Heartless Ending Book 3 of the Heartless Series

Chapter 39 - Heartless Ending

Carmela's POV

Maxwell leaned back in his chair, resting his elbows on the wooden arms and intertwining his fingers at his chin, resting both index fingers to his lips in contemplation. Time ticked forward as did the silence within the room. No one dare interrupt this dance for dominance, not from his side nor ours.

"You are the heir, I don't refute that. But..." He stood tall looking stoic and straight into Romeo's eyes. "...This is mine. I fought for it and I won, that's all there is to it." Romeo stepped towards the desk, mimicking his posture. "It doesn't work that way and you know it." He said back in patronising calmness. Maxwell's jaw tensed.

An explosion from outside pulled everyone's attention away from the two alpha males posturing's and towards the window where the sound came from. I rushed to Emilia's side hoping to stop any danger from coming her way. Dust and debris was settling back down from the house that just went up in flames. "What the fuck did you do?" Maxwell had a gun pointed straight at Romeo, anger and stress rippling from him as he spoke. "And how is that my fault?" He retorted back sarcastically, provoking Maxwell even while being unarmed.

"Then who did?" Maxwell questioned scanning over the other faces in the room. "Stefano had a lot of enemies." Romeo spat back. I rolled my eyes at them still trying to better the other. "Will you two knock it off already." I shouted, to annoyed at the amount of testosterone in the air. "We have to sort this out first. Give me your knife." I demanded from Maxwell who looked at me as if I had grown 2 heads. "You think I'm that fucking stupid to give you a knife." Maxwell spat back. Again I rolled my eyes, snatching the letter opener off the desk and climbed out the window and down the ivy trellis that was along the wall under the window.

"Carmela, get back here." I heard and ignored Romeo's command, Sarah and Giana joined me from out the other window and met me on the lawn. I could hear ranting from above but paid it no mind as a hand landed on my shoulder. I looked behind me expecting one of the girls but found my mothers eyes. "Emilia, what are you doing here?" The sassy position of her eyes and lips telling me, she didn't care for my question. "I know these grounds. Do you?" I sighed. "Fine. You lead but stick with me."

Emilia led us down the lawn to the far left of the nearest house to the main building. The explosion happened 2 houses down. Men from other houses were going berserk, trying to put the fire out and rescue people from the flames. Shouting and screams of agony could be heard from even our position. "2 teams of 2. You and you flank right. We go left." Emilia commanded. "Wait. This doesn't seem like anyone set an explosion off. There's no one fighting? Only helping to put it out." Sarah stated. "She's right this doesn't make sense." Giana agreed. Another explosion went off across the other side of the driveway. Only this time a little further down. "Did you do this?" Emilia spat at me. I looked over at the girls wanting to know if this was their bombs from them going back with the men from the club. They both shook their heads. "We never got this far up from the club."

"What?" Emilia questioned them. Sarah took a quick glance at me before answering. "We went home with a few of the men from the club and planted surveillance and... bombs. But there not ours." She explained to Emilia. "Why should I trust you?" Emilia held a knife to her throat. "Because it's true. They only went in the 3rd and 4th house." I stated and Giana chuckled. "And 1st. He wasn't very good though if you know what I mean."

"Let's get back. There's nothing we can do here." I suggested. Everyone else nodded, but we all kept alert as we progressed back the way we came. The closer we got the more gun shots we could all here. Taking Emilia's earlier commands we split into 2 teams and flanked the main doors. Peeking around the doors I saw a few men on the floor, I suspected them to be dead as they weren't moving and they were laying in a pool of crimson liquid. "2 down no movement to the left." I nodded at Giana who peeked next. "1 on the stairs dead. No movement on the right." I nodded again. "Stairs." Emilia tapped me on the shoulder and pointed at Giana and Sarah. "Living room. Go." We all moved quickly and silently as we advanced into the house. I picked up my jacket on the way and a gun that were no longer needed by the dead guy at my feet. "Clear." Sarah whisper shouted our way as we slowly ascended the stairs. Emilia motioned for them to join us and they ran across the foyer and came behind me. Sarah started checking the bullet clip and chamber of her newly acquired gun.

