Dinner with the Mafia ✔

Chapter 58

TW: violence, blood

"Atlas, I suggest you let go of her before I shoot you." Dario's threat made Atlas laugh. He was not afraid. He was confident that he was walking out of there alive. He was planning something. I wanted to do something, but I did not want to test his patience right from the start. I needed to be level-headed and focused on getting out of this situation alive.

"How can you shoot me before I shoot her? Are you willing to test a bullet's speed?" Atlas scoffed as he backed me to the wall. He was smart, but not enough. I did not need a weapon. He tightened his hold as I was about to lift my leg and beat his ass. "Don't do that. You'd cost little Andrea there his cute little heart." I froze at his words. My eyes instantly went to Andrea, who was still standing on the chocolate fountain between his parents, who were oblivious to the red dot on his chest.

"You sick bastard, your problem is with me and Dario. Not Andrea or anyone else, for that matter! Don't you fucking dare..."

"Lower your voice, will ya? My sniper will press the trigger the moment you do something stupid, Jolene. Alert anyone, and he's dead. Behave." His breath was absolutely disgusting.

"How many of you are there?" I asked, already forming a plan to save Andrea first and foremost.

Atlas laughed and stepped impossibly closer to me, grinding on my back. I could not wait to shower with bleach if I made it out alive. "Just me and the sniper. I don't need an army to take you down or take you on," he explained, and I spit on his shoe. "Now that's not nice." He chuckled.

"Atlas, let her go." Basilio stepped closer, standing next to Dario, who was too furious to focus on my message. I needed him to look me in the eye without fuming.

I blocked the interaction between Atlas and the rest, let them argue all they wanted, and scanned the room to see who could help me save Andrea. After a moment of skimming through faces, my eyes landed on Orlando. 

I held his gaze for a while, and after what felt like hours but were mere seconds, he nodded, telling me he was seeing me and not just looking. I glanced at Andrea, then at him, and repeated the action until he caught on. He finally looked at Andrea and noticed the red dot as his eyes widened. He understood my dilemma and slipped into the background to search for the sniper.

Please find him.

"Darling, what do you say we have our honeymoon in the Bahamas?" Atlas asked as one hand grabbed my jaw, and I could not do anything. Not until the threat was neutralized.

"She is not going anywhere." Dario was now staring at me, questioning why I was not moving or doing anything. He was not thinking clearly for me to deliver my message, so I would have to trust Orlando. He was my only hope for now.

"Funny you think you can stop me. I will-" Atlas' sentence got cut off by an authoritative loud voice. I looked at the source, shocked to see who it was.

"Let her go, son." Ottavio's words demanded Atlas' attention, and everyone looked between the two. 

"Why should I, padre? I want her, and I will have her. Simple as that."

"You will cause unnecessary wars between countries if you do that. Can't you see that every leader here supports the Romanos? No one will back you up. No one will back the Barmbilla up. Let go of her." His dad's reasoning was political, lacking sympathy, but it was something to hold on to. It might work.

"Who cares about others? We're doing fine without them!" Atlas yelled, now losing composure. It was to my benefit.

"No, son. We are drowning in debt and need their support, and you just ruined everything. That's exactly why you will never be the Don. You think with your ass. This is your last warning. Let her go," Ottavio revealed, making some people gasp. I was not surprised. I did not feel bad for them, either. They killed Dario's dad.

"Oh, and you don't think with your dick? Is that why you ordered me to shoot Paolo years ago? Alice was still in love with her ex-husband even after she got with you, so you eliminated the competition. Real smart, padre. Now, don't preach and shut up!"

I paled at his confession and looked at Dario in time to see him raise his gun and shoot Ottavio in the forehead. It was quick. Smooth. Brutal. No one had the time to react because of the shock of the sound. However, Alice, Dario's mom, did something that made me do a double-take.

She smiled. 

That's not a reaction you get from a woman supposedly in love with her man.

That's... relief.

"Now!" Orlando roared from far away, holding a rifle for me to see, and I did not waste time. The second I heard the words I had been dying to hear, I elbowed Atlas' stomach, snatched his gun, stepped away, and aimed it at his head. "You do think from your ass," I remarked with a grin, and he held his hands up.

"You just killed Andrea."

"No, Orlando killed the sniper." Once I confessed, everyone looked at the end of the ball, where Orlando was dragging a dead man behind him by the leg. He reached me and bowed his head with a wicked smile. "Good job, Orlando."

"Anything for our Donna." He dropped the sniper near Atlas, and blood got on his legs as Orlando slashed the sniper's throat. It was a gruesome sight, but I did not care.

I smiled at Atlas and shot his knee, making him crawl on the floor. "You know, I've had enough of your bullshit. Even your dad had enough, quite literally. You almost killed me more than three times, held innocent people hostage, and murdered Paolo. You are rotten to your core, and I am sure the world would be so much better without you."

Dario stepped closer, making me lower the gun as he started fist-fighting Atlas. I could clearly see the frustration on Dario's face, so no one interfered. Although I suffered from them, Dario's pain was deeper. It was his fight. 

Atlas held his ground and fought well for someone with a bleeding leg. He was a skilled fighter, challenging Dario, who delivered one hit after the other.

Atlas managed to punch Dario's cheek, but that was all he got. Dario did not give him any more room and beat the shit out of my stalker and his father's killer. Bloodied knuckles made contact with Atlas' face, deforming every inch and corner. Bones cracked, and the screams and groans intensified.

"You son of a bitch, you passed your expiration date a long time ago," Dario exclaimed as he punched him one last time, and Atlas fell unconscious. 

Dario's hands were bloody and bruised, but I did not care as I held him in my arms, soaking in his warmth. He instantly wrapped his arms around my body, engulfing me in his embrace and breathing heavily. "You smell so good, Bambi," he whispered, and I felt tears stream down my face.

"Do you want the Spanish Mafia to take care of this prick, Dario?" Izan asked after the initial shock was gone, and everyone whispered between them, shooting glances at me, Atlas, and our mafia.

Dario let go of me and shook his head. "Thanks, man. He's mine to ruin."

"You know I'll always have your back, brother," Izan replied with a pat on his shoulder, and Dario nodded. He looked exhausted. His hair was no longer slicked back, and his clothes were bloodied, yet he managed to look good despite his disheveled appearance.

And just when we thought it was over, someone screamed at Dario, and shots were fired.

~~~ 

8.11.2023 

Cliffhanger who? LOL sorry... not sorry! 

I will upload a new chapter tomorrow. We are so close to the end. Four more!