<h4>Chapter 283: Chapter 283 : Everything Goes Wrong</h4>


    *Giovani*


    I shut the front door behind me, pausing for a moment with my hand on the doorknob. I clenched it tightly, unwilling to let go.


    But I spotted Gabriele’s car sitting in the driveway, rumbling with life as Gabriele and Tallon waited for me. With onest sigh, I let go of the door, locking it firmly behind me.


    “Keep her safe.” I nced at Elio and Marco, who stood by the door patiently. They both nodded to me as I passed by, making my way to the car.


    I couldn’t get the image of her trembling before me out of my mind, the way she had looked so horrified as she held the gun to my chest.


    It was a bluff, to be honest, ast resort when I’d handed Olivia my gun and told her to shoot me. Not for a single second did I think she had it in her to actually shoot. Even if she did, I doubted she knew how to handle a gun.


    If there was one thing I had learned from my call to her parents, it was that Olivia had been kept unaware of everything. She was sheltered from the dark parts of this life, kept clueless to the dangers of James and his family.


    It was one of the hardest things I had to do, to walk away from her when she was so distraught, staring up at me with her kind and bright eyes wavering.


    I feared for a moment she might hate me for the stunt I’d pulled, but I really thought I didn’t have another choice. There was no other way to make her back down, and to make her realize that she couldn’te with us, that it was no ce for her. She’d be putting everyone in danger, most importantly, herself. Even if she had pulled the trigger, I wouldn’t have brought her along.


    I wasn’t going to taint her innocent smile with the daily horrors I had seen. If I had a choice, I’d never choose to get her involved in this.


    But perhaps it was already toote for that.


    I climbed into the back seat of the car, ncing at Gabriele through the front mirror. He was behind the wheel, as stoic as usual.


    “She okay?” Tallon asked me from the passenger seat, swerving to look at me. His eyes swam with worry for her.


    I knew the two had grown up like siblings or childhood friends. There was probably nothing romantic between the two, but the fact that they had a special connection I could never share with Olivia made me irrationally angry.


    But he was seventeen, and I had to be the adult, so I sucked up the jealousy, cramming it into my chest and hoping he didn’t catch on.


    “Buckle up,” I said coldly to the teen as I buckled my own seat.


    “Are you serious?” Tallon gave me an incredulous look, like I was losing my mind.


    “Of course, I am. I don’t joke about vehicle safety,” I crossed my arms, pinning him with a harsh stare. “Now, buckle up.”


    Tallon turned to Gabriele with wide, confused eyes, but he only said, “Do as the Don says,” in a low tone.


    Tallon shook his head in disbelief, but reluctantly I heard the straps of the seatbelt being pulled and clicked in ce.


    “Buckle up, they say, like we don’t break plenty of rules. It’s the actual goddamn mafia and they’re worried about a seatbelt,” I heard him muttering under his breath.


    “I heard that,” I said, ring at Tallon’s petrified look in the mirror.


    Gabriele chuckled under his breath, and the car began to move. We pulled out of the driveway and into the city.


    “Did they move in yet?” I asked Gabriele, leaning my arm against the cupholders.


    “Yes,” Gabriele confirmed, “They’re making their way up the floors under the evacuation order. We told them there was a gas leak in the building.”


    “Apartmentplex?” I asked with a frown.


    “You got it,” Gabriele nodded. “And get this. It’s owned by the samepany as the one she was taken from.”


    “Merde,” I muttered, “They fucking yed us.”


    “What does it matter who it was owned by?” Tallon huffed, ncing at Gabriele and then me. “Couldn’t it be just a coincidence?”


    “There are no coincidences, not in this line of work,” Gabriele said roughly.


    “The two buildings being owned by the samepany means that most likely they were working with the perpetrators. It means they nned this far better than we thought they had. This goes deep, Tallon.” I exined with a grimace. “Who owns it?”


    “Russo,” Gabriele replied, sending a meaningful nce through the rearview mirror.


    “Wait, Russo? That Russo?” Tallon emphasized, ncing at me with wide eyes.


    “Yes. One of thergestpanies in Europe,” Gabriele breathed through his nose, a dark look on his face.


    I knew why.


    “One of our former business partners,” I ground my teeth.


    They’d suddenly pulled out of a deal years back, and we’d never heard from them again. I thought they had gone underground, but it turns out they’d found some new friends.


    If they were supplying Dimitri and the Zaytsevs, it made sense how they’d stayed hidden all this time, until they had the right moment to strike and make aeback.


