The gun still had smoke waving from the barrel. Lucia was in the corner of the kitchen, suffering from shock. Her hand was over her mouth as she fell back against the wall. I brought my eyes to my father, who held his own gun. The Bonifacio parents were dead.
“What the fuck is this about?” I asked my father, staring down at Lorenzo’s immobile body.
My father brought his eyes to mine, the tears stinging the outside of his eyelids. “Your brother is dead. Get the girls. We’re leaving,” he told me, his lips quivering. “Romeo, go get Roger. Clean this up.”
There was no time to speak. They were ruthless, and now these fuckers had killed my brother. I didn’t question my father any further. I could hear the screaming coming from one of the maids who ran from the room. My father’s hand was bloodied, and there was a Bonifacio goon, dead in the corner, with his head slumped over his chest.
We had to get the sisters.
I turned back from the kitchen and saw Natalia near the corner of the entrance, her arms crossed. She was distraught, as she should be. “Gianni is dead. Go outside and wait for us there. We’re leaving,” I said.
“He just killed them.”
“Because they killed Gianni!” I yelled, then had to force myself to relax. There was no sense in taking any of it out on her. She was already scared enough. “I’m sorry, Natalia. Just go outside and wait. Dad will come to get you out there, okay?”
She didn’t say another word and simply nodded before turning back to the front door. I could hear Romeo’s footsteps as he left the house to get Roger, who was waiting outside in the car for us. He was sweating, and his hands were shaking. I heard someone screaming, and I could only assume it was Lucia, who had been in the corner of the kitchen, and had seen the scuffle that had happened.
We’d have to get more people to help us. I figured my father would deal with that issue. In the meantime, there was no doubt in my mind that the girls had overheard the noise of the gunshot and the screaming from Lucia. It would be shocking if they were still sleeping after the gunshots.
I made my way up the stairs, trying to remember which room I saw Chiara go into. I wanted to apprehend her myself—no one else would have the opportunity. I knew that they would handle her poorly, and maybe even hurt her. I wasn’t going to let that happen.
I walked down the hallway slowly, remembering that she had made her way down that end. I’d heard Alessandra’s door closed first, and then Chiara’s, which meant that her room would be closer to the end. I could see that many of the doors were open but from up there I couldn’t hear any voices. I clenched my hand into a fist, ready for anything.
Trying to keep my steps light to avoid alarming Chiara, I stopped in front of the furthest closed door in the hallway and opened it slowly, seeing a desk with a light on above it in the corner. When I turned towards the bed I could see her sleeping soundly. I wasn’t sure if she was faking it, but I didn’t want to take the chance. I ran towards her and reached out, holding her down quickly.
“Just don’t fight,” I said, feeling my muscles tense. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
Chiara took in a deep breath as I pushed her shoulders down into the bed, pulling the blanket over her, so I could restrain her easily. I could feel her body kicking from every direction and it took all of my power to hold her down. There was a soft scream emanating from beneath the fabric, causing me to clench my jaw even harder. I’d taken this on so that she wouldn’t be hurt by anyone else, yet there I was, barely able to contain her.
“Come on. Just don’t fight it. You won’t win.”
I could hear some soft moans coming from her as she slowly began to give up. It wasn’t until she fell silent that I lifted her. Her hands thrashed the moment I threw her over my shoulder and her legs kicked out from beneath the blanket. I appreciated the fight in her, as it showed that she wasn’t going to just let anyone take her away.
I kicked open the door and stepped out into the hallway. I saw my father, with Roger, entering another room. The sound of a scream resonated down the hall, and I assumed that it was Chiara’s sister, Alessandra. I wasn’t sure where the eldest sister was. Everything seemed to be happening so quickly. I held Chiara down with my hand on her back, forcing her into calming down. I wanted her to begin to lose her strength—the last thing we needed was her and her sister screaming out into the night and alarming the neighbors.
My father turned to me as I was passing and as Roger forced his way through the door, where Alessandra was holding it on the other side. “Take the girl to the car. We’ll follow after this with one.”
I nodded, not really able to speak with Chiara kicking against my back. I leaned against the railing as I made my way down the stairs. I could feel a film of sweat forming on my forehead as I walked, strictly from her persistent fighting. I clenched my jaw and held her with my hands in a vice-like grip. The front doors were wide open and I stepped slowly outside and saw Romeo closing the trunk to one of the SUVs. Others from our syndicate had driven up, and I saw Trevor Baldisera and Enzo Carlotti coming up from their cars.
“I need somewhere to put this one.”
Romeo narrowed his eyes at me. “Which one is that?”
“Chiara,” I said, grunting as she gave a stifled scream. “She’s a fighter.”
The air was cool against my skin as Enzo opened up the trunk to his black car and gestured to it. He was a man of few words, and I appreciated that. He knew that we had to be as quiet as we could. We’d already made enough of a ruckus that the police were probably already tipped off and on their way. We had to be quick.
I brought her from my shoulder to my arms and caught a whiff of something that immediately caught my attention. It was a deep, musky scent that was almost overbearing. It was coming from Chiara, whose long, dark hair was draped over my arm as her legs kicked out from between my arms. I held her against my chest and breathed in that scent as I walked towards the vehicle. The blanket was restraining her, but just barely.
My hands were shaking as I dropped her and pushed her down into the trunk. My stomach dropped when I heard her crying. I brought my hand to her throat, grazing it lightly before pulling my hands out quickly as Enzo slammed the trunk closed. I could hear her slamming her body against the trunk and screaming. It was muffled beneath the metal, but it caused the small car to shake.
I sighed and brought my gaze to Romeo. “You didn’t tell me the twins were so feisty.”
“How would I know?” he asked me, shaking his head. “Not like they even spoke whenever I was around.”
I left our conversation there and lifted my hand to my nose. That scent was still there. It was surprising to me that such a proper, sweet girl would wear such a musky, womanly scent. It was an erotic scent that drove me mad. I wanted to lick it off her skin.
3
