ALESSANDRO: Book 3 of The De Luca Brothers Series [COMPLETED]

12:

Morgan rushes out of the Hideout, eyes filled with terror as she transfers into a full on sprint, her cheeks burning red with adrenaline and her long ginger locks whipping behind her back. As planned I pull out my walkie-talkie to confirm her escape, just as an angry group of familiar faces storm out, high on her heels.

I gasp as I recognise Chad and a couple other of his friends alongside two strangers, barrelling after the red head. My heart drops in realisation and I curse my stupidity of assuming that my acquaintances would butt out of it. Of course they wouldn't, they'd fight for their cause by tooth and nail. Like we agreed on, Morgan winds down narrow alleys, me following her movement via the rooftops. I leap over a drop between two buildings before whipping out a blade and throwing it at one of Chad's friends.

The handle hits his head as planned, the sheer impact causing him to collapse behind the group. One out of four. They snap into a different direction, causing me to stumble; momentum wins as I unwillingly barrel towards the edge of the building. Sucking in a cry, I dig my foot into the ground just as my other one automatically steps over into the thin air, propelling me backwards to land on my arse. My heartbeat accelerates and a trickle of cool sweat rolls down my temple. A chill, like fingers, caresses my spine and I have to bite my tongue to stop my eyes from welling up; that was too close.

I hear Morgan let out a yelp and I instantly snap back to reality. Jumping up to my feet I mindlessly follow the path I memorised with Morgan, stooping low to pick up a rock before catching up to them at a full on sprint. Fear grips my chest as I think of the worst things that could have happened to her: maybe they caught up, perhaps she fell over, could have took the wrong turn or an out of breath or got hit...

I find them, Morgan is close to the 'finish line' with the group of five men behind her, only then I realise that I wouldn't be able to save Chad and his two friends. In desperation I hurl a rock at one of Chad's mates, however I skims his shoe and he whirls around and locks his gaze on me.

"Ambush!"

My stomach drops as he pulls out his gun and fires three bullets at me, all missing but causing me to jump away. I cuss and move out of sight, walking backwards before biting my lip in dread. Without thinking I pursue to where Leone and his men are waiting, hopefully getting there in time—

"There's more of them!" Exclaims Chad as I hear the firing of even more bullets, only not directed at me. My heart pounds and tears prick my eyes as I make it to where Leone is waiting in a snicket leading to the alley where Morgan had ran to. I kick over the wall and slide down the metal ladder, plopping down where a bunch of gang members are taking cover. They jump and whirl around to see me, only I'm too shaky to even care, "Leone?"

"Opposite."

I curse once again before peering across from us where his fall frame is, firing his weapon before taking cover. I think of Chad and everything he's done for me in my past; ignoring logic, I do a stupid thing. A very stupid thing.

I rush out into the open, "STOP!"

Surprisingly, they actually stop. Morgan is cowering behind a bin to my left, her eyes widen and brimming with tears as Chad, friends and the Russians are all taking cover from tips and whatnot.

"Angel? The fuck you doin' here?!" Exclaims Chad as he peeps over the metal surface and sees me. "I thought you moved cities you lyin' bitch!"

A lump forms in my throat as I glance at Leone who's watching me with an amused expression, probably seeking sick joy from my failed plan.

"Chad, I-I can explain," I stutter for the first time in a while.

"So you're a traitor?"

"What?! No!"

"Sure looks like it to me," he sneers. "Tell me why I shouldn't kill you right now."

"I..." my mind blanks as I search my brain for a good enough reason. "I don't know."

He snorts and I hear the familiar sound of fresh ammo slotting into his weapon, "You're good as dead—"

BANG!

I flinch only for no pain to appear which surprises me. Chad screams in agony causing my throat to dry, eyes to widen and his face to pale. His hand had been shot, a hideous chunk of his fingers had been ripped through by a bullet, spurting out blood like a fountain.

I gasp as I see Leone's raised weapon with a cold look in his gorgeous hazel eyes, his jaw ticking and his mind processing. He grips my wrist and hauls me to his snicket just as another round of fire erupts along with my old supplier's chilling screams. A series of shots are heard different to the pistol, before each individual person is silenced. I jolt with each one, Leone watching me intently as I try to keep the bile from rising in my throat.

We wait a couple of seconds as the silence creeps in. Leone reaches for his walkie-talkie and presses it, "Thanks V."

"No problem L," Vipera's voice crackles over the device. "It's a nice view from up here anyway."

I frown as I look at Leone strangely.

"She scoped them from the rooftop," he clarifies and I have to blink past the pricking of tears, inhaling sharply as if to get rid of the pain. Sure I wasn't close but Chad helped me. He was the closest thing to a friend.

"You good?"

"Yeah," I nod. "Why wouldn't I be?" I look left and right as I stare at all of his men, trying to keep away from his prying eyes. "Where's Toro?"

Leone shrugs and I frown.

"He told me he was coming. He was in the car," I point out.

Again, he shrugs.

A cold feeling settles in my stomach, "Leone. What have you done?"

"What needed to be done."

My eye twitches, "Y-you," I clear my throat. "You sent him to the Hideout, didn't you?"

Morgan rounds the corner with a perplexed face, holding a blinking red cube with utter confusion, "The fuck is this?"

"Tracker," I whisper. My world spins slightly and I press my back into the wall for support, suddenly finding it tricky to breathe. "You went b-behind my back?"

"What's done is done."

"How," I breathe sharply as anger bubbles underneath the surface of my skin. "Could you!" I scream at him before throwing a sloppy fist towards his jaw, only he catches my bicep and looks at me nonchalantly. "You promised! You fucking promised!"

"It's not my fault that these misfits decided to go against me," he sighs. "They should have thought better."

"You mother fucking asshole," I grit between my teeth as wrench my arm free from his grip. "You're a liar, a cheater and self centred asshole who thinks for himself."

"Self centred? I put my gang first," he shakes his head. "I don't expect you to understand."

"No and I won't bother trying," I spit. "Whatever transaction bull shit we had, I'm done. I never want to see you or anything to do with you Thorns again!"

His face darkens and he nods at Vipera who appears, only for her to whip out the taser and fire it again.

What the fuck did I get myself into?