DAMIEN: Book 2 of The De Luca Brothers Series [COMPLETED]

25:

"You what?" Leone snaps but I ignore him and brush past. He grasps my elbow and shakes his head, "You're not going down there."

"Like hell im not," I bite. "She's my responsibility Leone, if you can't accept that then you might as well shoot me now."

"I may as well because if you go downstairs, you're as good as dead! You're pregnant," he sighs. "Gufo would be heartbroken if anything happened to you."

My eyes widen and my breathing stills, "You can't say shit like that Leone, not now."

"I'll take her," Ashley sighs. "I'll protect her from danger."

"I'm trusting you Ashley. Make sure mi fratello's woman is safe," he groans and runs a hand down his face, the shotgun dangling from his one hand like an extension to his arm. "I'll take you downstairs but once we reach the bottom, head directly to the cells and take Zoe to safety. I need to be frontline for this one."

"Yes sir."

"Lets go."

We edge down the corridor, Leone first, me in the middle and Ashley behind me. The gun feels heavy in my hand, weighting my thin wrist down at an odd angle and straining my upper arm. We stop at a corner and Ashley simply haunts Leone for a second.

"Hold with two hands like this," she advises, positioning my hands. "Keep safety off for now, flick it on like this when you're safe. Keep your finger to the side of the trigger, when you're in danger put your finger on the trigger and pull. Clear?"

"Y-Yes," I whisper. "Thank you."

She doesn't reply but signals for us to continue. We do so, moving onto the hallway that leads to the main staircase; the sounds of gunfire, yells and screams echoes from the bottom of the stairs and my heart leaps to my throat, fear pulsing through my veins alongside good ol' adrenaline and my chilled blood. We stop, Leone haunting us as the sound of hasty steps rush up from the staircase.

I recognise him to he someone from the mansion, although his shoulder blade is shot and a gun hangs limply from his hand. He turns to look down the stairs and aim weakly, "Fuck you." He pulls the trigger, but it's drowned out by the sound of multiple guns firing at once. Like a rag doll, as each bullet penetrates his skin his body jolts sickeningly backwards with each place, blood oozes from the wounds painting him in red against his paling skin. He drops, knees buckling beneath him and causing him to land with a hard thud.

I gasp as bile rises in my throat, Leone spins and silently motions for us to run the other way and we follow his orders. Sprinting for our lives, Leone overtakes us easily and directs us through a variety of hallways until I recognise the familiar pathway to the suite. Our thundering footsteps bounce from the walls that feel like they're closing in on us, my breath comes out in desperate pants and my ribs begin to ache. He opens the suite door and we follow through before he shuts it gently and locks it. He lets out a breath and whips out his phone, dialling a number.

"Gufo? Where are you...? We'll meet you there... Yes she is with me, no need to worry... Seriously...? Fuck, okay... I won't, I'll let you say it... Is Toro with you...? Zac...? Okay, we'll exit the mansion and join you in the car, try not to be seen okay...?" Leone finishes the call and looks to me. "He's okay."

I let out a sigh of relief but that doesn't calm my growing anxiety, "What are we doing now?"

"Our gang is trained for if something like this happens and the HQ is compromised. They either hide out in the city, if they have important titles, they go to their designated safe house."

"So we're going to do that," I clarify. "Do I need to pack anything?"

"No, that'll slow us down. Ashley, we'll drop you off somewhere safe and then proceed to our safe location. Are you fine with that?"

"Yes sir," she agrees quietly, her gaze distant and glazed.

"So how we getting out?" I ask shakily. "We saw for ourselves that that's suicide."

"Hence why we're here. There's a hidden escape in my bedroom that will lead us underground and into the forest where Gufo is waiting for us in a vehicle along with Zac."

"What about Toro?"

"He's currently trying to evacuate people from the mansion on the left wing but has agreed to meet up in ten minutes. If we're not there then we drive off."

"Ten minutes?" I breathe. "Is that enough time?"

"Not if we keep on talking," Ashley snaps out of it and suddenly seems determined. "Come on, lets get going before they find us in here."

Leone nods and leads us into his bedroom, it's neat with shades of blues and whites with a beach theme, "In the closet." He opens up his wardrobe and carelessly pushes coat hangers filled with expensive designer clothing to the side, revealing a plane wall. He turns to his dresser and pulls a draw revealing a tray filled with beautiful ties; he picks it up and presses a concealed button before placing it neatly back down and closes the draw. Turning to the white wall, it moves upwards and shows a ladder leading downwards in a dark hole. My eyes widen and I look at him unsurely, he flicks a light switch next to his bedside table and the tunnel is then illuminated.

The sound of yelling interrupts the silence from the hallway outside the suite. Ashley doesn't waste any time and slips into the hole, gripping the ladder after slotting her gun in her holster. Her red head disappears under the ground as Gufo begins to tidy the room hiding any traces, "Go."

I let out an exhale and slot in, gripping the ladder unsurely. I don't have a holster so I flick the safety on and tuck it into my jeans, grimacing at the uncomfortable feeling. I begin my decent, seeing Leone follow after me and mysteriously close off the entrance behind himself. My throat is dry and my breathing sounds too loud as my arms begin to ache from the constant actions.

"How far down?" I ask as my breathing begins to labour.

"We're getting close," Ashley replies. "I can see the bottom."

Finally we reach the bottom and I sigh with relief, my muscles aching considerably due to my lack of pole dancing. I huff as we begin to walk in the only direction, the tunnel leading us onwards and lit with the same LED's as the ladder. We begin to walk that way for a solid three minutes before we make it to another ladder leading upwards to a solid iron circular door.

"I'll go first," Leone confirms and begins to climb.

I look at Ashley awkwardly and scratch the back of my neck, "When we drop you off, stay safe okay?"

She looks at me with surprise written on her expression, but it quickly is muted down with an emotionless facade, "Of course, what else do you think?"

Leone gives us the all clear and we follow him out into the woods outside the mansion. I bite my lip as I easily see men and women dressed in all black circling the mansion with guns, looking out for their next targets.