Lethal, page 31
"Fucking hell, that was more painful than I was expecting." he rasped, heaving audibly.
I motioned for him to wait a second before pressing the device in my ear, "Ozzy, can you hear me?"
"I'm here." came his prompt reply.
"I'm gonna need some help here. Alistair is badly injured and he can't walk."
"I'm on my way!"
The next few moments happened quickly. When I glanced at Alistair to let him know the update, his eyes had widened in horror. Also, his warning came a little too late.
A strong hand was wrapped around my neck, pulling me away from him. My attacker was strong, given the strength he was holding me with. He pulled me back, and with a haul, threw me across the floor!
I cursed when my body hit the stone floor, and I rolled over on my back, letting out a string of curses. The assault was sudden and left me stunned. But without sparing a second, I was quick to get up on my feet and face him.
Gabriel.
Forty-eight: Darkness
Alexandra
“Well, well, well,” I mused, brushing off my sleeves, “if it isn’t Karina’s little bitch.”
My eyes roamed over Gabriel, recalling the last time I had ‘bumped’ into him on the street.
“I’d call you Xavier’s but I’m no longer sure between him and Alistair,” he smirked, curling and uncurling his fists.
“Oh, you don’t have to be. Unlike you,” I mimicked his smirk, changing my stance for the inevitable battle, “I’m an army all on my own.”
The fight that ensued between the two of us displayed just why Gabriel had earned the name l’Ombra. His large frame moved with agility, dodging my punches and managing to catch me on my stomach with his kicks. I was surprised at how swift he was, given in my head, I had still been unable to picture him as an assassin instead of the friendly kid from way back. Gone was the goofy grin and the mop of curly hair. His eyes almost looked hollow, as if he had seen some horrors. They seemed demented.
But there were some hitches in his stance that told me that he was still learning. He began throwing one mad punch after the other when his attack suddenly changed. Instead of the lithe and aimed hits, he was now punching blindly.
Behind me, I could tell Alistair was trying to get up and help me out, but the wounds on his body weren’t making it any less painful. He was weak, almost immobile.
It was a mere second of distraction but Gabriel took advantage of it and rammed his balled fist into my cheek! I stumbled back with a loud curse, reaching for the wall with one hand for support.
"Fucking hell!"
"I am not going to let you leave," he stated, heaving audibly, "Especially with him."
"I should break every bone in your body given how much pain you put him through." I stood up again, spitting the ball of blood that had gathered in my mouth, "
“He deserves every bit of it!” he pointed to Alistair, “That bastard took everything from me! Long after he’d left, you would go on and on about him. I was there for you every second. I don’t know what kind of spell he had you under. He still does. You can’t even look at anyone past him.”
I clutched my jaw, groaning at the agonizing pain, "At the risk of sounding like a lovesick loon, I love him. No one else but him. So, you and I can battle our hearts out right now but I am not leaving this place without him."
Gabriel's demeanor suddenly changed. His shoulders sagged in defeat and he put his fists down.
“I don’t want to hurt you, Alexandra,” he stated, "My offer to come with me is still standing.”
I looked at him, and I mean really looked at him.
“I’m sorry, are you having a mood swing session? You just punched me in the face, you fucking asshole!”
“And I don’t want to fucking do that!” he screamed back, “I am fighting between what I want and what Karina wants. She created this devil inside of me, I didn’t!”
His words. They angered me- greatly. They pissed me off- immensely. To the point where I closed my eyes and strived for patience.
“You killed Feroz.” I whispered, “You stood behind me and enjoyed every second of it when Frank fired a bullet in his heart. You laughed right in my ear.”
My voice was low, dangerous.
“You hurt Alistair.” I went on, reaching for the knives in my pockets and snapping them open, “He can’t even walk right now, that’s how bad you hurt him. And I am not interested in hearing another bullshit story of how Mommy Karina turned you into who you are, you duplicitous piece of shit.”
With an angry cry, I charged at him again. This time, my hits were fuelled with all the strength and vengeance I could muster. My knife first hit his arm, and then his thigh. I twisted my wrist free when he tried to grab the weapons from me. With my spare hand, I smashed the back of my other knife to his skull!
He rolled over and crouched down, blinking harshly, “Fucking hell!”
I didn’t give him enough time to respond. With a quick roundhouse kick, I’d effectively dropped him to the floor.
“Guess Mommy didn’t teach you that well.”
It took me a few seconds to catch my breath and watch Gabriel lying immobile. I, then, rounded his figure and crouched down next to him.
“Do you remember what I said to you that day?”
He closed his eyes against the numbing pain I knew was settling in his head. His bloodied jaw had started swelling rapidly. The gashes on his arm and thigh oozed with blood.
“I had told you that the next time we meet, I was going to slice your neck open and drain your body of every drop of blood.” I whispered, my fingers itching around the knife I’d flicked open, “And that time has finally come.”
With a jagged, painful, and merciless cut, I fulfilled my promise. It satisfied me greatly- the sight of the blade tearing his skin apart. The backdrop of the battle above us and the sound of Feroz’s murderer gurgling and choking on his own blood brought me peace.
