“I said, am I clear?”
“Yes!” he hissed.
“Good.” Patting his head, I walked over to the bleeding man and I thought about ending him quickly but decided against it. Pushing his chair back, I stared at him as he lay on his back gasping for air but the holes in his lungs kept them from inflating.
“New shoes,” I said to him before putting a hole in both of them and dropping the gun by his face. “Never mind.”
Fixing my tie and suit, I walked out the back door where Declan was leaning in the alleyway smoking while the snow fell around him. He looked me up and down slowly before shaking his head.
“Clean up crew?” he asked.
Nodding, I pulled out my phone. “Is the camera up in Ethan’s room?”
“Yea. Just put in the code.”
Seeing him made me relax. Not much, but enough that I felt as though I could breathe. All I wanted was to be with him now. Seeing Olivia rock him back and forth didn’t sit right with me. Mel would be pissed if she saw any other woman—especially Olivia—holding Ethan for so long.
Mel, where the fuck are you?
“Liam, it’s 11:30 p.m.”
Which meant thirty-one minutes until Aviela called, and that was the last fucking time I was doing anything on that bitch’s time.
Staring as Olivia kissed Ethan’s head, I pushed hard against my temples and sat back into the seat.
“Take me home.”
MELODY
Holding my breath, I waited until I heard the wooden floors creek louder and louder as he came towards the bed. All I could see were his feet. I cradled the gun to my chest knowing that I had to move fast. The second he looked out the barred window, I slid out slowly, shooting him in right through the heart. He buckled and I didn’t waste any time. I grabbed his neck and twisted.
Stripping him of his guns, two grenades, and knife, I placed them into my jeans before rushing towards the phone.
“That bitch,” I whispered. She had cut all the lines.
I couldn’t wait. Running into the hallway, I didn’t bother hiding. I knew she had cameras everywhere. She already knew where I was, and the only chance I had was to keep moving, the only problem was I had no clue where the fuck I was going.
“There! Ecco! Eccola,” was all I heard before bullets came flying towards me, shattering a flower vase, art and furniture.
Damn it.
“I give up!” I yelled as I dropping my gun. “Mi arrendo!”
“Vieni fuori. Come out!”
Doing as they asked, I came out and showed them my hands. Their eyes widened at the grenades in my left.
“Arrivederci, motherfuckers!” I yelled as I threw them both as far as I could. One of them got stuck in the chandelier and I dove for cover. As my body hit the ground and rolled, I managed to grab my gun and hide behind the wall.
Smoke flooded the halls as though a volcano had erupted. Flickers of flames ignited throughout the house as I picked myself up off the ground. I coughed as my nose and lungs burned. Spitting out the blood in my mouth, I walked towards the moans.
“Ahh…” a cry came from my left. I walked over to him. If he was coherent enough to moan in pain, he was cognizant enough to answer me.
“Tell me where is she and I end your pain now.” I held the gun directly over his only good eye.
“Si cazzo cagna.”
“Wrong answer,” I said before putting him down like the dog he had so beautifully called me.
Walking down the hall, I held my stomach only to feel the heat of my own blood.
Damn it. My stitches were torn.
I knew it was only a matter of time before it happened, but I was at least hoping that I would see Aviela first. Taking a piece of the wood, I held it over the small flickers of flames in the rubble until it lit up like a torch. As I walked, I ran it over the walls, igniting the wallpaper as I moved further down the hall. This place was going to burn.
I soon found myself in the grand entrance, the large oak double doors that led outside the mansion loomed before me. I dropped the torch. The door slammed shut, trapping me inside as the flames continued to spread. I had never been to hell, but as I watched the fire creep over paintings and up the walls, I was sure that this was pretty close.
“Mel bear, where do you think you’re going?” I could hear her voice, but I could barely see her as she walked into the foyer.
With a gun in one hand, and a knife in the other, I stalked down the grand staircase, carefully and slowly, as the broken marble floors rubbed against my bare feet.
“AVIELA!”
I searched, but she was like a ghost moving from one side to another before I could focus in on her. It was like she wasn’t bothered by the fire, or anything at all, she was just toying with me. I didn’t stop walking until I stood in the middle of the foyer.