Owned (Dellucci Mafia Duet)

“Run!” I yell at Harper as I hold her hand and run across the hallway. Bullets fly past us, and I’m having trouble finding a way through the maze of people fighting each other. Italians and Russians against Irish and Polish, everybody’s throwing fists left and right, guns going off from everywhere. It’s a fucking messy showdown, and I need to get Harper to safety fast.

“Through there,” I say, pointing at the hole in the wall, where Mario is beckoning her to come to him.

I push her toward him and then aim my gun at Frank, who is trying to shoot at Harper all the way from the top part. I can’t let them get away with this. Not this time.

Harper runs but stops midway when she notices I’m not coming with her.

“Marcello! What are you doing?!” she yells as Mario holds out his hand.

“Go ahead. I’ll catch up,” I reply, and I fire off another shot, which misses.

I duck when he shoots back.

“Marcello! I’m not leaving without you!” Harper yells, not even flinching at the sound of gunfire even though she’s not as used to it as I am. But this world has already hardened her beyond reparation, and I am the one to blame, so I should be the one to fix it. I have to make this world safer for her, even if only a little. Maybe then we can have a life together in peace … or at least a haven for our child.

But before I can answer, Frank has already aimed and shot me … straight in the calf.

“Marcello!” Harper comes running toward me, but I hold up my hand and shoot at him with the other.

“STOP!” I yell back, regaining my footing while trying to ignore the stabbing pain in my leg. “Get to safety! For our child.”

I plead with her with my eyes to go to Mario so he can take her to safety, but I know in my heart she won’t listen. Because she is my fiery Kitten, and defiance is what makes her who she is.

“Don’t be so melodramatic,” she growls back. “I don’t want you to sacrifice yourself just to kill Frank and Molly.”

“After what they did to me, to you, they deserve death,” I respond, and I fire another shot in Frank’s direction to make sure he doesn’t surprise me again. “And I’m going to get my revenge.”

“Marcello!” Harper calls out, but I ignore her.

I must do this. I must claim their lives so they will never claim more. Enough is enough.

Limping, I make my way to the staircase, determined to make it up there, even with Molly protecting Frank’s rear by shooting anyone who dares to come close. When she’s got me on her radar, she fires off several shots at the staircase, but she has a lousy aim.

“You were never as good at wielding a gun as you were at wielding that man’s dick. But I guess all good things must come to an end,” I spit at her.

“Just like your tiny little heart when I’m done crushing it,” she quips back.

I expect another shot in my direction.

Instead, she aims for someone downstairs in the crowd. My eyes follow her target to a woman helping wounded Italians in the midst of the fight, her nun's outfit giving her away.

Andrea.

No.

What the fuck is she doing here?

“It’s about time I eradicated everything you hold dear off the face of this earth,” Molly hisses at me.

And she takes aim.

My eyes widen.

In a split second, I make the decision to jump away from the staircase, and I run, biting through the pain to get to her in time.

Right before the…

BANG!

Harper

The moment Marcello runs away, I turn around and watch as he jumps up the stairs, relentless in his pursuit of Frank and Molly. It’s almost like he’s obsessed with bringing them down. But at the same time, I can’t fault him for trying after all the things they did to him.

But the men fighting in front of me force me to direct my attention elsewhere, closer to me on the battlefield. Because right in front of me, a few feet away, is a woman kneeling in front of an Italian soldier. A woman dressed in all-black regalia.

And the sight makes me widen my eyes.

Why did Andrea come inside? It’s fucking dangerous! She could get—

My thoughts are interrupted by the sound of distant screams coming from the balcony part of the warehouse. Molly is right there, waving a gun around while screaming at the top of her lungs at Marcello, who is going after her and Frank. But the wicked smile on her face puts me on edge as she points her gun at someone in the swarm of people down below.

And I watch in horror as Marcello turns around, jumps off the stairs, and races toward that one person in the crowd that makes me scream.