📌29 (Silvio)

(edited)

A chilly breeze runs past my naked chest, creating a shiver, and I reach out to find the covers, but instead I'm greeted by an empty bed. I can't feel Willa's body beside mine so I open my eyes and let them adjust to the low light setting around me.

The balcony door is ajar and I spot Willa's silhouette leaned on the edge of the balcony, the sheet I searched wrapped loosely around her frame.

A small smile creeps on my face as I pull my body up from the bed and walk toward her. She doesn't seem to hear me approach until I gently hug her from behind, and kiss her shoulder before resting my chin on it.

"Hey," she says softly and turns her head to the side to look at me. "did I wake you up?"

I meet her hazel eyes guarded by her slightly furrowed eyebrows. "I got cold. A certain someone stole the cover." I tell her with a hint of humor, and hear her chuckle nervously.

"Sorry," her small voice cuts off her adorable chuckle, and I can't help but smile again.

How can someone be this beautiful and adorable at the same time?

"It's okay," I tell her, but then I notice she's floating around with her thoughts. Something's bothering her.

"You okay?" I ask her, now me being the one who's getting worried. Did I do something again? Did I hurt her previously? Or was she regretting it all?

Willa only sighs, and doesn't say anything at first. I don't want to push her so I wait for her to share her thoughts.

"Yeah," She finally agrees on saying. "I'm just thinking."

"About what, gattino?"

"Jade. My dad and the others who went with him. You." she says, and turns around, but when she gets a good look at me I don't need to see her to know that her cheeks are red. She still can't get used to me being naked.

"Me?" I ask her with a hint of amusement, and press her against the railing of the balcony. Her body shivers under my touch and that's just what I need to keep going. "You mean my lips?" I give her a soft peck on her neck and switch to a light lick down her carotid. "Or my tongue?"

Willa has her eyes closed as she lets the goosebumps take over her body.

"I meant-" she starts saying, but a loud knock on the door interrupts her. Willa's eyes go wide in fear. "Silvio, I'm naked. What if it's my mum?" she begins to panic even more when the person knocks a couple more times, more urgently now.

"Go inside the bathroom. I'll see who it is." I tell her and watch as she quietly runs into the bathroom with the cover still on her and closes the door behind. I grab a pair of sweats and put them on so I don't flash the person on the other side. Before opening the door, I pick up Willa's scattered undergarments and clothes and throw them under the pillows.

On the other side of the door stands Vince with a grim expression and tense shoulders. His body language tells me something serious has happened so I straighten up.

"What is it?" I ask him, preparing to hear some bad news. Vince's jaw clicks before he opens his mouth to speak.

***

I put my hand on Willa's thigh to stop her leg from jumping up and down and ease her mind a little. Her mum notices, though, but she refrains or defers from commenting anything on it. She's worried because of the ongoing discussion.

"...half an hour ago and I can't get through." I catch the ending of Vince's explaining which I already knew. He told me at the door earlier.

Even though they had the upper hand with the surprise attack, they were low on men. They knew that would be a problem so they worked on the strategy more, but apparently it had backfired on them. They had started to lose ammo fast and the last thing Vince heard Willa's dad say was that they were cornered before the connection got cut off.

My thumb starts tracing soft circles on Willa's thigh as my mind drifts to different options.

I still want Jade dead, no doubt, and I could do nothing and achieve that, but that would mean hurting Willa and losing my brother and the rest of my men.

The second option, however, is risking myself.

"What do we do now?" Willa's mother asks as she shifts her weight to her other foot. Vince sighs deeply and shrugs.

"I have no idea."

Willa's eyes travel from her mum, Vince and they land on me. She looks so afraid that my heart breaks in half just seeing her like that.

I guess option two it is.

***

"Silvio, would you stop and listen to me for just a second?"

So I stop putting the remaining two bullets in my gun and look at Willa.

"You know you don't have to do this, right? We'll find some other way, we could–I could help or–"

"No." I cut her off before she could muster some crazy plans in her mind. "You stay with your mother and Vince. I'll get them."

"But you can't go alone, Silvio. Are out of your mind?" she says and runs her fingers through her, showing off her concern. Heaving a deep sigh, I finish preparing my gun and put it in the holster at the side of my chest. With a quick tug at the vest, I make sure it's secure before I look up and make an eye contact with the worried girl in front of me.

"I'll be fine." I tell her and step closer to her. Willa just stares at me for a moment, but then quickly lands a soft peck on my lips, taking me off guard.

"Promise me." she demands in a soft voice and I can't help but kiss her properly this time, with the tenderness and love she has always deserved.

"I promise." I answer her with a nod as I stop the kiss and back away. She watches me make my way to the door and open it. But before I could go through it I stop and send her a devilish smile. "Plus, I have to taste that sweet puss-" I start saying and her eyes widen before I could finish it.

"Silvio!" she says in a stern voice with a frown, but I see the blush and small smile creeping on her face too. With a laugh and a wink at her I close the door behind me and head to the car where the two other guys are already waiting for me.

