TWO

KANE’s POV

I shake my head as I look down at the dying man.

“Puh…please…save me,” the man begs as he drowns in a pool of his own blood.

“Should have thought about that before you tried to kill me,” I sneer and slap off the man’s bloodied hands from my knee. The man wraps his hands around his own neck, where blood is spurting out like a fountain in an attempt to stop the bleeding. But it is too late for him. I have sliced him across the throat. He will be dead in seconds.

Traitor.

He crumples onto the ground, twitching in spasms before he finally lays still.

I pull out my blade and wipe it clean with the back of my shirt before marking the dead man’s body. It is the mark of Kane. Now all who see it will know that I am back.

And all who betrayed my father will pay.

I get up from where I crouch and a wave of dizziness hits me. The man may be dead, but he did put up a good fight before biting the dust. There is a slash wound across my abdomen and the pain is immense. Damnit, it hurts like hell.

My black shirt is stained with blood, not his but mine. I catch my breath; this is not good. I need to meet up with my men and check for casualties.

But another step forward has me fall back on my knees.

“I must be getting old,” I mutter, pressing my hands to my side. At the rate I’m bleeding, I might just end up like Tom, Dick or Harry here.

There is a crunch.

Someone’s here. I duck my head low and grip onto my blade, ready to strike again if the need arises.

The fellow is clumsy, the footsteps are light. It must be a young boy, he will be no match for me.

Then a scream.

Fuck!

Quickly I step up and pull the boy down with me, covering his mouth. He struggles and kicks furiously.

“Quiet or I’ll kill you too,” I whisper threateningly into his ear. Only, it’s not a he.

In my arms is a woman and she is trembling with fear. Rightly so.

“Shhh…shhh,” I whisper again, holding tightly onto her. She is still struggling.

“I won’t hurt you if you don’t scream,” I tell her. She nods quickly and I loosen my grip, letting her go.

As soon as I release her, she turns around and faces me. Under the breaking dawn, I see her face for the first time. She is young, probably less than twenty. She has the most beautiful hazel eyes I have ever laid my eyes upon. Trust me when I say they are beautiful. I have had my fair share of women and have never seen anything like hers before.

The admiration is short-lived for she punches me in my gut and tries to run off. Oooh, this woman had some spunk in her.

I grab her by the ankles and she stumbles onto the ground, clawing at the mud. I cannot have her running about screaming like a madwoman and raising an alarm.

“Damnit, “ I groan, dragging her towards me again when yet another wave of dizziness hits me. My vision darkens slightly and I let go of her ankles. I have lost too much blood.

She could have run off and left me for dead but for some reason, she did not. In the haziness of my tunnelling vision, I see her kneel before me.

It seems she is calling out to me. But I cannot hear her. And just as my vision takes a curtain call, I see her rip off her jacket to wrap them around me. And then I know no more.

***

LILY’s POV

I run back as fast as my feet can carry me. The sun has come up.

“Where were you?” Rose hisses as she jumps to her feet with the sack of potatoes. Worry skims across her face when she sees my torn jacket.

“What happened?” she stops to stare.

I press a finger to my lips to silence her and signal for her to start moving. Quickly we make our way back home, careful not to lift our heads too high as we move under the cover of the tall grass.

I wonder if the man will be alright. He scared me, but I couldn’t just leave him bleeding openly like that. He’s obviously a member of the mafia….but if I were to leave him for dead, then I would be no different from them. I hope this decision doesn’t come back to haunt me.

The journey back home takes much longer than we anticipated and by the time we set foot at our front door, the sun is already up.

“What took you so long?” mother is worried. She throws her arms around us, stifling back a sob. I hug her back, feeling her bony frame underneath the fabric of her dress.

“Lily, she –“ Rose starts to explain as she passes the sack to mother.

“I fell and tore my jacket,” I answer too quickly and mother looks at me with suspicion but says nothing. I clear my throat and head further into the house to look for Thomas. I feel it is better not to worry mother. She has too much on her mind lately.

“Thomas!” I stretch out my arms and my toddler of a brother comes waddling towards me with a toothy grin.

“Lee Lee!” That’s what he calls me. I hug him and ruffle at his golden blonde hair. Both he and Rose take after father. His sea blue eyes twinkle with delight as I try to tickle him. He’s in a good mood and gives me a big fat kiss on the cheek.

Rose has disappeared into the bathroom. She likes to keep herself clean.

“Any news of father?” I ask, carrying Thomas in my arms. Father went downhill to town two days ago to look for a job and hasn’t been home since.

Mother shakes her head and I see worry lines etched on her face.

With my free hand, I pat her on the shoulder, feeling her bony frame, “Don’t worry. I’m sure he’ll be fine.”

It’s a lie and we both know it.

Just then, Samuel, father’s friend comes bursting through our doors. He had gone down to town together with father. Why is he alone? Where is father?

“Leanne!” he calls my mother. His eyes are bloodshot and his breathing is hard and ragged.

A sense of dread creeps into my heart and I pull Thomas closer towards my bosom. The little boy leans his head on my shoulders, clasping his hands around my neck. He must not like what he is seeing either.

“Leanne…Tim…,” Samuel shakes his peppery hair in disgust. I can see his knuckles turning white as he holds tightly to the wooden frame of our door.

Why is my heart beating so fast? Why are my hands trembling?

“They got Tim. The mafia got him.”

No…..