The Bringer Of Death

Chapter 32

Serena POV

The room was tense as I held the silverware to both boys' chests.

I glare up as the men stood from their seats, pushing chairs to the floor in case they had to protect Tomas from me.

I scoff at them and roll my eyes.

"There's enough testosterone coming from both of you. It's making me gag," I spit at them while looking back and forth as neither moved. "I will decide where I go. No man or woman will ever decide that for me again. Got it?"

"Si," Tomas said quickly. My eyes move over to Massimo.

"What if I choose to drag you back to Italy with me?" He ask with a smirk and raised an eyebrow in question.

"Then I will plunge this into your chest until you change your mind and make the right choice."

He looks down at the shiny metal fork and back at me through his eyebrows.

"With a fork?"

I remove the knife from Tomas's chest and look at him with a challenging stare.

"Serena, remember that time you took Marcus's eye out with a fork for pulling your hair?" Tomas says while watching us with amusement.

The memory pops behind my eyes and I smile softly.

Marcus was a bully to us when we were younger, always finding a way to hurt us.

One day at breakfast he decided to break Tomas's glasses and then pull my hair. It wasn't the fact that he hurt me that made my blood boil. It was that he hurt my friend, someone I care about.

I didn't even remember picking the utensil up until it was in his eyes and I was pulling it back, his eye still attached to the fork.

"I can still hear the pop it made when it came out," I say, not looking away from his eyes.

"As much as I would love to see you torture me in every way possible, I think I will keep my eyes," He says smartly.

I smirk at him for backing down then go back to eating as if nothing happened.

I can feel eyes on us again and knew everyone was staring.

"I am going back to Italy," I say not looking at either of them. "Now that Ricardo is dead I need to figure out what I'm going to do with my life and where I want to go."

"You can do that here," Tomas says leaning towards me as he lays his elbows on the table. "We can figure that out together.

I look up at him and give him a small smile.

"I can't stay here, Tomas. You know that. If I stay here I will only remember the horrors that happened behind these walls and I will never truly be free," I grab his hand and give a reassuring squeeze. "But I will always stay in contact with you. I will always be one call away."

"Promise?" He asks quietly.

"Promise."

* * *

One month later

My eyes flutter open as the morning light streams through the bedroom window.

It was a small room with just a bed and bathroom but I wasn't here often enough to need more space.

I turn on my back and look at the ceiling as I move the piece of metal on my finger.

Raising my hand into the gleam of sunlight, the ring shines back down at me.

The ring he put on my finger after having me sign the marriage certificate without my knowledge.

The same ring I looked at every morning when he wasn't by my side.

Standing from the bed, I walk to the balcony and look out at the water.

The warm air brushes my exposed skin, calming my senses.

The deja vu of the situation hit me.

The only thing missing was the stranger a few rooms down watching me.

My eyes linger on the balcony he once stood on before we officially met each other under his fake name, Clayton. Before I suspected he was the man who could change my whole life, for better or worse.

Massimo.

A month ago, I returned to Italy with Massimo.

I stayed a few days with him before slipping into the night while he was sleeping. I jumped on the first train I could catch then took a plane out of the country with a forged passport.

I lived my life.

The world seemed to look completely new and fresh to my eyes.

No more looking over my shoulder. No more wondering what bad thing would happen next. No more wondering who I would have to kill.

I was free.

I traveled around the states spending a few days in each as I drove to different places with no destination in mind. I traveled like a tourist and went to see all the things others had on their bucket lists.

The statue of liberty, New York.

The Las Vegas strip, Nevada.

Disney World, Florida.

The Washington Monument, Washington D.C.

The Golden gate bridge, California.

Yellowstone national park, Wyoming.

The list goes on and on.

I lived the life of a normal citizen.

But even with all this freedom, something was missing. Something was always off with every new place I went.

I was alone.

Everyone else was with family, laughing and having fun. I was alone, watching them with envy in my eyes.

I tried to live a new life and experience the world, but that wasn't me. I couldn't forget how I was raised. I missed the adrenaline of the lifestyle. I missed the blood, the gore, the violence.

But most importantly, I missed Massimo.

I missed the way his arms felt wrapped around my body. I missed his smirk. I missed the glimmer in his eyes whenever he looked at me.

That was how I ended up back in Italy at the same hotel we first engaged at.

I made up my mind about where I wanted to be, and it was by his side.

Looking down at my ring once more, I moved into the room and quickly got ready.

Throwing the few clothes I have into a bag, I went out the door and left the key inside.

My feet seemed to race down the stairs as if it would bring me that much closer to him.

I ran outside of the hotel in hopes of catching the first cab I see.

But something much better awaited me.

Massimo.