19. Alessandro

Chapter nineteen

Alessandro

I stop in my tracks as Adriana points the gun at me. I've lost her. I've fucking lost her. There's no way she'll ever forgive me after knowing I killed her mother.

I want to rip Daniel's head off his body. She was never supposed to find out. At least not like this.

"Drop the gun, Adriana," I say calmly.

She stares at me, irritated.

I take another step and the sound of a gunshot stops me from taking another.

"Alessandro!" Daniel yells.

I grunt, holding my arm. The sound of a glass shattering fills the room.

"I won't miss the next time," Adriana threatens.

I turn to see the bullet stuck in the picture frame on the wall. The glass piece is broken and scattered on the floor. I remove my palm from my arm and meet the sight of blood. The bullet brushed my arm and cut my skin.

"Adriana," Daniel says. He tries to move closer to her but she pulls the trigger backward again. It's pointed at my head this time.

"I'll fucking shoot if you come any closer." Daniel stops and grunts a curse in Italian.

"Where is my fucking phone?"

"On the nightstand," I answer.

"None of you follow me." Adriana walks with her back till she reaches the hallway and disappears into the room she was in.

I turn to Daniel angrily and try to punch him in the face. He dodges and moves further away from me. "This is your fucking fault!"

"She was anyway going to find out one day."

"Fuck you!" I punch the wall hard. The impact bursts my knuckles and they start to bleed. Adriana walks out of the hallway with the gun still pointed at us.

"Give me some fucking cash. I need to get out of here."

Daniel sighs and brings out a few ten-dollar-bills from his pocket. He hands them over to her as she walks towards the door. I watch her reach for the door and do nothing to stop her.

"Don't you ever come after me," she warns, staring at me. She slams the door shut and I punch the wall again, multiple times as I yell, cursing.

Daniel stops me, holding my arms. The white wall is stained with my blood.

"Leave me the fuck alone!" I yell, punching him again. I slide down the wall to the ground. The heat from the rage in me boils down. The room falls into silence, with neither of us speaking first.

As much as I don't want to believe him, I find it hard to deny the fact that my father is capable of anything. I can't ever let Daniel find out that his mother was also killed by my parents… by my mother. If what he says is the truth, my parents made him an orphan.

Fuck .

"L'Uomo would have never killed your father."

"I wish I could say that was true," Daniel replies. He sits on the floor, resting his back on the wall opposite me.

We are facing each other now.

"The pills in the cabinet—you were the one that tried to kill him?"

He doesn't deny it, as he keeps mute. No wonder the guards never found anyone when Daniel always has free access to the house.

"How long have you known?"

"Since the hospital."

"Why didn't you tell me anything sooner?"

"I knew you'd never believe me."

I wipe my bloody knuckles on my jeans, groaning from the gunshot wound. My body hurts as I adjust on the floor.

"You're fucking family, Daniel."

"Family?" He tsks as he stands to his feet. He massages his lower jaw, stifling a laugh. "Don't fucking pull that bullshit here. Your family's fucked, Ale. I was never a Malgeri. And I'll never be."

I've never seen Daniel this angry, with his eyes brimming with fury. He walks to the hallway and disappears into a room. A loud slam follows almost immediately. I'm panting and angered by the whole fucking situation.

"Daniel!" I pull myself off the ground. "Fucking answer me!"

I violently kick the coffee table. It makes a sharp sound as it slides to hit the wall. My toes fucking hurt from the impact.

"You don't get to fucking leave."

He still doesn't come out.

I let out a deep breath, infuriated by him walking out on me. And Adriana.

Can this day get any more fucked up?

"I know you can hear me, Daniel. You'll always be my brother. And nothing's ever fucking changing that."

I leap to the door, grunting. "We aren't done with this, Daniel Mateo." I slam the front door shut and walk to my car.

There's no fucking way I can make Father pay for this. I fucking want to get Daniel his revenge.

Hot air fills my car as I slide into it. The sun's rays seep into the car through the windows. My jaws hurt as I clench them tighter until a sound pops. I'm panting hard.

Fucking Adriana. I've done nothing but fucking keep her safe from her shitty father. Shooting her mother was a long time ago. One of the worst nights I remember with L'Uomo.

Daniel didn't even tell her the whole fucking truth. Thank god for that at least.

I start the engine to drive back to my house, with all these thoughts flooding my mind at once…

I don't owe her any fucking explanation. I fucking saved her. She owes me her life for agreeing to this goddam marriage to keep her away from her father.

I'm less concerned about whatever fucking happens to her from now on. She was always a liability anyway.

" Cag –argh!" A hit on my car cuts me off. I grip the steering wheel tight as the force pushes me off the lane.

"Fuck."

Another car hits me from behind, pushing my car forward. I hit the brake hard, grunting. Looking out my window, I see a black sedan coming at me again. Hurriedly, I put the car in drive and move before it hits me.

" Merda (Shit)!"

The sound of a bullet landing on my car causes me to duck in my seat. I drive with one hand and use the other to search for my gun in the car's safe.

