Chapter 55: Chapter 55

“Fuck!” I swore and gripped my shoulder. I lowered closer to the ground and clenched my jaw as the pain traveled through my arm.

I peeked around the table and saw the man cautiously approaching. He didn’t once stop shooting at the table.

Another bullet penetrated the table and missed me by a mere inch.

My breath was ragged as I switched my gun to my uninjured hand and prepared to face him.

Bang.

A shot went off, followed by the sound of a body slumping to the floor. I hesitated, then peeked again to see a man standing in the doorway with blood dripping down the side of his face.

I recognized him as one of our own and sighed in relief.

He quickly approached me. “C’mon. I’ve got to get you out of here.”

“Where’s Stefano?” I asked as I pushed myself to my feet. I tightened my hold on my gun and walked past him to continue my trek toward the kitchen. “I have to save Charlie.”

He grabbed my uninjured arm and turned me so I was facing him. He was clearly annoyed as he barked, “The boss is fine. I was sent to take you to safety. Please, follow me. You’re my priority.”

I tore my arm out of his grip. “I can take care of myself. Charlie can’t. I heard her scream. I’m going to go look for her.”

He muttered, “For fuck’s sake,” as I took off down the hall.

I desperately wanted to call out to Charlie, but I kept quiet. I didn’t know if the next person I saw would be a friend or an enemy, and I knew enough to not alert them to my presence.

Bodies littered the floor, revealing just how big of an attack this was. A masked man popped out of a room on my left, and before I could take action, the guard following close behind me shot him down.

When the kitchen came into view, my heart lifted, only to fall the moment I crossed the threshold.

A horrified gasp slipped past my lips as my hand holding the gun trembled.

Lying on the floor in a pool of her own blood was Charlie. Her body was littered with bullet wounds. She hadn’t stood a chance.

I stumbled over to her body and fell on my knees, quickly checking her pulse with an irrational hope that she’d still be alive.

But she wasn’t.

My eyes scanned the room and settled on a cake on the counter, now nothing more than crumbs and frosting.

~Had she known about the proposal? Had Stefano asked her to stay late to bake the cake without me finding out?~

~Could this have been avoided if he’d waited until tomorrow for the cake?~

The guard stood in the doorway and kept a lookout, glancing back at me with urgency in his gaze but obviously reluctant to actually say anything.

I took a few steadying breaths and collected myself. I unclasped the necklace from Charlie’s neck and placed it in my pocket.

It was a white and black beaded necklace that she had made with her sons. She’d boasted about how it was “one of a kind.”

It needed to be returned to her husband.

There was no time to mourn her death. I stood and nodded at the guard. “Lead the way. I’ll follow you.”

He sighed in relief and beckoned me forward. “Let’s go. I’ll take you to the car waiting in the gar—”

Bang.

A bullet hit his head, startling me. My body jumped as he crashed to the floor.

I raised my gun in the direction of the shooter and met another masked man.

I placed my hand on the trigger, prepared to fire.

“Wait!” The familiar voice halted my movement.

Another masked figure appeared next to him, and by its silhouette, I could tell it was a woman.

“Catalina, it’s us.” Jalen’s voice snapped me out of my reverie, and I turned to look at him in disbelief before turning back to the female.

Her gun trembled as she stepped forward, lowering it to show she wasn’t a threat.

My gun was still raised, but the tremor in my hand said that I was in no position to shoot anything.

“Catalina?” A soft voice I hadn’t heard in so long greeted my ears.

I froze, my mind a complete blank as the gun I held fell to the floor.

I focused on her warm brown eyes as tears streamed down my face.

“Selena?” I asked, still refusing to believe she was standing in front of me.

The second she was within arm’s reach, I stumbled forward, my hands reaching out to clutch her face as I asked anxiously, “Is that really you?”

She nodded frantically, her hands also coming up to clutch at my face. “Oh my god. I can’t believe you’re here. What are you doing at the Roscotto’s estate? I thought you were with your boyfriend. What’s going on?”

Her words snapped me back to reality, and horror struck me dumb as I glanced at her vigilante attire.

If she came in here dressed like that, then it meant…

I looked at her like she was crazy. “What the fuck, Selena? What did you get yourself into? W-why are you here? Oh god, this isn’t good.”

My heart raced as I thought of what the Roscotto family would do if they found out my sister was involved in this attack.

