Vicious Minds: Part 3 (Children of Vice 6)

Hearing her voice, I turned to see the lace-up black combat boots of none other than Dona as she walked into the clearing with the rocket launcher still in her arms.

“Good shot, princess,” I muttered to her as my vision blurred.

“Of course, it was. It is me,” Dona said as she made her way over to my body, crouching down beside me. “You look like shit, big brother. You too, Mom.”

“You shouldn’t be here,” my mother snapped at her. “You are now—”

“Sempre Famiglia, now and always, no matter what…”

“Yes, yes, we know. Where is our ride?” I said, fighting to stay conscious.

“Asshole. I’m here saving your life—”

“Dona! We need to go! Your father,” my mother said.

And I tried to keep up with their conversation, but everything darkened. But that was fine. We’d won…that was all that fucking mattered.

Finally.

ETHAN—THREE DAYS AGO

When I woke up, I wasn’t sure where I was, but I’d heard Dona’s voice in the distance, somewhere. Opening my eyes, I was grateful to see I wasn’t in some hospital room, but rather in some sort of bungalow overlooking the water from what I could see out the large windows.

I hope those are bulletproof, I thought, trying to shift up on the bed, but I couldn’t move. I felt so dizzy.

“We can’t tell him yet. He needs to rest more.” Mom?

“That is not your call, Mom. And I am not going to hide the truth from him. Like you all did to me!”

Frowning, I winced at the pain in my abdomen.

“Dona?” I still managed to call out.

A few seconds later, she came inside, now dressed in a long, flowing dress, her hair wavy. “You’re awake,” she said, coming over to me.

“I am,” I answered. “Where did I wake up?”

“Malta.”

My eyebrow raised. “The country?”

She nodded. “Gabriel and I are here for…some stuff. Not important. Don’t worry, he doesn’t know you are here. How are you feeling?”

“Like shit. Where does Gabriel think you are then?”

“The spa,” she replied gently.

“You’re going to have to keep this a secret—”

“I know how to keep secrets, and so does he. After all, it was Mom and Dad who have been working with him and protecting him all this time, too,” she replied with a frown. “Seems like the only person they didn’t bother controlling like this was Wyatt.”

“Let’s tell ourselves it because he’s hopeless, even to them.”

The corners of her lips turned up, but I could tell something was wrong by the look on her face and the way she tried her best to stay calm.

“Did something happen to… to Dad?” I asked her.

She hung her head, so I pressed more. “I heard you talking. What is it? Tell me.”