I sat back on the floor and watched with a morbid fascination as the crimson pool under Gabriel widened with each passing second and he hiccupped, desperately clinging to his last breaths.
When I closed my eyes, I vividly pictured Feroz standing before me. I could see him looking at me like he always did- with that gorgeous smile full of affection pride, but somewhere hating that I had to keep on taking lives when I despised it the most. I wanted to reach out and touch him, ask him if he felt somewhat at peace now. When he nodded at me, I knew in my heart that my job was done. It felt like a huge weight had been lifted off of my shoulders.
I was pulled out of my reverie when Alistair called out my name, “Alex? Alex, babe, talk to me.”
I took one last look at Gabriel’s limp body and got up from the floor, turning around to face Alistair.
“I’m okay, I’m okay,” I assured him.
“Good, good.” he nodded, “Because I am confused between being both scared shitless and aroused by what I watched you do.”
His sudden confession had me dissolving into a fit of laughter while still wiping my tears.
“You’re such an idiot.”
When I kneeled in front of him again, he gingerly reached out and touched my cheek, “Thank you for coming to save me.”
“I’ll always come for you.” I locked eyes with him, placing a light kiss on his palm, “I-I…”
“Hey, hey, it’s okay Alex,” he whispered, wiping the sudden tear that began to roll down my cheek.
“It’s just that,” I shook my head, “I always used to tell Feroz that I wanted to die, maybe kill myself. But it was only when you strolled your way back into my life, did I realize that I didn’t want to die. Rather, I wanted my life- my murderous, abandoned, pain-induced life- to be over.”
It surely wasn’t the time for such confessions, but I disregarded the gun battle above our heads and continued to pour my heart out. I realized just how much the thought of losing Alistair had terrified me to my core.
“You sauntered your way into my heart like you belonged there. And I cannot imagine living without you again. So, when we get out of here, you and I are going to that beach so that I can drown myself in margaritas and you can read 'The Great Gatsby' for the thousandth time.”
I gave in when he pulled me forward for a long, long kiss. Nothing will ever match the euphoria of that kiss- kissing someone you thought you might have lost forever.
Our moment was cut short when we heard loud, deliberate footsteps charging down the dungeon stairs. I was quick to cock my guns and stand in front of Alistair, ready for a fight.
Relief washed over me when I noticed it was just Ozzy.
"I got a little held up-"
The remainder of his sentence got lost when his eyes landed on Gabriel’s corpse lying in a massive pool of blood, “Who’s that?”
“That’s the guy who killed Feroz Jamshidi,” I answered gravely.
He nodded in understanding and then looked at me, pointing to my face, "Wow those are some real shiners you got there."
Instinctively, I touched my cheek, suddenly aware of the bruises I was sporting. The last one didn't have time to fully heal and now I had a new one.
"Doesn't matter, though. You still look beautiful." he offered with a smile.
"Why, thank you." I smiled back.
"I'm right here you two." Alistair interrupted our banter in an annoyed tone, "I may be injured but I haven't gone deaf yet."
Chuckling loudly, the two of us stood on either side of him and gently helped him up.
“How is it going up there?” I asked Ozzy.
“They’re going through the last building now. You were right. Their soldiers were no match for us. Our army was almost triple their size, thanks to Mr. Donati over here.” he replied.
“They came through?” Alistair asked, wincing as he put a step forward.
“According to Mikhael, all of them did.” I answered, supporting him from the other side, then I glanced at Ozzy, “Did they find Karina yet?”
He shook his head, “She must be hiding in one of those buildings. We’ll pull this estate apart brick-by-brick if we have to. The exits are all covered, so she has nowhere to run."
It was a tough task, getting Alistair out of the dungeons. We had to pause every few steps to let him recuperate. Judging by the way he was wincing and catching his breath, he was definitely in much more pain and distress than he was letting on.
We finally emerged from the dungeons, greeted by the crisp midnight air. My eyes roamed over the estate, right to the massive structures, which had been completely overtaken. The grounds had turned into a warzone during my time downstairs. Somewhere deep down, I was a little glad of not being a part of bloodshed this time.
Alas, God had one last challenge for me. Or, I could say, an answered prayer.
A very disheveled Karina Velov stumbled into the stone pavilion.
She had lost all the elegance and grace I’d seen on her the other day. Gone was the carefully styled bun, the perfectly applied makeup, and the luxurious brands she carried on her body. It was replaced with long locks of war-torn hair, hollow bags under the eyes, and blood-soaked pale white clothes.
“You fucking bitch!” she seethed, wiping the blood off her face with the back of her hand. Her hardened eyes carried the most hateful and loathsome look, and it was all directed towards me.
I allowed Alistair to put his entire support on Ozzy and then I stepped forward, immensely pleased at the sight before me.
“You took everything from me!” she screamed, shaking with rage, “You ravaged my home! You killed my men!”
“I just finished what you started, Karina.” I answered, smiling widely, “I warned you before. But it’s not my fault your pride and power took over your sense of logic and reasoning.”
“20 years.” she breathed, “I worked 20 years to build my kingdom. I persisted. I thrived. I licked the blood off of knives. And you?”
