AllFreeNovel
Share Us
More gunshots ring out. More people scream. There’s a clatter of footsteps… Guess the rest of the people are leaving, too.
I turn to Penny. "Go!" I jerk my chin toward the exit door. "Please, go, Penny, I don’t want any more of my friends hurt."
Penny nods. "Stay safe, Jeanne."
"I’ll be with you very soon." I try to smile. "Now leave."
Karma moves toward the doorway, taking Penny with her. I turn to find Adrian and Seb breaking away from the Sovranos. The rest of the brothers move in to cover the gaps. Their movements are in synchrony, as if they’ve rehearsed it before. No doubt, they’ve been in similar situations together and have come out of it. So why is it that Luca had to die? If he decided to put himself at risk to save me, why didn’t they protect him? Why weren't they better prepared?
Another shiver runs down my back. My throat is so tight, it feels like I’ve swallowed a bucket of mud. The heavy sensation in my chest intensifies. There’s something at the edge of my consciousness that I can’t quite grasp. A thought that almost materializes, only to be lost.
There’s a disturbance beyond the wall of Sovranos. I peer in that direction to find Massimo in a scuffle with a stranger. He rams his fist into the man, who staggers back. Massimo levels his gun and shoots the guy point blank in the face. The shot reverberates around the room. Blood fountains out, one side of his head blown off as he crumples. My gut churns, bile boils up my throat. I swallow, close my eyes and take a deep breath. And another, until the sickness subsides. I should be shocked. I think Iamshocked. I simply can’t process what I’m feeling at the moment.
Three more men race toward us. Shots ring out. Was that Massimo who shot? Or maybe that was Adrian? Or Michael? More men run in from the side door. I gasp aloud. Are we going to be overpowered? To my relief, they join the Sovranos and shoot back at our opponents. All three of the strangers crumple.
More men join Freddie, more shots ring out. More bodies hit the floor. It’s a constant pounding of footsteps, the muted hiss of shots, and the thwack of bodies hitting the floor.
My entire body is frozen. The heaviness in my chest drops to my stomach. It feels like I am encased in ice, inside and out.
I hear something hit the roof above before bits of plaster pour down on the heads of the Sovranos. Silence follows. Then the lights in the church cut out.
My breath catches in my throat. I need to get out of here. Need to leave before I’m hit, or hurt, or worse. I try to stand, but my limbs refuse to obey me. Try to say something, but the words are stuck in my throat. A snake has wrapped itself around my middle and is squeezing me slowly. My lungs burn, and my throat hurts. Fear licks up my spine, and for the first time since the shooting started, I feel terrified. Vulnerable. Exposed.
Is this how I’m going to die? Is it so bad if I do? The man I love is gone. I no longer feel the same kind of passion for the one thing that had brought meaning to my life—my ability to perform. What is there to live for?
Suddenly, the darkness is pierced by red beams of light that swing about the place before settling on each of the Sovranos’ foreheads. What the— What are they? Laser targeting? Oh, no. There’re snipers in the church. I glance up, as do the Sovrano brothers. Adrian curses under his breath.
"Put down your guns," a familiar voice rings out.
The men hesitate.
A red beam of light fixes onto the middle of my forehead. I gasp. My heart cannons in my chest with such force, I’m sure it’s going to break through my ribcage.
"Put down your guns, or I’m going to shoot her."
That voice! I'd recognize it anywhere. It's Freddie. Luca died to protect me from him, but he found me anyway.
All of the men seem to turn to columns of rock. Then, Michael raises his arms. Slowly, he bends, places his gun on the floor, and slides it forward.
He straightens.
"Now the rest of you," the same voice says.
One by one, they lower their guns to the floor, then straighten.
The red beams of light continue to cut through the gloom. Then footsteps sound as a man walks out from behind a pillar. A short, compact man with a slight bulge around his center. His features are ruddy, his hair thinning.
Freddie levels his gun at Michael as he closes the distance to them. He skirts the fallen bodies, then walks over to Michael. He flips his gun, catches it by the barrel, then brings the butt down on Michael’s temple. The sound of metal hitting flesh whomps through the space.
My guts knot. My belly churns. Bile sloshes up my throat, and I swallow it down.
In front of me, Michael doesn’t flinch.
"Freddie," he says in a voice that is shorn of any intonation.
"Finally, fuck." The other man chuckles. "Took you long enough to acknowledge my existence.”
"What do you want?" Michael asks in a bored tone.
