AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The door to the dining room opens and four men walk in, all dressed in black. Their focus is on me, but Judah pushes to his feet and they halt all movement.
“What is this about?” he asks, his tone calm, but there’s an underlying threat that seems to linger in every word he utters.
“We need to take the girl,” one of the men tells Judah. “It’s not in our hands anymore. And it’s not in yours.”
“She’s my property,” Judah hisses, his hands slamming down on the table in a loud thud that has me jumping in shock. “She will not leave this fucking property. If anyone comes for her, they’ll be coming for the Veniers, the Erranis, and the Medicis as well.” The three strongest names in the mafia.
But the men who entered are undeterred as they stare down Judah. Then Kai and Valen both rise to their feet, and I feel as if I’m a fragile princess—it annoys me. I’m far from weak.
I stand and step out from behind Valen who’s been trying to hide me.
“What is this about? Who wants me?” I ask, keeping my voice neutral, and I’m thankful they can’t hear it shaking with worry.
There are too many people out there who may want me dead, but I’m not going to sit back and have the three men in my life watch me show any form of fragility.
My father, along with Kai, Valen, and Judah, taught me that surrender is futile. I’ll fight, even if it ultimately brings my death.
“Your father has upset a lot of people,” one of the men says.
The intruders all look like they should be doormen at a nightclub with their large bulk and broad shoulders. The one has a scar running from his left eye down to his mouth, and I can’t help but shiver when I take in his face.
“This is a private residence,” Judah tells them as he steps forward and pushes me behind him with his hand. But I know he can’t protect me. These men won’t stop now. They’re here for a reason, and they’re not going to leave until they’ve got me in their custody. “I didn’t know the FBI had started hiring thugs,” Judah says with a smile, and my mouth pops open.
“You don’t need to know anything,” Scarface says. “The only thing that matters is that the girl comes with us.”
He looks at me, his stare cold and menacing. It slices through me, causing me to shiver in fear. I’ve always been stronger than this, not showing others what I’m feeling, but right now, this man has me in a chokehold. He’s obviously trained to see through people.
“Trust me when I say, I’m not one to bow down to anyone. My friends here will bear witness to that. So, if you would like to sit down and tell me why you stormed into our home and disturbed a lovely dinner, then you’re welcome to. But you won’t be leaving with anyone,” Judah tells them.
I’m not sure what the hell is going on, so many thoughts are racing through my mind, but then I notice Judah’s imperceptible movement. It’s a sleight of hand, like a magician performing his most famous trick, and seconds later, there are shots ringing in my ears.
I can’t stop the scream that escapes my lips as I’m pushed to the floor. A body covers me, but there’s only so much protection Judah can offer as he and the other guys engage in a frenzied gunfight. Something hits my leg, and the agonising sting of the bullet slicing through my flesh makes me dizzy. I’ve never been shot at before, let alone hit with a bullet.
“Stay down,” Judah tells me.
In the next second, he’s gone, and I find myself alone, holding onto my leg. The thick, crimson fluid oozing from my wound covers my hands, and once again, I’m stained with someone’s blood. Only this time, it’s mine.
This is my life now, and I can’t escape it. I shut my eyes so tight, I see sparks behind my lids. The violence makes me anxious, even though I’ve taken a life. This shouldn’t faze me, but it does.
I try to shift to find Kai or Valen or Judah, but all I see are men in black. Some fall to the ground with heavy thuds, while others duck behind furniture, their guns expelling bullets. I can’t see who they’re aiming at, all I can hear are groans and shouts.
Fear skitters down my spine for the men I’ve come to care about. I don’t want them to be hurt. I’m still not sure who sent these mercenaries, but they’re here to complete a job.
My heart slams against my chest, making it difficult to breath. The cacophony in my ears is deafening. Another two men in black fall to the ground and then I see Valen gripping one of them around the neck, he’s using him as a shield, and for a moment, the uneasy feeling calms somewhat. But I still can’t see the other men, and I don’t know if they’ve been shot.
It occurs to me, if I can get out of the room, I can try to find some soldiers on the property to help. I can’t walk, though, because my leg feels as if it’s about to explode with the pain shooting through it. Even if I could stand, there’s every chance I’d get hit again, so I decide the only way to get to safety and call for help is to crawl.
Bullets continue to fly past me as I drag myself along the smooth wooden floorboards, trying to get away. But before I can get too far, I’m grabbed around the waist and hoisted up by a pair of thick, rough hands, forcing a scream to escape my lungs.
The man carrying me rushes for the patio doors, but then I feel him lunge forward as he begins to lose his balance, and I brace myself for the crash through the glass doors. I think he’s been shot, but I can’t be sure. I’m slammed to the ground, the thud against the cold concrete, knocking the breath from my lungs as I’m dragged outside by one ankle.
I bite down on my lip to keep from screaming in agony as I use my wounded leg to kick at the scarred face of the man who’s trying to keep hold of me. Finally, a scream breaks free from my lips as I kick once more, hitting him in the jaw, and his hand releases my foot. But I’m in too much pain to get away. I roll over, hoping to locate Judah, Valen, or Kai in the melee.
And that’s when I see him…
I watch as Kai comes up behind the man with the scar, and I look on in fascinated horror as he takes a sleek cable and wraps it around the oaf’s large neck and tugs tight. I’ve never seen violence like this before. Not even in the cinema.
The wire cord doesn’t look like it could do too much damage, but it does. It cuts into the flesh, slicing slowly but surely, as if the neck of this man was nothing more than butter with a hot blade slipping through it easily. But it’s also Kai’s strength that shocks me. I knew he worked out and provided the training for all the up-and-coming soldiers, but watching him in action for real is very different.
