Silk & Steel: A Mafia Romance | ENGLOT - ON HOLD

Chapter 35: Why?

Contessa's POV:

Tiffany plopped down on the lounge chair beside me in the base's recreation room, a satisfied sigh escaping her lips. The base is finally quiet, Most of the guys were gone, some went with Enna while another group went to the northern territory, I think.

"Finally," she declared, fanning herself with a flour-dusted hand. "Peace and quiet at last. Never thought this place would be this empty."

I chuckled, leaning back in my own chair. The base was always full of noise and chatter, but tonight was exceptionally peaceful. "Yeah, honestly feels wrong for it to be this quiet though" I replied. "Hopefully Everyone comes back alright."

Tiffany nodded. "Yeah or else you'll do an all-nighter patching their clumsy asses up."

We chuckled, trying to mask our worries. We lapsed into comfortable silence, the sound of crickets chirping and the distant hum of the city lights filling the air. It was a rare moment of normalcy, a stolen breath of peace.

Suddenly, the door flew open, banging against the wall with a loud thud. A figure silhouetted against the dying light stalked in, a long object glinting in his hand. Assuming it was one of the remaining gang members finishing their shift, I offered a casual smile.

"Hey, everything alright?" I called out, my voice friendly.

But the figure didn't respond. Instead, he raised a gloved hand, revealing a glinting black gun. A jolt of ice shot through me as recognition dawned. This wasn't one of ours.

Blood drained from my face. My playful greeting died on my lips, replaced by a strangled gasp. This wasn't one of Enna's men. His face was a mask of cold fury, his eyes devoid of any human connection.

Terror surged through me. "W-what's going on?" I stammered, looking wildly around for Tiffany, who had frozen beside me.

Confusion turned to sheer terror as the figure opened fire. Tiffany screamed, scrambling back in her chair. My scream, a primal shriek of fear, mingled with the deafening crack of gunfire. Tiffany's coffee mug clattered to the floor, shattering into a million pieces.

Chaos erupted. The few remaining gang members coming out one side, their weapons drawn as they returned fire. But the attackers, clad in black uniforms and wielding an arsenal of deadly weapons, were prepared. Shouts and screams filled the air, a macabre chorus to the relentless rain of bullets.

My head spun as shouts and gunfire filled the air. The tranquil evening vanished, replaced by a scene from my worst nightmares. Panic clawed at my throat, threatening to consume me.

The gunmen seemed to be everywhere, moving with a practiced efficiency that chilled me to the bone. A figure, his face hidden in the shadows, loomed towards me. His gun was raised, aimed directly at my head.

My heart hammered a frantic rhythm against my ribs, each beat a deafening drum in the symphony of chaos. This couldn't be real. This had to be some nightmare I would wake up from.

The figure raised his arm, his finger tightening on the trigger. In that split second, the world seemed to slow down, the image of Enna's face, etched with worry and love, flashing before my eyes.

A single, desperate plea escaped my lips. "Enna..." Then the world exploded in a blinding flash of light and a deafening roar.

...

Agony lanced through my skull, a throbbing counterpoint to the dull roar that filled my ears. Blood trickling down the side of my face where I was hit with a gun. The world swam in and out of focus, a kaleidoscope of blurred shapes and muted sounds. Each flickering glimpse of my surroundings sent a fresh wave of nausea crashing over me.