Dark Romance | Mafia

Chapter Twenty-six

Stella's POV:

AK didn't wait.

He grabbed my hand in a deadly grip, yanked me to my feet making me stumble hard, and dragged me forward with such force that my heels scraped against the ground.

"Run," he snapped.

The hurry in his stride didn’t give me a second to blink....I just moved like a gush of the wind.

He shoved the hallway door open with a thud making me squint my eyes for a second. His eyes slicing through the darkness with lightning speed, and grip on my wrist firm, unbreakable, almost painful, as he pulled me out of the mansion. The cold night air slapped against my face the moment we burst outside.

"AK, leave my hand....Sam is inside. He’s bleeding. He needs me," I cried out, my voice cracking.

He stopped for a brief second, creases forming on his forehead. He let out a sharp sigh, and started dragging me again without uttering a single word.

"He's dying! Do you hear me?" I screamed.

His steps came to an abrupt halt, making my head bang into his chiseled back. His grip tightened on my hand almost breaking it, as he pulled me in front of him like a weightless rug. He clawed my shoulders, his fingers digging into my skin. I gasped loudly. His jaw tightened, eyes cold and determined.

"I know," he said, voice low and strained, "but you can’t go back in there."

"But...." I started, but he ignored me as if I didn’t exist.

He threw a glance over his shoulder, scanning the shadows, calculating something only he understood. His hand slid down my shoulder and seized my wrist again.

"Come on. We don't have time."

I could still hear the yelling--- the gunshots--- and Sam's face kept flashing in my mind. Leaving him there felt wrong, yet there was nothing I could do.

I snapped out of my trance as AK yanked me violently, and I nearly tumbled face-first onto the ground. I glared at him, but he couldn't care less. Without missing a beat, he steadied me, keeping me perfectly balanced, and surged forward into a sprint..

The trees blurred around us as we raced across the side yard, branches whipping past, shadows stretching like claws trying to catch us. My breath came out in sharp, uneven gasps, but AK didn’t slow down....not even for a second.

A shout cracked the silence, slicing sharply through the winds. My head whipped around to see a figure running in the shadows behind us. All I could see in his eyes was fury, and all I could feel in my heart was fear. Damn! Someone had spotted us.

"Damn bastards," AK cursed under his breath, jaw clenched, hand tightening around mine as he pulled me faster. Soon, more men joined the chase.

"AK!" one of them shouted.

"Don’t look," AK snapped, dragging me even harder. My arm burned, but I didn't dare slow down.

We halted near the sleek and furnished black car. My eyes drifted to his chest that kept rising and falling sharply, his breath muffled under the mask. He yanked the car door open.

"Jump," he ordered.

"What about you?" My voice barely escaped my throat, the eventful day exhausted my whole being.

Before he could answer, a gunshot exploded behind us.

I gasped.

A sudden shove made me slide across the backseat of the car. I truned around to see none other than AK, who reacted instantly. He slammed the door shut and locked it from the outside.

"AK!" My voice cracked.

Before I could retaliate, someone grabbed his shirt from behind.

I covered my mouth with both hands, muffling the scream stuck in my throat. My eyes widened as terror clawed up my spine.

Our eyes locked for a split second, and there wasn't the slightest hint of fear in his eyes. His gaze held an unknown assurance in them, something like till the time he is around me, no one can lay a finger on me.

Suddenly, he was yanked backwards, ripped out of my sight.

The sound of a fight exploded outside, grunts, thuds, bodies hitting the ground.

I pressed closer to the window, my breath fogging the glass. Through the blurry haze I saw shadows moving, fast, aggressive, vicious...too fast for me to follow clearly in the dark.

But one thing was obvious.

AK was dominating.
As always.

He moved like he had trained his whole life for this moment.

Every strike was sharp, controlled, deadly accurate.

He ducked, swung, and countered a brutal elbow to someone's jaw. The man's body twisted mid-air before crashing to the ground.

Another attacker lunged at him.

AK caught the man's wrist mid-swing and twisted it with such brutal force that even from inside the car, I heard the crack.

My pulse jumped leaping out of my veins.

AK fought like he was made of fire and steel...fast, ruthless, unstoppable. There wasn't a hint of panic in him. Only cold, lethal precision.

Even when someone came at him from behind, he sensed it instantly. He spun around and delivered a heavy kick to the attacker's torso, sending the man flying back with a loud thud.

In the midst of the chaos, AK stood firm....like stone refusing to break. His chest rose and fell steadily, unshaken.
Everyone around him stumbled, fell, or crawled back in fear.

One last man tried to run.

AK didn't let him.

He grabbed the man by the collar, slammed him against the hood, and growled something I couldn't hear....but whatever he said made the man freeze like ice.

I pressed a hand against my mouth, shaken...not by fear this time, but by the realization of how powerful, how dangerous AK really was.

When the final attacker dropped to the ground, AK stood tall. He lifted his head. His eyes searched the area like a predator making sure no threat remained.

Then he turned toward the car.

His face came into the light....fierce, breath steady, not a single trace of fear.

Only determination.

I exhaled shakily, thinking it was over.

But then... he turned his head sharply, eyes narrowing at something I couldn't see.

He took one step forward.

Then stopped.

A slow chill crawled up my spine.

Because the street....just a moment ago empty, now had a single figure standing at the far end. I couldn't see the person clearly, only the outline… tall, unmoving, almost waiting.

AK's entire expression changed.

Hard. Cold. Alert.

I whispered, barely able to breathe, "Who is that?"

He couldn't hear me and my staggered breathing. Taking another step toward the figure... AK's fists tightening, his jaw clenching, like whoever it was… was far more dangerous than the army he had just defeated.

And then… the streetlight above flickered once.

Twice.

Then went out.

Leaving AK and that shadowy figure drowned in darkness.

Until then....