She laughed, a humorless one at that. A maniacal one.
“You just came barging in one night and destroyed everything.”
“Your empire would still be standing if you had just let go of your vengeance.”
This time, she looked me right in the eye and said something I knew I wouldn’t forget my entire life.
“You laid a siege to my home because I took the man you loved. You gathered an army of hundreds for avenging the death of your dear friend. Can you honestly say that my vengeance for killing the man who murdered my husband isn’t justified?”
“No, I can’t.” I replied, “But you fated yourself with my wrath when you went after the people I loved. You were just hell-bent on drawing out my father, who, I will say yet again, I don’t give a fuck about.”
“Well, he gives a fuck about you.” she stated, before pulling out a gun, “He took someone from me who I loved with all my heart. And now, I am going to do the same to him.”
It was a few seconds of absolute chaos. Every moment took place swiftly and slowly at the same time.
Behind me, Ozzy and Alistair cried out. I heard the sound of shots being fired. Then there was absolute silence.
When I looked up again, Karina lay dead on the ground in front of me, with Dante standing over her, holstering his gun. The shot he had fired from behind had riddled through her head, eliminating her in an instant.
I would’ve screamed at Dante- yelled at him for snatching my kill.
But at that moment, my body burned with the three bullets that had pierced through my skin. My cries got lodged in my throat. I removed my fingers from my stomach, only to see them dripping in blood. My blood.
There was pain. There was so much excruciating pain.
I vaguely heard the chaos that erupted around me. Someone rushed to gather me in their arms. Someone screamed for help. And someone told me to keep my eyes open.
Was that Alistair whose face blurred in and out of my vision? Or was that Ozzy?
Every single moment from when Xavier first broke the news about the attack to this second- every moment came screeching to my head. Every bullet fired, every knife flicked, every punch thrown. Every soldier we buried, every soul we lost, every drop of blood that had been shed. Everything.
Then there was darkness. Utter and hollow darkness. I stood torn between its tranquillity and the fear it brought. I was falling into a dark abyss with unfathomable depth.
And finally, there was no pain. For the first time in years, I didn’t feel an ounce of it. My mind didn’t scream for help. My heart didn’t squeeze in agony.
So when the veil of darkness enveloped in waves, I welcomed it with open arms like an old friend, desperate to dive into its cocoon and be done with this harsh world.
Epilogue: Beach
One month later
Xavier Vitali’s phone rang, effectively breaking the silence in his office.
“Any word?”
“Unfortunately, no sir.” came Jamal’s answer.
“Let me know the second you find something.”
“Sir, I honestly don’t think we will.”
“Excuse me?”
Jamal sighed on the other end of the line, “Sir, it’s been a month. We haven’t had any time to recuperate from the war. Our resources are being used up by this nationwide manhunt. If they didn’t want to be found, maybe searching for them is fruitless.”
“I gave you an order Jamal, and that was to find out where the two of them are hiding.” Xavier replied with authority in his tone, “I am not asking for your opinion. So, get your ass out there and find them.”
He hung up with a huff, burying his head in his hands and sighing loudly.
His mind traveled back to a month ago, and he recalled every second since he had safely transferred his daughter to the car and was intent on going back to help Alexandra.
“Boss, you there?”
Xavier pressed the device in his ear and answered Aaron’s query, ‘I’m here.”
“Boss, Alexandra’s down.”
He stiffened, his fingers halting around the gun he was loading, “Come again?”
“Alexandra Vitali is down! Three gunshot wounds to the abdomen.”
Xavier’s happiness at finding his daughter was short-lived. He gave Ever a quick kiss on the head and then proceeded to direct the soldier to guard over her with his life, following which, he proceeded to run back to the estate.
Halfway through, he met Ozias who was carrying Lexi’s limp body in his arms, and an injured and devastated Alistair stumbling after them.
“She has a pulse! Hospital, NOW!” Ozias shouted.
A car was called and Alexandra was carefully placed inside. Alistair sat on one side, his own pain forgotten with the rush of adrenaline, as he cradled her head in his lap.
“Hang in there, Alex.” he cried, “Please, just hang in there. We’re going to get you help.”
The ride to the hospital was a fast and dangerous one. Jamal maneuvered through the traffic as an anxious silence loomed in the car. Ozzy sat in the passenger seat, with Xavier and Aaron hanging in the back. Even the ones who didn’t believe in a higher power prayed their hearts out.
There was a series of loud instructions and rushed actions when they finally reached the hospital. Ozzy jumped out before the car had even stopped and was yelling for a doctor and a gurney. Xavier watched with despair when Alexandra was carefully transferred out of the car and then rushed to the operating room. He looked through the small round window as the doctors set to work on possibly saving her life.
Alistair refused to move from near the operating room until he got an update. His wounds were treated sitting on the very bench by a scared-looking nurse who wanted nothing more than to get away from the bunch of bloodied and armed men he had been surrounded by.
More and more soldiers began stopping by the hospital to check on Lexi. Such was the crowd that having given up on seats, people had started sitting on the floors in groups. Several rounds of coffee were made and those who were tired, slept sitting up on lying on the tiled floors.
