The Mafia's Secret(Book 1)

Chapter 28 ✔️

SCARLETT

        "Dammit, Scar! Open your eyes!" An all too familiar voice screamed as I opened my eyes. Zayn was looming over me with his hands to my abdomen. I tried to say something but no words would form as I laid there on the kitchen floor. "Hang in there, Scar!!"
        "Mindy." I groaned, barely able to form the word.
        "Where's Mindy?!" I closed my eyes again, unable to keep them open any longer as exhaustion consumed my body. "Nononono! Keep your eyes open, Scar! Come on! Dammit!"
       It was all a blur as I opened my eyes again to see more than Zayn above me. There were two others I didn't recognize. They had small smiles on their faces as they loomed over me. Their lips moved but as they spoke, their words were muffled. Echoing into nothing but strange sounds. I could feel cold metal rubbing against my skin, cutting away my shirt as a sharp pain entered my inner elbow. Closing my eyes, everything faded away for a second time. 

*   *   *   *

        "Back again?"
        Sitting up in an instant, Bianca was standing right in front of me with a small smile on her face. Only there was sadness behind it. Pulling her into a hug, I expected her to vanish just like last time but she didn't. She hugged me back. She smelled of her popular rose perfume as I held on tightly. I feared if I released her, she would vanish and I would be left alone.
        "You can let go now, Scarlett. I'm not going anywhere." It was as if she had read my mind.
        Reluctantly letting go of her, I took a step back. "How is this possible?! Am I dead?!"
        She laughed, shaking her head. "No." She paused, sighing. "But you are dying. Which is why you need to fight, Scarlett."
        "How?"
        "You have something to live for. More importantly, someone."
        "I'd rather stay here. With you."
        "You know this isn't real. If you die, I'm gone forever. I'm just here to make the journey painless. That is unless you choose to fight. There's a little girl who needs you. You can't help her from here."
        "I can't help her. I don't know where they took her."
        "You do. You just don't want to go back." She sighed. "You need to wake up, Scarlett."
       "I won't."
        "WAKE UP!" The palm of her hand came flying towards my face. 

*   *   *   *

        There was nothing but a bright blinding light shining down on me as I opened my eyes. I could see a large shadowy figure walking around me. Panic consumed me as I tried to sit up, only to be unable to due to binds that trapped my wrists. Trying to pull out of them only resulted in pain to engulf my abdomen, forcing out a small groan from my lips. The figure moved closer, moving the light back to reveal their face. I recognized him instantly from the nightclub. The bouncer. Cyrus, I believe his name was.
        "Easy there, Scarlett. Can't have you moving around too much."
        "Where the fuck am I? What is this?"
        I groaned, still trying to pull out of the restraints despite the pain it caused, Only just noticing the tube attached to my inner elbow. The tube led to a metal stand with a packet of what I assumed to be blood. If it weren't for how high up it was, I would have thought he was taking blood and not giving it.
        "My apologies, Scarlett. It was precautionary while I fixed you up. Couldn't risk you moving around while I did so." He sighed, scratching the back of his head. "I'll remove them if you promise to stay still while I finish these last few stitches." He seemed unsure of his words, as if he wasn't going to trust me if I agreed.
        I nodded. "Where's Zayn?"
        He gave me a puzzling glance before realizing. "Ah, the brother. He's outside with Xavier. The two were arguing about you, believe it or not. I can't work with noise, so I kicked them out. I don't tolerate that nonsense in my own home. Not with the wife and kids around anyways." He untied the binds.
        "You have a wife and kids and you brought two Mafia gang leaders into your home?" I was dumbfounded. He was the first man I've met to be this ballsy.
        He laughed. "Confusing, isn't it? My wife is a police officer. The lieutenant if you will."
        "A dirty cop?"
        "You really have no idea how corrupt this city is, do you? The department is crawling with corrupt cops." He laughed again, picking up a needle and surgical thread, gesturing to the wound on my abdomen.
        I nodded. "I was young when I left this kind of life. Hardly any older now, and I still don't seem to know certain things about the Mafia. How far it can extend to." A sharp pain hit my abdomen, causing me to involuntarily wince half my body.
        Cyrus gave me an apologetic look. "The world has changed, Scarlett. Hardly any truly good people out there. Those who are, tend to end up dead a lot sooner than those that aren't."
        All I could think about while laying there, was how true his words were. Bianca was good and innocent and now she was dead. Mindy was the same and now she was in the hands of two psychotic bastards. Darren's wife. I never knew if she was truly a good person. All I knew was that she was dead.
        Cyrus finished the last stitch, bandaging my entire abdomen. I was ready to sit up but he quickly put a hand to my shoulder, pinning me to the cot. "Not so fast. You need to rest."
        "I'll be fine."
        "You say that now. At least wait for the blood bag to empty before you decide to move about. Can you at least do that?"
        I nodded.
        "Good. I'll get those boys of yours for you. I'm sure they're dying to see if you're okay."
       He left the room, closing the door behind him.
        Slamming my fist into the side of the cot, I let out an exasperated sigh. I was angry. Mindy was gone and I wanted to get her back. I felt useless laying on this cot, vulnerable to anyone. I was a fool for thinking I could take on two men when I should have found a way to keep Mindy safe. I should have recognized the danger right away and gotten her to run into the forest where no one could follow. We would have been lost but safe from harm.
        All I could think about was what my father would do to her without Darren's knowledge. He was capable of hiding anything and making sure no one said a word. Mindy was a small innocent child. She would never understand what was happening and I was sure she would believe anything they told her. Especially with her own father around.
        Before I could torture myself with anymore disturbing thoughts, the door opened and in walked Xavier and Zayn.