When I reach the parking, I notice Vince standing by the two men and the Wrangler. When he sees me coming he takes out something from his pocket and handa it to me as soon as I get near him.

"I rigged the earpieces and amplified them more so they shouldn't break down. I gave Antonio and Gee one, too. Also, Willa's father described the place as they were going in so I can guide you inside without any surprises." Vince briefs us. I put the bug in my right ear and thank him.

"Watch out for Willa and her mum." I tell him once again and get in the car.

We had to get there even quicker than the former group and the closer we got to the place the more tensed I got.

"Boss, the boy said the south entrance was clear." Gee tells me once we have parked the car out of sight. I check my gun and the extra bullets in my pocket, and I nod.

"Andiamo, allora." I tell them both and we make our way to the secured doors, each of us holding our weapons ready to fire. The first few minutes we maneuver through the hallways with Vince's directions until we get to the west side and start hearing distant voices. That's when we start noticing the scattered bodies of few frozen men on the ground with gaping bullet holes. Most of them are strangers to me, probably CIA agents, but couple of them I recognize as Gio's men.

Just as I'm about to turn the corner, I see a uniformed man standing straight with a firearm by his side, probably ordered to patrol the hallway, and get back. I gesture for Antonio and Gee to cross to the other side when he's not looking so I can go behind him and deal with him. They do it and, quietly, I sprint to him, catch him from the behind and snap his neck with an audible crack. I carefully let him slide down to the floor so I can drag him into the other hallway.

By now, Gee and Antonio have advanced down the hallway and caught another guy lurking there. I can see the two bullet holes in his chest that one of them put as he lays sprawled on the ground. The voices get louder as we move forward and we are even more aware of our surroundings.

"There should be a door on your left, a big one, that leads to Block A of the building." Vince's voice booms through the earpiece as we approach the end of the hallway. The door is hard to miss so we go right through it and as soon as we open it half a dozen men jerk their heads toward the door. We are fast to get back and take cover at the sides of the door before their bullets catch us.

I slide south to the ground and take a quick peek at the agents. Three of them hold automatic rifles but the rest are carrying only handguns.

"The rifles." I mouth to both Antonio and Gee knowing they'd understand what I mean. As they carefully take out the ones in the left, I shoot the rifle carrier on the right leaving only the handguns blaring bullets at us. We get back once again to reload and get ready for the second time.

Their shouts can be heard as they warn the others and demand more men, but before more come, the boys and I shoot the remaining ones and move forward.

The hallway is filled with bodies just like the previous one. You'd think it'd affect me somehow, though, but I don't feel guilty–I never actually did. If nothing else, I feel guilty for not feeling guilty in the first place.

Passing through the men on the ground, I see one who's trying to get to his gun so I shoot him point blank, two times at the back of his head and continue ahead.

We come across one more man before everything else gets eerily quiet.

"Look around, but stay sharp." I tell them, pointing to the few doors down the hall.

They have to be here somewhere.

Antonio and Gee scatter, securing the few rooms around us as I try to get a hold on Vince.

"Where exactly do we look?" I ask him and right away Vince appears in my ear.

"Downstairs, underground level. I lost their connection there."

I call for the boys and head to where Vince advised us. We find the stairs and start climbing down. As we do, we start hearing voices again and just when I climb the last step a gun goes off and the bullet hits me in my chest. My body staggers back as the air leaves my lungs momentarily.

Antonio and Gee start shooting while I take a hot second to compose myself.

"You good, boss?" Gee asks me once the coast is clear and there's no active fire anymore. I take a deep breath and get the bullet out of the vest.

"Yeah." I say and move past them to the door the dead fuckers were guarding.

If I didn't wear vest I'd be dead for fuck's sake.

"Stay alert." I tell them and try to open the door but it didn't budge so I look for a key on one of the dead shits. When I luckily find it I put it in and turn. The door clicked open and from inside a familiar voice calls out.

"Silvio?"

I push the door open and just who I thought I'd see; Lazz.

He's sitting on the ground tied up, his face bloodied and clothes rugged. Around him are positioned two more of my men and the infamous bitch Jade.

If it was any different, CIA would've been doing me a favor keeping her, but because of Willa she has to be alive.

"Never thought I'd see you here." Jade's hoarse voice mocks me, a weak smirk playing on her lips.

"If it wasn't for Willa trust me you wouldn't." I answer her with a slight sneer and go to untie my brother. Gee and Antonio have already untied and helped the other men.

"Where are the others?" I ask them as I watch Lazzaro get up and untie Jade, too.

"When we got jumped they went in the opposite direction and we separated." Lazzaro explains as he helps Jade up.

Now when I take a good look at her, she's way worse than my brother. Her lip is busted, cheeks cut, eyes bloody and purple and she can barely hold her ground.

If I were the one to torture her she'd be worse, but oh, well.

"Let's find the others and get the fuck out, then." I tell them and we all head to finish this shit once and for all.