The road reaches a dead end with only a turn to the next street. I make the quick turn, regretting my decision immediately. A dump truck is parked in front of the turn. I try to reverse but the two black sedan cars block me from behind.

"Fucking hell."

Three men are standing in front of the dump truck. One is in front with his hands crossed by his waist. His legs are slightly parted. I look closely to see a pistol in his hand. The two others are behind, armed with machine guns across their shoulders. This was fucking planned.

"Get out of the car, Alessandro. Or my men will shoot." The one in front yells. He is in blue tight jeans with a black leather jacket over a white shirt. The two others are taller than him. He must be their leader.

I hesitate, dialing Daniel's number for some help. It rings with no answer. I try to call Kristev but it doesn't ring. His phone is turned off.

"I'm a very busy man, Alessandro. I don't have all day to waste here."

Shit .

"Who the fuck are you?"

"Come out and find out."

A sharp sound fills the air as a bullet hits the car. I curse under my breath as I unlock the door.

"You can't hide in there forever."

"I wasn't planning to," I reply as I open the door. Two men come at me from behind, holding my arms. Grunting, I struggle to free myself from their grip.

One hit my head with the back of his gun. A dull groan leaves my lips as my gun slips out of my hand to hit the ground.

"Bring him to me," the man in front of the truck instructs.

"What the fuck do you want from me?"

They push me to the front and stop me a few steps away from the man in the leather jacket. A deep scar cuts across his face. His smile is crooked as he stares at me.

"Isn't this the famous Alessandro Malgeri?" He walks to me, closing the gap as he traces my jaw with his pistol.

"I'll fucking kill you."

He smirks and turns to look at the other side. In a split second, he returns his gaze to mine and slams the gun to hit my jaw hard. I grunt in pain as my head swerves to the other side. I spit out some blood.

"Where is she?" I let out heavy breaths as I slowly bring my face back to stare at him. "Where the fuck is she?"

"Who?"

"Gustavo's daughter."

"I don't know what the fuck you're talking about." He sends a punch to my abdomen, causing me to groan. I pull my arms hard from the grip of the men holding me to set myself free. Their grip becomes tighter.

"Where is Adriana?"

Coughing out some blood, I spit in his direction and it falls on his face.

"I'm going to enjoy killing Thomas' son," he says through gritted teeth, wiping off the bloody saliva.

The men holding me behind kick the back of my knees, causing me to fall to the ground. They lift me higher until I'm hanging on bent knees and staring at their boss.

"Where is Adriana?" His voice is thicker and louder now. He glares at me angrily.

"I said I have no fucking idea."

He places the gun on my head, keeping his finger on the trigger.

"I'll only ask you one more time. Where the fuck is Adriana?"

I look him dead in the eyes with a smirk playing on my lips. I'd rather die than have Adriana in danger. I'm the only one allowed to have and hurt her. "I don't fucking know, bastardo (Bastard)."

"Boss!" someone calls from behind. He turns to look at him.

"Lax says he has Adriana."

My face pulls into a frown. How the fuck did they get her?

Goddammit .

He turns back to look at me with a smile on his stupid face. I want to rip his face off and blow his fucking brains.

He bends to maintain eye contact with me and holds my lower jaw firmly in his hand. "Aldo would sure take care of your wife for you. I bet she fucks damn good with that pretty face of hers."

No! No one gets to fuck Adriana but me. No fucking person!

I bang my head hard into his unexpectedly. He grunts and falls to the ground. The men behind me release their grip just enough to let me break myself free completely. I slip out a knife from my boots and stab one in the neck, making him fall down. I punch the other in the face. He drops his gun as I connect my fist to his jaws, making it easier for me to snatch his gun and shoot him dead. The two men by the truck point their guns at me.

"No one's fucking touching Adriana," I yell at them.

I strike the other with a knife in his neck and he falls to the ground dead. Bullets fly in my direction, with the man in the leather jacket crawling back to meet his men at the truck.

I run back to my car to take cover behind it. Sharp bullet sounds hitting my car echo in my ears. I take turns shooting back at them at well calculated intervals. One groans loudly as I shoot his arm. I take another quick shot and kill him with a bullet piercing through his head. The other falls to the ground as I shoot him in the chest.

"Adriana is mine," I yell as I shoot at the man in the jacket. He dodges it, running for cover behind the opened door of the truck.

"She must be on her way to Aldo already," he yells back with a dirty smirk on his fucking face.

"I'll kill every single one of you if I have to."

I shoot the moment his head pops out to shoot at me, blowing his brain off with a bullet passing through his head. He falls down dead instantly.

I grunt as I walk back into my car, sliding into the seat.

Kristev's name pops up on the screen of my phone. So fucking early.

"Where the fuck were you?"

"The warehouses are on fire," he answers.

My eyes bulge out in disbelief.

"What the fuck did you say?"

"Three of them, boss. Aldo's men attacked us."

Maledetto Cristo (Damn Christ)!