    The Russos working with the Zaytsevs was a lose-lose for us, and they both knew it.


    “Fuck,” Tallon growled. “Are you saying they have Dahlia?”


    “We’ll get her back, Tallon. I promise,” I told him, assuredly. There was no way I would allow for anything else.


    Tallon fell quiet, meeting my eyes in the mirror for a moment. I felt like I could read what he was saying even without any words.


    ‘You’d better.’


    I nodded and we were all silent for thest few blocks until Gabriele pulled onto an empty street. The Piazza was normally filled with people, with tourists on every corner and locals dining and shopping, but today, it was empty thanks to the alleged gas leak.


    We pulled up the police tape and a man in a police officer uniform came up to our car as we stopped. Gabriele rolled down the window, and the two spoke in low voices for a moment before the cop stepped back.


    I noticed the face beneath the uniform–one of our own men–as he waved for us to pass through. Everyone seemed to be doing their jobs with peak performance.


    We pulled up to an apartment building, and there were two swarms of crowds on either side of our car as we entered the parking lot.


    “What are all these people doing here?” I demanded.


    “Residents... we couldn’t get them to leave, and of course, they had to call the police and the press, so we’re being extra careful,” Gabriele sighed, sending a distasteful nce at the people on either side of us.


    We pulled right up the steps, away from where the crowds were, and got out of the car with purpose.


    Our men had a few trucks set up already, and the three of us headed straight for them.


    One of our men, Angelo, met us at the entrance with guns and bulletproof vests. We threw them on carefully, and I unholstered my gun, switching the safety off.


    It was like holding an old friend in my hand, and I switched into the mode of the leader I was.


    “How many?” I demanded.


    “Four left. Three fled, and they’re in custody,” Angelo informed me quickly, as usual. “They’re barricaded in the fourth floor right now. I guess they thought it was the perfect spot to hide, but they didn’t realize they were trapped.”


    “Good.” I nodded then nced at the men waiting for mymand. “I want this done swift and easy. Noplications, do you hear me? No harm is toe to Dahlia, so only use force when absolutely necessary.”


    “Yes, sir!” the men all shouted in unison.


    We stepped into the lobby quietly, and I gazed around, taking everything in.


    The ugly carpet under our feet was painted in bizzare geometric patterns of all colors–some attempt at being artsy probably. It was eerily silent, with personal belongings left abandoned on the tables and counters.


    “This way to the stairwell.” One of my men pointed down a hallway.


    I nodded in confirmation, turning to the men behind me as I yelled out, “Alright, let’s go!”


    Right as the words flew out of my mouth, however, a loud bang came from above us–a noise I knew well, and one that never meant anything good.


    A gunshot.


    “Dahlia.” Tallon paled, and I cursed to myself as he took off down the hallway, straight into the stairwell. The heavy metal door mmed behind him, and I regretted bringing him for a moment.


    There was no time to waste, though, as I held my gun up, moving quickly toward where Tallon had run.


    With the elevator out of order due to the chaos, we took the stairs, moving quickly step by step. I breathed out heavily, begging that the shot hadn’t been for Dahlia.


    Step by step, flight by flight we went. It took several minutes to reach the fourth floor, and we headed straight down the hallway.


    Angelo directed us to the apartment they’d been stashed in, and my heart fell to my feet as I heard Tallon scream, followed by the sound of another gunshot.


    The door to the apartment had been busted down, and I spotted several of my men lingering outside the door. Three of the kidnappers had been apprehended, guns pointed at their heads as theyy t on the ground with their hands over their heads.


    I stepped over them, swerving into the apartment, and my heart crumpled in my chest.


    Tallon kneeled on the floor, and there were two bodies beside him. The one on the right was quickly pooling with blood, a bullet hole through the skull as theyy dead and motionless.


    I stepped forward, dazed for a second, until I stepped on something that crunched under my boot–Tallon’s gun he’d discarded.


    “Giovani!”


    Tallon’s cry broke me from my daze as I nced at the second body. This one was not like the other. The long brown hair soaked in blood was the first clue. The second was how Tallon was clinging to the girl in desperation.


    “Help!” Tallon screamed, looking up at me with wild eyes. His hands were covered in red as he held the girl’s head onto hisp.


    “Dahlia,” I breathed in disbelief.


    Shey there, incredibly pale as her shirt was soaked with blood. It pooled out of the wound on her stomach and onto the floor. With her eyes shut and her hair spilled around her, she didn’t look anything like the girl I knew so well.


    Tallon wailed into the abyss, screaming his sister’s name.