LAKE
More gunfire echoed. It was dark outside the basement. The intruder might have cut the electricity and disabled the alarm, considering I did not hear it go off.
I made sure Maverick locked the door before I walked away. I stopped by the stairs, hid myself behind the wall, and listened to footsteps coming my way.
I couldn’t hear any, and the gunfire seemed outside the house. I blindly walked through the hallway to find a room.
My phone suddenly vibrated, and the service came back. I took my phone and dialed my uncle. I knew his men would not risk him getting outside.
“Why do you have service? Where the hell are you?”
“I got out. I left my wife in the basement,” I whispered.
“Are you insane?” my uncle asked sharply.
“What’s going on? Did Giosue’s men manage to breach the house?” A suppressed gun sound caught my ear. “I’ll call you back.” I hung up the call and hid myself.
Hiding behind the pillar, I noticed a shadow of a man despite the darkness and the lack of generator backup. From a distance, Giovanni wasn’t aware he was exposed from the south, and the man in the shadow, with a handgun in a long muzzle, probably a silencer, just pointed it at Giovanni.
I did not think twice. I aimed at the man and pulled the trigger. The ear-splitting shot echoed, making my heart pump so hard in my chest, and the man fell with a bullet wound on his back. Blood began dripping.
For a while, I was shocked, swallowing hard, and staring down at the man I just killed. the blood dripped down his body, and then he moved.
Before I could shoot him back, somebody already did, startling me.
“Boss, what the fuck are you doing outside?” He shook me on my shoulder. “Lake?”
I sucked in a breath, swallowing hard with eyes wide as I stared at Owen. “Is he dead?”
“Yes. Don’t worry. You did not kill him. You wounded him, but I shot him, or he shot you.”
I nodded.
“Let’s get out of here.” He grabbed me by my elbow. “Stay behind me.”
“Thank you, Mr. Winston.” Giovanni patted my back.
I was still shocked that I just shot an actual human, but he could have killed Giovanni or me if he had seen me first.
“Where’s your wife?”
“Still in the basement.”
“Why did you come out?”
“I thought I wanted to help.”
He groaned. “Shit, boss. I felt better and could do my job well if you stayed down. You shouldn’t have come outside. You don’t have to join the band and risk yourself. It’s my job to keep you safe, not the other way around.”
We turned to the right and moved to the hallway on the ground floor while I snuck behind Owen and Giovanni behind me, protecting me.
“Where’s Homer?”
“Opposite side. Don’t worry. He’ll be fine.”
Then bullets sprayed the wall. I dodged down, covering my head with my arms while Owen and Giovanni ducked and shot fire back until I heard a thud. A man stumbled down. It wasn’t enough for Giovanni. He made sure the man was dead. He shot him again in the head.
I looked away, grimacing, but the face of the dead man would be forever in my memory. He could have a family, a sister, a brother, or parents.
“Hey.” Owen looked right straight into my eyes. “I know that look. Remember, they came to kill us all.”
I nodded. “I know.”
“Good because now it’s not the time to show sympathy and conscience.”
We ran towards the nearest thick wooden door. Then he knocked five times. After a few moments, the door clicked and unlocked.
“Get inside, and don’t ever play hero again.” he literally pushed me inside. “Fine, the magic door. You can figure that out.” He hurriedly went out and locked the door behind me.
I was in the old study, with tall bookshelves filled with hardbound books. I went through it, finding the magic door, like he said. I looked down. It usually had scrapes on the floor or a dent on the carpet. And I was right. I pulled all the books until I found resistance. I pushed it back, and it clicked. The shelf moved, and I entered to see faces staring at me incredulously as if I had just gone insane.
“What the hell are you doing here?” the first question came from my uncle.
Then Gaetano followed. “Where’s my daughter?”
“I left her in the basement. She’s safe.” I put the safety on the gun and stuffed it behind me.
“And what about you? Why did you come out?” I felt his intense gaze against me. His questions were more irritating than his daughter’s.
I hesitated before I answered because I knew it didn’t make sense to them, “I just wanted to help.”
“If things didn’t go well, I would call the backup, and that’s why you and my daughter should be there down. If something happens to us, at least you both are safe.”
“I know, and I told her the same thing.” I swallowed down as everything started to sink in. I dragged myself down the floor and rubbed my face.
“Are you okay?”
I nodded, but it was evident I wasn’t. “Is there a bathroom here.”
“Behind me.”
I stood up and rushed inside when my stomach just flipped. I hadn’t locked the door, and I was already throwing up into the toilet. I threw everything out until nothing was left.
Once my stomach calmed down, I went to the sink, gargled water in my mouth, and washed my face. I felt a lot better.
When I returned to them, my uncle, Gaetano, and two of their men were looking at me.
“Uh.” Gaetano nodded subtly. “I’ve seen this look before. Did you shoot someone?”
I nodded. “Yeah. I shot him on his back. It sounds even terrible. I just shot someone from behind. He did not die quickly. He was about to shoot Giovanni, so I did what was supposed to be done. Then OB killed him.”
“I’m sorry, son. You didn’t have a choice. If he shot Giovanni, he could have come after you,” he explained as if it mattered, gripping my shoulder.
“I shot a man-end of story.
“I know.” I sat on the chair. My mind went back to Maverick. “I hope she won’t try what I did. Your daughter doesn’t listen to me. That’s what I’m afraid of.”
“You should have stayed there until it’s over.”
“I know that now, uncle. She must be waiting for me and terrified alone.” I took a deep breath. “Any update from Linden?”
“Not yet.”
Now, I was more worried. Then I noticed the lights were on. “Is the electricity back?”
“Yeah. When you got in. They have restored it.”
A few minutes passed until it was almost thirty minutes. I grew restless until my uncle’s phone vibrated.
“It’s Striker.” He answered the call. “Son, is everything okay?”
“Yes, Papa.”
Everyone released an audible sigh, including me.
“Is everyone okay?”
“Yes. Celestina is with us.”
“That’s great.” I could hear the relief in Gaetano’s voice.
“We’re on our way. Is everything okay back there?”
“We’re under attack, but it seems under control now. Just be careful on your way. See you soon, son.”
I sighed in relief.
Ten minutes later, the shelf slid open. Owen, Homer, and Giovanni appeared.
“It’s clear now. It’s bloody and messy outside, but all threats are eliminated,” said Giovanni before he looked at me. “I owe you my life, Mr. Winston.”
“OB finished the job.”
He said the same to Owen.
“I have to go and take my wife out.”
Owen and Homer followed me outside the study.
“You’re reckless.”
“I know.” I glared at Homer. “Anything else you want to say?”
“Giovanni or I could have died, man. And he’s okay, if not a little shaken up,” Owen said.
“I just threw up, assholes.” I snapped.
“You did?” Homer was more amused than concerned.
“Dick.” Then I twisted the knob, and it was locked. I was relieved that she did not try to escape.
“You should practice more often,” Homer said with a smirk.
I shook my head in irritation and knocked on our signal. “Fuck you.”