“Did they kidnap you? Are you hurt?” she continued. “Oh my god, you’re hurt. Come with me. I’ll get you out of here.”

Selena grabbed my arm and tried to tug me out of the room, but I stood bolted in my spot.

I looked at Jalen. “You didn’t tell her?”

He avoided my eyes. “I was ordered not to.”

Selena glanced between us in confusion. “What do you mean? Tell me what?”

I hesitated as tears slid down my face. I shook my head. “I-I can’t…”

Jalen glanced at his watch and grimaced. “We’re out of time. Catalina, come with us. We’ll explain everything.”

Selena anxiously looked at me and nodded. “That’s right! Stefano will be back any minute. We don’t have time to catch up right now!”

“Stefano’s my boy—fiancé!” I cried.

Her eyes widened, and she gasped in horror. “He’s ~that~ Stefano? Holy shit, Catalina! You’re in danger.”

“Me? No, you’re in danger!” A wave of fear flashed through me. Selena couldn’t be tied to anything that happened here. This wasn’t something that could easily be forgiven.

The Roscottos were ruthless to their enemies.

~All~ their enemies. Even family.

I burned with anger at the thought of why she’d disappeared on me. “Selena, how could you be so stupid? How could you get involved with the fucking mafia!”

I turned on Jalen, my glare fierce and unwavering. “How could you get her involved in this?”

I knew this wasn’t the time to argue, but I was at a loss for what to do. Everything was too sudden. Selena couldn’t be seen here. She had to go.

I looked at Jalen, and he seemed to understand my conundrum.

He clutched Selena’s shoulder. “We’ve got to go. There’s no point convincing her.”

Selena brushed him off. “I’m with the Perez family. They’re our family!”

“What the fuck?” I screamed at her, pointing at my chest. “I’m your family! Me!”

“No, you don’t understand. Mom and Dad aren’t dead.”

“What crazy fuck are you talking about?”

She tried to grab my hand, but I tore it away.

“I’ll explain everything in the car,” she said in frustration, “just come with us!”

I hesitated, my mind stuck on Stefano.

“I can’t.” My voice cracked.

“She’s in love with him,” Jalen said, quietly observing me from the side. His gaze seemed conflicted. “Perhaps this was my fault for not seeing it sooner.”

Selena stopped to stare at me before taking a phone from her pocket. She placed it in my hand. “Hold on to this. I’ll call you and explain everything. I promise.”

I stared blankly at the phone and then looked up to see her and Jalen taking off down the hall. The second she disappeared from view, my knees buckled, and I fell to the floor.

There were no more gunshots blasting through the house. The circus show was over, but my inner turmoil was just beginning.

I had no idea how long I stayed there. My entire body was numb. I no longer felt the pain from the wound on my shoulder.

I stared off into space until the sound of hurried footsteps echoed down the hall. A familiar warmth enveloped my body. Stefano fell to the floor as he wrapped me tightly in his arms.

“Amorina, you’re safe. ~Fuck~, you’re safe.” His voice wavered as he began checking my body for injuries.

Tears fell from my eyes as I clutched the phone in my hand and discreetly placed it inside my pocket. I then lifted my arms, wrapping them around his neck as I cried.

“Charlie’s dead.” I used her as an excuse for my tears, but I knew deep down that it was because things were about to change.

“I know. I know. I’m sorry,” he murmured as he buried his head in my neck.

We sat there for what felt like forever, safely tucked in each other’s arms as Stefano reassured himself again and again that the wound on my shoulder was superficial and I was fine.

The sound of a phone ringing snapped us out of our bubble, and my heart flew into my throat. For a second, I thought it was the phone that Selena had given me.

I was frozen solid as I watched Stefano pull his phone from his pocket.

“Ma. Are you okay?”

He fell silent, his face a complete blank as the person on the other end continued talking. I saw the tic in his jaw and knew that whatever was said, it wasn’t news he wanted to hear.

“Which hospital?” he asked.

~Hospital?~

I stared at him nervously as he hung up the phone and clutched it tightly in his hand.

“Who’s in the hospital?” I asked worriedly.

He glanced at me then sighed, grabbing my hand and pulling us off the floor. Then he began tugging me toward the garage.

“Stefano?” I called out.

“My father, amorina. He’s been shot.”