The Bringer Of Death

Chapter 26

Serena POV

7:35pm.

It was time.

We are parked outside of Ricardo's residence, the place of my nightmares.

We sat in a car line at the front gates where two guards stood checking invites. There were three cars in front of us so I had time to sit and try to calm my nerves.

The house could slightly be seen from where we were but the trees covered the majority of the property.

Just the small corner that I could see brought back memories. Some were good, but most were bad, hidden in the back of my mind where I wished they would stay.

Massimo reaches over and interlaces our fingers to stop the tight grip I have on my leg through the dress.

My eyes slowly move from the house over to the handsome man sitting beside me.

"Are you okay?" He asks softly. I nod my head knowing that if I spoke no words would come out. My mouth was dry as though I had just eaten a handful of cotton balls.

I gave his hand a reassuring squeeze and forced a smile on my face.

He knew I was lying since the expression never met my eyes, but he leaned over and kissed my cheek to comfort me.

"I will be beside you the whole night," He says into my ear. "I will not let anything happen to you or any of the men."

I nod my head and lean my head on his shoulder.

I hope he was right and everything would go according to the plan we had, but knowing how these things normally went, something would happen that we didn't account for.

Realizing we were next in the carpool line, I slide the lacey mask onto my face leaving just my eyes and mouth exposed.

When mine was in place, I look over at Massimo to see his black mask already on making his eyes look darker than normal.

The car lurches forward, driving both our heads towards the driver in front of us.

"Invite?" The guard asks looking into the car. I feel my hands get sweaty as the driver hands it over to him. He looks it over for a few seconds before looking into the back where we were sat.

His eyes quickly look over Massimo without question before his eyes slide over to me. He raises an eyebrow and scans over me slowly as if looking for something. Snapping out of it, he shook his head and handed the invite back to the driver.

"Have a good night," He says to us and we both nod our heads without speaking.

The car pulls away from the guards and begins down the long driveway. I let out a breath and look at Massimo.

"Did you regonize him?" He asks and I try to place his face or name but come up empty.

"I don't think so. But he looked at me as if he thought it was me," I say with a slight shake of my head.

Massimo stays quiet as we look forward towards the house.

Everything looked the same as I remembered it.

A large fountain is placed in the center of the car roundabout with cars parked around it with guests coming out.

Everyone was dressed in their best dresses and jewelry. Most of the women were escorted by well-dressed men in tuxedos up to the front door and disappeared into the house.

When we park at the front, Massimo steps out first to open my door. He puts a hand out for me and I gladly take it while I slipped my legs out, bringing the poof of the dress with it. He gives me a light pull to help me stand up without exposing myself and I gave him a grateful smile.