Chapter 6: Deep Down The Dark

Alessandro's pov:

I order, "Give me a heads up once the snipers are done with their job." I say, calmly, "Amber, follow me." My voice gives her a clear idea about how crucial the matter is.

I warn her, "Don't speak, if you do, know that it might be the end of us." She trails my path and we head toward the painting I despise. Next to it, there is a reading corner with a few books and two sturdy chairs. I pull the lever hidden amongst the books.

The door next to the painting opens up. Amber gapes at the sight, I push her inside and say, "It is dark inside, just walk ten straight steps, then take a sharp right and sit tight. Here wear these." I hand over a pair of noise-canceling headphones.

I hear Giovanni Flavia, the head of the gang. I close the door and seat myself behind the bookstand strategically. I open the trunk hidden under one of the tiles and get a hold of my rifles. I load them, fully and unlock the door again. I step inside and shut it, tight.

"AHHHH!" Amber screams. I cover her mouth with my hand, pull her headphones off and say, "It's me." She breathes deeply. "Alessandro, what's this?" She says while touching the rifles. "Just a bat. For self-defense." I lie.

"No...It's a gun!" She squeaks. I cover her mouth as tears trickle down her eyes and I feel her shiver. One sound, and we're as good as dead. On the bright side, this can be Amber's first step to overcoming her phobia.

I drop the rifles, then, pull her close to me, and grab her behind. She escapes my grasp and says, "What the hell are you doing?!"

I grip her wrists, tightly and order, "Kiss me!" Her body stopped shivering, I could feel rage radiating off her. She kicks me right where it hurts, the kick was not too hard, but it still hurt. "What in the world?" She squeals. 

"Better?" I ask her. She asks, still angry, "What were you trying to do Alessandro?" I look at her and say, "You broke out of it." She takes her time before saying, "Yeah...I did."

After a few minutes, I say, "The best way to get out of a traumatic experience is to distract yourself, I learned that from my... doesn’t matter." 

The front door breaks down, and the noise confirms it.

I hear something drop to the floor. "What's that?" I whisper. She whispers back, "Oops, my headphones." I bend down, to look for it. "Found it!" she exclaims. 

Then, we hear gunshots, fired continuously. Amber pants as she grips the front placket of my shirt. I say, "Amber, stay with me. You can do this, I am here with you."

She weeps, "I wish my mother had someone to protect her on that day." Her tears seep through the panels of my shirt and reach my naked chest. I pat her head, softly and say, "I'm sorry about that, but know that I am here for you." I wasn’t sure if I meant what I said but it came out naturally. She faints, after ten solid minutes. That is progress; her first milestone. 

As the gunshots stop, I receive a call from Ken.

“Alessandro, the snipers have cleared out about forty men, but one of them has been wounded, bad.”

I say, “Dismiss them, I can take on the ten of them.”

Ken says, casually, “Okay, but know that they’re inside your house right now.” I cut the call and then, place Amber down on the ground, safely. 

Gripping my rifles, tightly, I press the button to unlock the door. It opens and exposes me to two armed men, I take them out easily. The sound, as expected, startles other men around the house.

I get shot in the arm, it knocks the rifle off my hand and four men hold me, tightly. I knock out one of them before getting unarmed. "Well, well, if it isn't my favorite Bianchi! Oh, sorry that was Amos," Giovanni mocked me. I stay quiet. Three hefty men walk toward me. Giovanni orders, "Punch him, kick him, do as you please, but keep the sounds coming!" 

The three men do as he says, but I make sure that no noise escapes my lips. After thirty minutes, I end up with one broken rib, a fractured arm, and a couple of scars. The usual for me. The three men get exhausted and they rest on the floor.

I mock Giovanni, "That's all that you've got?" He scowls. Then, says, "Shut up, Alessandro, you know that death is inviting you." With quick moves, I grab my rifles and shoot the three hefty dudes. I laugh and see Giovanni's hair rise. Pools of blood cover my clean marble floor.

"You know, Gio, I hate blood on the floor," I say. He gulps, nervously. "Just three more to go before it's you versus me, huh?" I chuckle, knowing that Gio did not have enough power or wit to face me. Three men attack me at once but I stab them right in the heart with the pointed end of my rifle.

I walk to Giovanni and say, "Bow down to me." Pride flashes in my eyes as he kneels before me. I smile at him and say, "Fifty men? You thought that they would be enough to eliminate me? You weren't wrong, but you forgot...Forgot that I've got a family, one which I can rely on and trust." Giovanni, to my surprise, laughs and says, "One that you think you can trust." His laugh gets louder by the second and soon turns hysterical. 

"You have no idea, huh?" He asks. I stare at him, but don't let my confused expression show. He says, "Well, it is not my place to say." Should I leave him in the torture chamber with Ken? Yes, I should. I get hold of a knife and place it on his throat and ask him to beg for forgiveness. Giovanni says, "Never in a million-" A bullet pierces his chest.

I turn around to see Harlow, with a shotgun in hand. "Why did you do that?" I frown at him. "No one disrespects the capo," he says with an angry look. I roll my eyes at him. Harlow quickly retires to the front yard to clean up the hoard of bodies.

I turn around and see her, her eyes filled with terror still on the floor. She is frozen in place, her lips are parted and her body looks frail. "Amber?" I say, feebly as I walk toward her. "You...You...Don't come close to me!" She warns. I don't move. She runs up to our room and bangs the door shut. 

Not the first time I'd scared her, but this time I could see the fear pouring out of her eyes. I help Harlow clean up as the men were on port duty today. As I walk up to the room, dinner in hand, I feel sick to my stomach. What if she hates me now? Pshh...Why does that matter to me?

"Amber, dinner's here," my voice sounded more coarse than expected. She said, "I'm not hungry." I sit next to her, she scoots away. "What happened, Amber?" I ask, foolishly. 

She speaks her heart out, "What happened?! Oh, I don't know Alessandro, maybe we were under attack today and almost got killed, or that you killed ten people right in front of my eyes.." I cut in with, "Nine, Harlow shot the last guy." She glares at my face, then says, "Whatever, I can't do this anymore, Alessandro. I am afraid." Tears flow down her eyes.

I grip her wrists tightly and say, "Amber, you are not a child. You signed the contract under your will, I did not force you into this. Besides, I protected you today, and we reached your first milestone. You didn't faint for ten whole minutes." She said, "All of this might be true but that is not what scared me." 

I wait for her response, and my hands hold her. She comes closer to me and says, "I saw you killing people and commanding them today, but rather than scaring me, it...It amused me." I was surprised by her answer.

I traced her lips with my thumb, her lips were wet from her tears.