Mafia Love - DISCONTINUED

Chapter 23

Grace

More like a someone instead of something.

I open the car door and step out making my way around to get a better look. I notice the person looking out their car's window at the smoldering building in front of me. The car was parked a good distance away from the building, but still close enough to where I could see the person and them not being able to see me.

The car was nothing short of crappy. It was small, a faded gray color, no license plates. Guess that answers my next question: this person was not a friendly. He's probably the guy who blew up this building and killed the people in it.

I get a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach from just thinking about those charred bodies under those white sheets. I look back up and see the man pull his sunglasses over his eyes and drive away in the opposite direction.

"Hmm. I guess there's no harm in checking out this building now." I say to myself. "I mean, I'm already out of the car."

I make my way past the car and avoid being seen by any Italians. I don't need to hear Alessio's yelling before lunch today. I make it all the way to the other side of the building and start looking at what is left of it.

Smoke was still radiating off of it and the brick was still hot to the touch. Whatever the Cartel used was definitely not meant to be legal under any circumstances. One thing I still don't understand is why. Why go through all that trouble and wage war just for a few illegal guns? There has to be more to this story than they're allowing me to know.

Just as I'm about to go back to the car, I feel hard, cold metal press against the back of my head. I immediately freeze and put my hands up slowly.

"Don't move," I hear a deep voice say from behind. "I won't hesitate to blow a little girl's brains out." His Italian accent was thick and deep that I actually feared for my life at this moment, but I couldn't help but open my mouth.

"Is that a gun or are you just really happy to finally get close and see a pretty face for once?" I say; I hear a deep chuckle from behind me and hear the gun cock as it presses against my head harder than before. Okay, bad choice of words. This guy clearly doesn't want to be fucked with right now.

"You're a brave little thing aren't you, piccola?" He says. "Too bad such a beautiful and brave thing like you will soon be nothing but a pile of red."

I hear the man shift his weight from one leg to the other causing the gun to move off my head a little. Maybe I can actually get out of this, but I need to be quick. Time to be a good actress.

"P-please," I stutter, "I'm sure I could be of use to you somehow. Please," I plead with pain in my voice, "spare me. I-I was just wondering and got mildly curious. I wanted to see if anyone was hurt." I then turn on the water works and start bawling. "I beg you," I hiccup between words and move my hands to my face for effect. "I-I have a f-fa-family." Don't laugh, Grace, you'll blow it. I can tell the man is getting tired of hearing me beg and cry because he continues to shift his weight back and forth.

"I'm tired of this," the man speaks up over my crying. "Any last words, piccola?"

I stop crying and remove my hands from my face. I can't feel the cold metal pressing against me as hard as it was. I smirk, "Just one thing," I say. "You let down your guard." With that I throw back my head making it collide with the man's face. I turn around to face the man and kick the gun out of his hand causing it to go off. "Shit!" I say. The man was holding his nose as blood trickled out of it. This guy was huge like body builder huge, but I bet he wasn't very fast. Let's put that to the test. 

"You're dead you little puttana."

I didn't give him time to start running before I took off. Alessio and them were on the other side so I just have to make it all the way back around. Let me remind you that this building was huge, hospital huge. Let's just say I better not stop running.

I hear my feet pounding on the concrete's pavement, and I hear the giant man's feet closing in on me. "God, why am I so out of shape these days?!" I keep running and breathing hard; I finally see the black cars in the distance when I feel myself being stopped suddenly. I feel my air supply being cut off as the giant pulls my shirt's collar as hard as possible. I claw and claw trying to get free as I feel my life draining away from me. Gasping for any breath of air at this point, I kick my legs back colliding with the giant's groin area.

I hit the ground with a thud coughing and straining to stand. My legs felt like jello, my heart beating faster than a drum, my brain telling me to keep going. Before I get up, I grab a sharp piece of a steal rod and jam it into the guy's leg. I hear him yell in pain then I stand up as fast as I can and start limping towards the cars. I try to throw some debris behind me to hopefully slow the guy down more. I don't look back; I just keep going, but soon the man gets up, so I start to run. I turn the corner too sharp and cut my leg on a piece of broken glass that was sticking out of the building.

"Ahh!" I scream in agony when I feel the hot knife-like glass cut through my skin like butter. That's when I tumble onto the sidewalk by the cars catching everyone's attention, including Alessio's.

My breathing is fast and hard. I look up and see people talking but I can't hear what they're saying. My head is throbbing and it's hard to focus when it looks like everything around you is blurry. I finally snap out of it when I feel a familiar hand lift up my chin. There they were, those cold, beautiful blue eyes that I would just get lost in when I stared into them. He brings me to my feet helping me stand upright.

I look at the ground not wanting to face him. Not because I was afraid, but because I didn't have the strength to survive whatever he planned to ask me. I would crumble beneath him into a tiny ball because never have I been that close to death....at least not in a while.

"Grace," he finally speaks, "look at me."

I close my eyes hard and shake my head no. I bite my lip just to stop myself from crying right there. They wouldn't be fake tears this time.

"Grace," he says again. I feel his hand on the left side of my cheek. His thumb brushing away a small tear that escaped from my eye. "look at me, bella."

I release a shaky breath and tilt my head up ever so slightly until my eyes meet his once more. I try to remain strong for what he's about to say.

"Grace," Alessio speaks slowly, as if he so much as yelled that I would melt in his arms. "who the fuck did this?"

I open my mouth but no words are spoken from it. I try again before I get some words out. "A man. I-Italian. Tall. M-muscular." I sounded like a child learning how to read. I was so shaken up that I couldn't even form one damn simple sentence.

"Where is the man, Grace?" Alessio ask me, still being calm. "Because I swear whoever did this will wish they were fucking dead!" He raises his voice before realizing what he did. Why was he acting like this? Even his cold eyes had hint of worry in them.

I exhale, "Around the corner," I tell him.

Alessio nods and turns towards Antonio and another man whom I don't know. "Find him and bring him back to me," he tells them. They leave and he turns back to me. "Lorenzo is going to take you to one of our safe houses where I will meet you. Stay in the bedroom he puts you in, shower, then I should be back to help you clean your wounds."

All I do is nod.

He brings me in towards him planting a kiss on my forehead then lifting up my chin and kissing my lips. The kiss was soft and warm. It was nice, not passionate and rough like the ones before. He pulls away handing me off to Lorenzo where he scoops me up and places me in the black SUV.

All I remember is hearing the engine start before I drifted off to sleep.
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Hey, my lovelies. Thanks for sticking with me for this long. It's about to get pretty forking wild. *Hugs* Much love ❤️

-Lily

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