3:Secrets

~Ethan John~

It had been two weeks since that cold, blood-soaked day in the underground compound. The days had dragged on, each one blurring into the next. I had settled into a strange, uneasy routine at the mansion. Dante’s injuries had healed enough for him to move around freely, which meant I hadn’t had another chance to follow him since that day.

I was sitting in my room, going over the map of the underground compound I had carefully mapped out after our last encounter. I had texted Mr. Vince about what I’d seen and heard, and he’d responded with a simple directive, “Look for more, but make sure Dante doesn’t find out you’re snooping.”

I deleted the messages immediately after I texted Mr. Vince the whole information I was able to gather.

I stood up from my desk, stretching when I heard footsteps outside my door. I wasn’t sure if it was just my paranoia, or if I really did sense something was going on.

I opened the door and I was greeted by the sight of Dante, dressed in a black suit, with a couple of his men standing behind him. He was busy backing orders and the dark circles under his eyes showed he hadn’t had enough sleep.

“Where are you going?” I asked before I could stop myself.

Dante stopped what he was doing, adjusting his tie as his eyes slowly lifted to meet mine. He looked like he hadn’t expected me to ask him such a question.

“Business,” he replied curtly, his voice flat and emotionless.

I couldn’t help the curiosity that crept up inside me, this might be another means to know what is going on and I could have enough information to send to Mr. Vince,  “Can I come along?” I asked quickly before I could second-guess myself.

Dante paused and I knew I had fucked up, I shouldn’t have asked that, so I had to save myself and I quickly said, “I noticed everyone’s armed, and… who knows? If there’s an emergency, I might be able to help. I can treat any injuries.”

Dante didn’t say anything but his eyes were on me, it felt like my words had drawn his focus on me, but before he could answer, Luca who was standing beside him with his usual stoic expression, stepped closer to him. I heard his voice clearly, despite the quiet space between us.

“We can’t trust him, boss,” Luca whispered, his tone low, but filled with suspicion. “He’s still new. He doesn’t belong with us. We can’t let him get too close.”

I had expected Dante to tell me to stay back but to my surprise, Dante didn’t respond to Luca right away. Instead, a faint, almost mocking smile played at the corners of his mouth, and he looked over at me again.

“You can tag along,” he said, “But you better keep up, Ethan.”

I barely contained my shock. Since I had met Luca, this was the first time he looked taken aback, I noticed his jaws were clenched but he choose not to saying nothing, Dante gestured for his men to follow him as he walked away and I quickly grabbed my first aid kit. I followed Dante and his men out of the mansion.

The drive was silent. I watched quietly as the car moved from the quiet street around the mansion to a desolated bushy road, we headed into the countryside, away from civilization.

The car finally stopped and I was confused, it had stopped in a secluded area with nothing but buses there were no houses, or people except for a vehicle that had stopped right in front of us. A man stepped out, he was fully covered in tattoos, his face rugged and cold. He had a faint snarl at the corner of his lips.

Dante, Luca, and his other men stepped out of the car “Stay in the car,” Dante had said as they walked away, I looked through the rear mirror and observed what was happening between them, I heard their hushing voices as the gruesome man moved closer to Dante, I couldn’t make out what they were saying, the energy was off and it was obvious they were arguing.

I quickly pulled out my phone, discreetly taking a picture of them, I was able to take a clear picture of the man but each time I tried to take a picture of Dante it got extremely blurred, the movement was quick, the angle was bad and his people too didn’t make it any easier.

I was so focused on taking Dante’s picture and I didn’t notice when Luca turned to look at me, I quickly dropped my phone, he narrowed his eyes at me, and left for Luca I knew I wouldn’t be in this place.

I was shocked by the sudden sound of a gunshot that pierced the air, and chaos erupted. The remaining men in the other vehicle quickly stood up as they racked their guns, I quickly stepped out of the car and ducked below the car, trying to shield myself as the gunfire filled the air.

Then, just as suddenly as it had begun, the gunfire stopped. I slowly lifted my head, my eyes scanning the area. I watched as the opposing group, those men with the gruesome appearance, climbed back into their trunk and sped off, leaving behind a handful of bodies in the dirt.

“Ethan!” I suddenly heard Dante shout “Get over here and tend to my people.”

I didn’t hesitate. I rushed towards his injured members and knelt on the floor quickly attending to them, my hands were shaking uncontrollably, and every movement felt like it was too slow, for someone who hadn’t practiced for three years now, it was hard to focus.

Dante knelt beside me and I turned to look at him, his gaze was cold and calculated as usual, and he had a mockery smile on his lips as he aggressively grabbed my cheeks. My heart pounded fast as I could feel the anger radiating off him, his gaze traveled to my shaky hand and then back to my face.

“You better get used to this, Ethan,” he spat. “This is the reality now. You’re one of us. A member of my family. And you better stop shaking. It seems he never saw something like this,” he burst into a cruel laughter

After a short laughter, Dante let go of my cheek and stood up, looking down at me with a mocking smile. “This is just the beginning, you are going to see more people shot to death, you should get used to it quickly German doll.”

He walked away without another word, leaving me kneeling in the dirt, my hands still shaking. I let out a long, shaky breath, staring at the bloodied bandages in my hands.

Of course, I am used to seeing people get shot, slump, and die, but I had to keep up with the innocence to avoid his suspicions.