All Chapters of The Mafia's Little Raven: Chapter 81 - Chapter 90

LEILA..I was lying bound while feeling so helpless the rough texture of the ground pressing against my cheek.My wrists and ankles burned where the plastic ties bit into my skin, tight, unforgiving.The pain in my ankle was a dull roar beneath the sharper agony of my restraints, but it was all secondary to the sheer, overwhelming terror that held me captive.Lying on the ground in the middle of a goddamn war zone orchestrated by the man who stood over me, his face grim, focused on the fight happening around us.They were still shouting commands, cries of pain, the relentless roar of weapons discharging.My body trembled, and I squeezed my eyes shut for a second while the motion felt so futile and in a more desperate way, trying to block out the horrifying sights and sounds, trying to disappear, but there was nowhere to go.Then, a voice cut through the cacophony, sharp and clear, a voice I knew instantly, a voice that sent a fresh wave of shock through me, different from the terro

LEILA..The concrete pressed against my cheek, rough and cold, tasting like dust and something metallic, maybe blood.Couldn’t really move, felt like my body was stapled right there. Gerald’s leg, heavy as a fallen beam, was shoved into the middle of my back, grinding me down, making me feel like nothing, just dirt under his boot.He was quiet, unnervingly so, his breathing even. Like this wasn't a fight, not a desperate stand in some forgotten corner of the city, but maybe just standing around on a Tuesday.I couldn't see much, just a blur of gray floor and then Misa, still standing some distance away, but something about her didn't fit the picture, didn't match the screaming in my head.Her shoulders weren’t tight with fear, her mouth wasn’t twisted in shock, it was all just still, a strange, almost unsettling calm."Let her go, damn it" Damien's was louder this time, It wasn't just sound; it was steel, sharp and shaking with something that felt like violence, vibrating through t

DAMIEN..Her scream hit me like a physical force, sharp and ragged, ripping through the metallic thrum of the chopper that vibrated in my bones. "DAMIEN" My name, torn from her throat across the empty, concrete expanse. It jolted me, a raw, electric shock straight to my core. Anger flared hot and fast at Gerald for being the monster pulling her away, at the universe for putting us here, at myself for not being fast enough, strong enough, something enough to stop this earlier.But the anger sputtered and died, swallowed by a cold, crushing dread as her next words reached me. "LET HIM TAKE ME!"The air left my lungs in a painful rush.No. No, you are not.It wasn't possible.Not after everything, after getting here because I won’t leave this place without her.That tiny piece of tech, a microscopic leech, slipped onto Gerald's jacket during that one brief, tense meeting after everything fell apart.A long shot, fueled by a desperate need to know where he went, what he was doing, It

LEILA ..He yanked me forward, hard, dragging me towards the chopper.Just as he was about to shove me towards the gaping entrance, a movement at the edge of my blurry vision snagged my attention.Someone detached themselves from the scattered, kneeling forms of the men Damien had brought. A single figure, straightening, starting to walk towards us across the empty space.My breath hitched.Who the hell?Why?These men weren't soldiers in uniform, bound by some patriotic duty or rigid command structure.These were his men.Rough-looking, built for utility, faces obscured by shadow or circumstance, men who worked for well, for the Alvaro’s but on a different ground because I’ve never seen this set, they looked different from the security men back at the Alvaro’s compound.Men who got paid. Men you hired when you needed things handled outside the law, and one of them was walking towards Gerald, towards a situation that screamed lethal danger.Shock, cold and sharp, lanced through me

LEILA ..I stayed there for a long moment, clinging to him, as the chopper faded into the distance.My breath hitched on a ragged sob, the single word of thanks a tiny, inadequate thing against the enormity of the relief washing over me.He just held me, his arms a solid, unyielding anchor in the chaos. I didn’t look up, just buried my face deeper in his clothes, the scent of him something clean and sharp, but still a little of sweat , like the cool night air, a sudden, profound comfort.Eventually, the tremor in my body began to subside, replaced by a bone-deep exhaustion that settled into my very core.He shifted slightly, his grip loosening just enough for me to know the moment was passing, that reality was asserting itself again. I pulled back, slowly, reluctantly, wiping the dampness from my face with the back of my hand.My eyes were stinging, my nose running, but the raw, gut-deep fear had receded, leaving behind a weary, fragile sense of safety.He guided me towards a wa