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NINETEEN
LILY’s POV
“Float like a butterfly sting like a bee” ― Muhammad Ali
I look to my left and right, sizing my competition up. All around me are men; big, tall and strong. Apart from Ian, I am probably…no, I am definitely the most petite in this group. But that does not matter. Having trained alongside most of these men the past few weeks, I have come to know of their strengths and weaknesses; and I am sure they know mine as well. But what I do not know are the strong and weak points of the other men who just came in today. Apparently, they had trained elsewhere.
“Hey sweetheart, how bout we have some fun after all this is over?” one of them snickers, his dark brown eyes roaming me from head to toe. I take an instant dislike towards him. He is tall, lean and sports a shaved head, unlike the rest of the men here who wear their crowning glory with pride. There is also a tattoo of a serpent on his neck.
I choose to
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The Mafia's Girl TWENTY
LILY’s POV “Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them?Then do not be eager to deal out death in judgement. For even the very wise cannot see all ends.” — JRR Tolkien I step onto the ring and all around me, the men quieten down to a hush. A gentle breeze picks up and blows at my hair, sending a few stray strands to dance around my eyes. Dance…yes. This is only a dance, I tell myself. Except it is a dance of blades. Baldy makes his way to the ring and takes his stance opposite me. He winks at me and licks his lips in the most obscene of ways. Maybe I should aim for his tongue first. I tuck the strands of hair behind my ear and stretch out my right hand in front of me with the blade held tight. The tip gleams under the sunlight, it momentarily blinds me and I stagger back slightly. This elicits a laugh from Baldy. “Sweetheart, why don’t you just give up? You can’t even stan
The Mafia's Girl TWENTY ONE
KANE’s POV The basement is dark and dingy with only a lone lightbulb hanging from the slabs above. It swings like a pendulum, casting moving shadows all around. There is no window to air this stale and murky room. All the better. This is not a resort, this is a dungeon for my VIPs. And today, I have a very important guest who hangs by the shackles of the brick walls. “Let me go!” a young man screams as he tugs desperately against the chains that bind him. Veins pop out on his neck and sweat glistens on his body as he struggles to catch his breath in this suffocating room. “Please, Lord Kane. I am only here for the trial. Nothing more. I’m no mole. Please, let me go…” His shifty eyes fall on Tore who stands next to an iron stove, heating an imprinted iron bar on heated coals of braziers. A letter ‘K’ is fashioned at the end of the bar and it glows in a variety of warm shades, from dark red to bright white. The young man
The Mafia's Girl TWENTY TWO
LILY’s POVThe blazing sun is starting to dip below the horizon and it is a beautiful sight. It bathes everything it touches in a pale dusky pink glow, melting like molasses beneath the horizon of towering trees. Overhead, a flock of birds soar across the sky, all dashing back to their nests to settle in for the night. But it is far from over for us for we have now entered the final round of this trial.“Alright people, get your asses on the shooting range. Now!” Russo yells, waving for us to move faster. We all stand in a horizontal line but just as I step forward to take my spot, a spasm of pain shoots right up my wounded arm and I wince. Looking down, I see that the makeshift bandage is now soaked with blood. A trickle has somehow escaped the confines of Kane’s shirt and it drips onto the ground.“Move it, Lily! We don’t have all night!” Russo yells in my ear and I cringe at his deafening
The Mafia's Girl TWENTY THREE
LILY’s POV BANG! The first shot is for father, who suffered mercilessly at the hands of Sergio. BANG! The second is for mother who forever lost her dearly beloved. BANG! BANG! The third and forth are for Rose and Thomas who now have to live a life without father and finally... BANG! The last shot is for myself and every other woman whose lives have forever been ruined by the madman. Smoke spirals from the tip of the gun and a lone tear trails down my check. It is done, my fate is sealed and with the back of my hand, I wipe the tear away hoping for it to be the last drop of sorrow I ever have to shed. Now all I can do is wait for the rest of the men to finish with their shooting. It does seem to take forever thoughand by the time the last shot is fired, the sun has bid its goodbye and the moon is high up in the sky. I squint my eyes, peering at the targets that are a distance away and try to see how I fared
The Mafia's Girl TWENTY FOUR
LILY’s POV “You don’t choose your family. They are God’s gift to you, as you are to them.” ―Desmond Mpilo Tutu It took us hours to get here but the sky is still dark by the time our cars come to a halt at the edge of town. Jonas’ turf lays ahead but the marketplace where he usually collects his money is rather empty. There is an almost serene feeling to the entrance of his turf as a shroud of early morning mist envelopes the place. And as I stare out the heavily tinted window, I can see but a few trades there, all getting their stalls of fruits, poultry and vegetables ready for the coming trade that the day will bring. I wonder how much Jonas robs them of their wages of hard work. Back in our village, we had to pay more than half of our earnings to the Mafia. I exhale, funny how I am now on the other side of the fence. Tore kills the engine of the black four-wheel drive and scrolls down his window,
The Mafia's Girl TWENTY FIVE
LILY’s POV I walk behind Kane with a hand to the pocket of the jacket where my gun rests. My breathing comes out fast and shallow and my eyes dart from left to right, ready to pounce upon a moment’s notice when suddenly, Kane stops mid-stride. Oof! My nose crashes into his broad back. “Lily.” He voice comes out deep and low as he turns to face me and I blink rapidly, feeling my heart pound like a blacksmith’s hammer on my chest. Kane easily towers a head above me and I have to lift my head to meet his gaze. I gulp. I do not understand why I have become so nervous around him lately. He presses his lips into a thin white line and placing a hand on my shoulder, he gently applies pressure to it. “Relax.” Oh, was I too tense? “You have nothing to worry about Lily. I’m here with you,” he continues, his eyes hypnotizingly holding my gaze. “If anyone dares to cross you, tell them you belong to me.” You b
The Mafia's Girl TWENTY SIX
KANE’s POV MOMENTS BEFORE THE GUNSHOT Jonas’ residence looms ahead of me. He lives in a pristine colonial-style mansion with an endless sea of trimmed lawn and fancy cars; a stark contrast to the muddy slums the residents around him survive in. My lips curl downwards into a snarl and I shake my head in disgust. It is people like Jonas who give the Mafia a bad name. I step forward onto his freshly mowed lawn and men suddenly pour out, all with rifles in their hands. But one look at my face and they cower. They know very well who I am. One of them mouths, “Ibraco….” and quickly runs back to the mansion, his arms flailing as he shouts to alert his boss. It doesn’t matter, I walk on and head towards the massive double door entrance where two more of his men stand guard. “Hello,” I greet them and I swear one of them starts weeping. Wow, I didn’t know Jonas hired crybabies to guard his territory.
The Mafia's Girl TWENTY SEVEN
ROSE’s POV MOMENTS BEFORE THE GUNSHOT I am trapped, Jonas’ men have found me. Fearfully, my feet move backwards and my fingers grip at the hem of my baby blue skirt. The men, three of them sneer as they slowly advance towards me. One is short and round while the other is tall and slim. And the third one…the third has a face only a mother could love but he is clearly their leader. He smiles at me when he sees me trying to get away from them. Raising a finger to his lips, he tells me,” Shhh, you wouldn’t want to wake up the whole neighbourhood now would you?” They inch closer, surrounding me in a semicircle and exchange smirks. The sight of them leering sends goosebumps crawling up my skin and I suck in a deep breath. My heartbeat roars in my ears and I shake my head. “Please don’t.” My voice comes out in quivers. I can only imagine how they must feel right now; like lions cornering their prey. Th
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