The Mafia King's Nicotine

Bonus Chapter: The Final Hour

Darleen's legs shook with each faltering step, her unsteady heartbeat questioning each movement of those around her. The yellow light beams came in and out of focus, as they descended the stairs into the basement with Igor's large hand encompassing his daughter's shoulder guiding her down... down... down.

As upset as she knew he was with her, the sound of his breathing, the rise and fall of his chest under his corduroy jacket, gave her this sense of calm that she hadn't felt in the last several months. The last year of her life, she threw away her childhood dreams and her family for a man who only desired her pain. For a man who only wanted to use her to get what he wanted and the only way he could was through her and her family. She wanted to laugh at how pathetic she was and then in the same stroke, she wanted to crumble to her knees and have the earth swallow her whole for the poor choices she had made.

Her skin crawled, making her scratch her arm anxiously, remembering the feelings of his fingers brushing over her, making her heart stop. All the nights where she would lay in bed, the darkness around her, not even a sheet over her bare body to protect her from him, waiting, just as he had instructed her.

Every step sent her backward in time, trapping her in a spinning cycle of a reminder of what she was about to do.

Darleen took in an unsteady breath of air and released it through her nose, "What's done is done. What happens is what is meant to be." She muttered quietly under her breath, reaching out to take the doorknob.

Slowly the door creaked open and she peered inside, the setting sun casting golden rays through the curtains and into the office. Taking tentative steps forward both girls entered the office, the door clicking closed behind them.

Dannye sat behind the large desk and gestured for Darleen to take the extra seat across from him and for Johanna to join him at his side.

Darleen slowly lowered herself into the chair, digging her nails into the soft arm cushions. She kept her eyes trained on the floor, not daring to even peek out of the corner of her eye to where her father's large burly frame sat beside her.

A tense silence fell over the room, no one willing to strike the flint that would ignite the bombshell of a conversation they were about to have.

But someone had to.

Igor leaned forward and placed a revolver on top of the desk for everyone to see, shining in the golden sunlight, "There is a single bullet in that chamber." His thick, deep voice resonated deep within his daughter, "It can either go through your head or his. You make the choice. Do you choose the family or Rick?"

A bullet between her and the rest of her life.

The screeching of the metal door to the basement brought her out of her disturbing memories and she wiped her eyes quickly, not wanting to appear weak. This was her time. This was her turn to take back her life and her choices. She was free now and all she had to do was complete this one final task. Her face was as cold as she could manage, her lips pressed together so firmly they were a dusty pink, the outer lining a grim red. Her black lashes flickered in the light, casting downward shadows on her cheeks.

She lifted her chin and felt the weight of her father's hand leave her shoulder, letting her enter the room alone. The metal door clanked shut behind her and she couldn't stop her flinch, her shoulders tensing and her eyes closing temporarily. She took in a deep breath, her chest tightening in pain, tears prickling behind her eyes in a burning heat, but she refused to open those flood gates. She was strong.

"Darleen..."

"I didn't give you permission to move." She scowled, gripping the handle of the revolver tightly, her fingers flexing, tentatively hovering over the trigger, not worried about the years of gun safety she was forced through.