his fist into his face. Once. Twice. A third time, the man crumpled to the floor. Leo shoved him aside, spotted his knife lying on the floor, and snatched it up.
Another attacker rushed him. Leo drove the blade straight into the man's abdomen. The attacker gasped before collapsing to the floor. Leo ripped the knife free, kicked the man away, and drew his pistol in one fluid motion.
Bang.
The man he'd thrown moments earlier dropped instantly, and silence followed. Leo spun around, his heart lurching as he shouted, "Ales!"
The two massive men still restraining her hadn’t noticed he was free, as they were too focused on forcing her toward the scanner. Leo didn’t hesitate, he fired two shots, and both men dropped where they stood.
The scar-faced leader slowly turned around, a cruel smirk spreading across his face. He had already sliced Ales' palm, and blood trickled down her hand as he reached for the scanner. Ales reacted first.
She drove her boot into his knee, making the man buckle with a curse. Leo tossed her discarded pistol across the hallway, and she caught it instinctively, raised it, and fired.
The bullet struck him square between the eyes. His smirk disappeared as his body collapsed to the floor. Everything... went quiet.
Ales stood frozen, her chest rising and falling with ragged breaths as she stared at the man she’d just killed. Leo walked over slowly, every step sending pain through his battered body, and he hissed as another wave of agony rolled through his ribs. “You okay?” he asked quietly.
When he reached her, he gently took the pistol from her trembling hand and slid it back into his holster. She nodded slowly. "I..." She couldn't find the words. Instead, her eyes drifted down the hallway.
The bodies, the blood, the destruction...all of it. A long breath escaped her lips. Then she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Leo. “We did it,” she whispered against his shoulder.
Leo smiled despite the pain and hugged her back. "Yeah..." he chuckled softly. "We did." He pulled back just enough to look at her. "You kicked ass." A small laugh escaped Ales.
The first genuine one she'd managed all day. She let go and looked farther down the hallway. Leo followed her gaze. Three familiar figures stood at the far end: Giovanni, Matteo, and the Capo himself, Adriano Basilio.
Standing between them was a man with his hands cuffed behind his back, bruised, disheveled, defeated. Aldo. Adriano's eyes swept over the hallway.
The unconscious bodies, the dead men, the blood coating the walls and floor. Then his gaze settled on the two teenagers standing in the middle of it all, bruised, bloody, still standing.
A slow smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth as he tucked his hands into the pockets of his dress pants. "I guess we missed the fun."
Giovanni laughed quietly as he gave Aldo a rough shove forward, saying, "We found this asshole lurking downstairs in Adriano's office. No backup. No escape plan." His smile widened. "Then we heard all the noise down here and figured we'd come see what our kids were up to."
Leo glanced at Ales, and she met his eyes before looking back at Aldo, her expression hardening as she crossed her arms over her chest and asked, “What are you going to do with him?”
The hallway fell silent as Leo looked toward the three men who had ruled the mafia for decades, waiting. Adriano’s gaze shifted to Aldo, then back to the two teenagers, a knowing grin spreading across his face as he said, “We’re going to court.”