Chapter 29: Chapter 29

Cargo pants? Check.

T-shirt? Check.

Combat boots? Check.

I was decked out in clothing that was suitable for movement and agility. Stefano had told me what to wear, and I was grateful for that.

Despite not being able to give me information about each game, he subtly dropped hints in his actions and the little things he said, including picking out my outfit for today.

The wind ruffled my clothing as I stood with the other women, a large expanse of trees just a few feet in front of us.

We were at the edge of a forest, and my eyes hadn’t strayed from the table of weapons located to the side. It confirmed, to me at least, that this game would be harder than the first. Just as Sam had said.

The table was laden with guns, batons, stun guns, knives, and brass knuckles.

My stomach was in knots, and I tried not to let my anxiousness show as the women around me whispered among themselves, glancing at each other tensely.

There were about forty-five of us, meaning some women either didn’t pass the first game or decided to quit the games between then and now. The atmosphere was heavy in this open clearing, and I could tell that we were all on edge.

Simon was back as game master, and he clapped his hands to gain our attention. He stood in front of us, flanked by two masked men.

“Welcome back to the Mafia Games, ladies.” His voice boomed throughout the clearing, hushing the chatter instantly.

“The theme of today’s game is strength. To be a part of our family, you must prove that you have what it takes to defend yourself as you make your way through this forest.”

Murmurs immediately broke out, but Simon raised an arm to halt them.

He gestured to the masked men at his sides. One wore a black mask, the other a white mask. “Agent Black and Agent White represent enemies of the Roscotto family. Their task is to eliminate the future pillars of this family. You.”

I swallowed as I stared at the two masked men, committing their figures to memory.

“Your job is to make it to the other side of the forest. You will be scored on your tactical skills and how you handle threats. The first twenty women to make it across the finish line will continue in the games; all others will be eliminated.”

One of the women hesitantly raised her hand. “How will the masked men eliminate us?”

That was a good question. Everyone was eyeing the guns strapped to the bodies of the masked men.

My heart thumped as I thought of the possibilities.

Simon smiled. “Don’t worry. You won’t be completely defenseless. Each of you may choose one weapon to defend yourself. I advise you to choose carefully. Your enemies may not only be the masked men, but the women around you.”

Murmurs broke out again. I could feel everyone’s fear and anxiety ratchet up. This game was a shock to most.

But I thought back to everything Sam, Rob, and Stefano had said and trained me on over the past few months. It all made sense now, and I felt prepared… Well, as prepared as I could be.

Something squeezed my arm, and I looked to see Gabriella at my side. She linked her arm through mine, her eyes planted on the table of weapons. She was definitely anxious.

“You will enter the forest together,” Simon continued. “You will have a five-minute head start before Agent Black and Agent White join you. If any of you wish to forfeit, please step to the side now. This is your only chance.”

The clearing hushed. We glanced at each other apprehensively, waiting to see who’d be the first to quit.

Finally, someone stepped out of the line, and with her demonstration, three other women followed.

The rest stayed where they were.

Simon nodded, and each of the remaining women were given a badge to attach to their shirts. He explained that they were trackers to find us once the game had concluded.

“There are more than forty of you standing in front of me. Remember, only the first twenty who cross the finish line will continue in the games. You may have to fight your fellow participants to earn a spot.”

I looked around the clearing and could have sworn a number of eyes were trained on me.

Simon pointed to the table of weapons. “Choose your weapon wisely. It might very well save your life.”

We lined up to choose a weapon. I carefully watched as many of the women chose a gun before standing to the side.

Gabriella took a deep breath. “Honestly,” she murmured, low enough that only I could hear her, “my throat is in my ass right now. I could very well die today. Maybe I should’ve gotten drunk last night.”

“We’ll be fine.” My words were more meant for me than for her as I tried to convince myself that I would be one of the twenty to cross the finish line. I had trained for this. Using the forest as a cover to hide from the masked men as I raced to the finish line shouldn’t be difficult.

The terrain would make it hard for them to shoot at us. The five-minute head start gave us enough time to find cover and slip away.

I could do this.

“Catalina.”

I turned to the woman behind me, recognizing her as one of the women being sponsored by Alessandro.

“Rena?” I asked in surprise. I was startled to see her approach.