"We have to split up. Left, Right." We knew which way each of us were going to go without the need for words. She peeked round the corner and looked both ways. Gun shots were louder up here as were the shouting and cries of pain. We parted ways with them here and progressed left down towards Maxwell's office. The hallway was littered with blood and bodies, none that thankfully was of importance. I recognised a few from the club but I didn't dwell on their deaths. Emilia however looked at their faces uneasily, she knew these people, maybe were even friends with some of them but we didn't have time for this as I pushed her onward.

The doors to the office were wide open blood pooled at the entryway, making my heart clench. I peeked in, no one were there, only evidence of what I didn't want to see. Leo laid face down on the carpet, blood surrounding him. I rushed to his side and rolled him over laying his head on my knees. "Leo. Leo. Can you hear me?" I felt for his pulse as he gasped for air. "Run..." He gasped again. "Find Romeo... Go... Now." His breathing became more and more laboured. "Who did this?" I needed to know. "It was me." A snide voice celebrated from the door before one more shot was fired right into Leo's heart and he was gone.

"The Ferrari sisters, what a pleasure." His voice continued to sound cheerful but sinister all at the same time. I slowly laid Leo's head on the floor and stood to my full height. I wasn't scared of this prick, I wanted him dead at my hand. Leo was family to me. A brother that I cared for deeply, even loved a little. "What are you waiting for?" I asked him as I widened my stance and effectively controlled my breathing, readying for his attack. "For you to beg at my feet." He retorted, knowing that I would fight with everything I had so that wouldn't happen. He smirked, excitement at the challenge gleaming in his eyes.

"Emilia, go. Find Maxwell and Romeo." I instructed never looking away from Caleb. "If there still alive." He chuckled. Emilia quickly ran from the room, Caleb not even attempting to stop her on her way out. I didn't let his last taunt distract me as I moved my feet to my right. Caleb made the first strike, missing me by millimetres but I felt how powerful that was. As with most of my fights I were at a disadvantage size wise, his build dwarfed mine in width and height, and he was no means slow because of it. He advanced forward with every punch pushing me closer to the corner of the room trying to trap me. I wasn't going to let that happen and ran at him, connecting my right foot with his knee pushing it painfully the opposite way it is meant to bend. Rolling quickly up and onto my feet I again kicked out at his same leg, bending it the other way forcing him to one knee with a crunching sound. He roared as he regained his footing and lunged at me knocking me backwards off balance. My shoulder cracked against the door frame, but moved just in time before he landed a hard right punch. Instead of causing maximum damage to my face, he cracked the plaster of the wall, leaving a fist print and blood smeared as he retracted his hand.

Moving out into the hallway we again walked the long hall, him throwing punches and now kicks my way backing me up. I didn't know the layout of the building, I didn't know where best to be able to retreat to for an advantage. In the end I'd have to just settle and fight him head on. Deciding not to put it off anymore I stood my ground, the letter opener in one hand and fisted the other. "Decided to stop cowering?"

Kick by kick, punch after punch we were fighting hard. I could see that he were getting as tired as I was but neither one of us slowed our attack. We were now on the open landing of the second floor, where Maxwell appeared earlier in the day. Blood was drawn from each one of us and bruising colouring our skin. Caleb had me pinned up against the railing, his hand at my throat, crushing my airway as he blocked my blade from piercing his throat. He was rapidly gaining the upper hand as my bodies internal struggle for breath prolonged, the agony was the only thing that I could focus on.

The blackness was taking over, a few seconds more and I would be gone. I could feel myself falling into the abyss. The nothingness that is death, I had felt this before but then I hadn't all at the same time. I didn't want to die. I didn't want to give up my life and leave my loved ones, but it seems that I have escaped death before but the reaper has cruelly come for me again. With the last wisps of oxygen leaving my body I could feel peace and no pain.

Iwas free.