His Greatest Redemption [REUPLOADED]

23

The sound of music and loud laughter hit me, and I was able to dissect just how many people were down there. Twenty or more, maybe? As we emerged from the stairs, my eyes flared and unease filled my belly. I gazed around, slowly taking in the setting.

Red L.E.D lights hung from the ceiling, and wide couches were spread out around the room, along with a mini-bar on one side of the room and a long pool table on the other. Smoke lingered throughout the air, tingling my nostrils. Music was playing low from a speaker somewhere in the room, though I couldn't exactly tell where.

Eli was sitting on one of the couches, a pretty blonde girl on his lap as he enjoyed a slice of pizza and a beer. He was surrounded by a group of people, each of them in their own world, smoking and laughing together. They sort of looked like teenagers enjoying life, and it took me a moment to realize I was their age, too.

I averted my gaze and paused as my eyes landed on the pool table again. Amo lined his stick up with the balls and narrowed his eyes in concentration, taking his time to shoot. He ended up shooting three balls into the top left corner pocket, including the cue ball. "I hate this fucking game." He threw his arms up into the air and shook his head, cursing low under his breath.

"Nah, the game just hates you." Nico laughed, getting ready to shoot next, but as if feeling my stare, he picked his head up and sent me a wicked smirk. He still made me feel weird, and out of all of them, he was the one I didn't trust the most. I had a feeling he wanted to murder me.

I heard Knight's laugh coming from across the room, where he was playing a drinking game with Levi and two other young-looking guys. Seeing them all like this, it was the most fascinating thing to me. Just the other day, I'd witnessed a man get killed at their hands-- even if they weren't the ones doing the killing. The Cosa Nostra was their life, and it was hard for me to remember that they were all young. Crime and illegal dealing in the underground wasn't all they did.

I finally noticed Ronan sitting on the other couch, a deep frown on his face as he watched some race on the flatscreen TV mounted on the wall. There was a girl sitting close beside him with her hands fisted together, looking like she wanted to strangle someone. She looked about his age, with porcelain-like skin and the lightest shade of white hair I'd ever seen. His eyes connected with mine, and with a small smirk, he nodded towards me in acknowledgement. I winked back, waving my hand back and forth.

"Where's the bathroom?" I turned to Luciano, who was still standing behind me with his back leaned against the wall. He was watching me, the expression on his face cold and bored looking. He looked past me and gazed around the room, and I watched as the butt of his cigarette glowed bright red as it hung loosely between his lips.

His gaze landed on me again, but he was silent as if he was thinking over something, and then he tipped his chin towards the empty hallway to my right, "Down there." His tongue swept out, wetting his bottom lip, and I got the glimpse of silver coming from his piercing. Lord, help me.