We’d never spoken to each other. At the opening ceremony, Genevieve did most of the speaking for both of them, and Rena didn’t seem interested in getting to know me.

Our eyes met, and the seriousness in them sent a quake of fear through my heart.

“You should be careful,” she said.

The sinking feeling in my chest grew.

“What do you mean?”

She glanced across the clearing and nodded. Following her gaze, I spotted Genevieve speaking with a group of women.

“I overheard their conversation last night. You need to watch out for the woman next to Genevieve. Her name is Saige. Her father is the captain of the Reaper Corps, so she has intensive combat experience.”

“What does that have to do with me?” I asked, though I feared I already knew the answer.

“Before the games started, she asked Stefano to take her as his wife, but he rejected her. She’s using these games to win him over. You’re her main target.”

I looked Saige over. She had chosen a gun as her weapon.

I sucked in a sharp breath, and the hair on my arms stood on end.

This was getting dangerous.

“Thank you for telling me,” I said sincerely.

“I’m not telling you this for free,” she said. “Genevieve needs to go. She’s too ambitious, and she’s preventing me from taking my spot as Alex’s wife.”

“And this is my problem?” I was willing to help Rena, but I needed it to be for more than her ambition to be Alessandro’s wife. From what I’d heard from Stefano, aligning myself with Alessandro’s woman wouldn’t be worth it.

“I was hospitalized after drinking tea she’d made. It was laced with poison, and I think Saige supplied it to her. I wouldn’t be surprised if their group aims to kill some of the women here, so be careful.”

I sucked in a sharp breath, my vigilance sharpening. I couldn’t believe women were willing to kill others to win. That only meant that they weren’t confident in their own abilities.

It was pathetic.

“It’s your turn,” she said, pointing to the table.

Her words sprang me into action, and I stepped up to the table and looked over my choices. The most obvious choice was the gun, but I hesitated and instead decided to weigh my options carefully.

With the trees and other flora as my cover, it would be easy to hide from the others and thus avoid bullets.

A knife would be easy to conceal, good for combat, and helpful if I needed to cut through vines. But it required getting close to my opponent and would be useless against a gun, which was the weapon of choice for many of the women here.

A baton would be versatile, good for blocking, striking, and disarming my opponent. It could also inflict blunt trauma without seriously injuring anyone, but its range was limited, and it wasn’t intimidating.

I looked at my other options. There was also pepper spray. It was small and easy to use, and would be great for ambushes or to escape, but the wind was high today. Even if I sprayed someone, they could easily recover and attack again. Not to mention, it was useless against the men wearing masks.

The brass knuckles would be deadly in hand-to-hand combat. They could easily punch through light defenses, making them a great weapon against all these women. However, they were for hand-to-hand usage only and could bruise your hand easily if you weren’t used to them, which I wasn’t.

The stun gun wasn’t a bad choice. It could incapacitate my enemy, and it was easy to use. Though it would need to charge after a few uses, and I’d have to make direct contact with my enemy.

The gun really was the better option, even if it was simply used to intimidate others and avoid getting targeted.

But…it wasn’t the right choice for me, not at this moment.

I picked up the baton and felt the decent weight of the wood. This was perfect for me. I could easily disarm the women without severely hurting them, and I could use what Stefano taught me yesterday when facing a gun.

If I tackled and hit my opponents in the chin with this, then I could knock them out.

I walked over to stand beside Gabriella.

She’d chosen the knife.

“You want to stick together?” she asked.

I nodded. She was my only ally right now. I had no idea how many of these women would target me, so it was better safe than sorry.

Rena came to stand on my other side. She’d chosen the gun. “I’ll tag along too, if you don’t mind.”

I hesitated for a moment, then nodded. She didn’t seem like a bad person, just someone who wanted to survive.

The air was ripe with tension as the women glanced at each other.

I observed each of them for any odd behavior and ended up meeting Saige’s gaze.

She smiled, but her cold eyes told me that Rena was right.

I had a target on my back.

“Ladies!” Simon called out, breaking my staring contest with Saige. “Are you ready?”

I leaned forward, prepared to sprint, the baton firmly locked in my hand.

“You have five minutes. Run like your life depends on it.”

I inhaled sharply and braced myself.

“Go!”

We all started running.

But before any of us could breach the forest line, the sound of a gunshot whistled through the air.

Something hard slammed into my back.