Into the Fire

All I could think about was the leftover Chinese food waiting for me in my refrigerator as I made the fifteen minute walk back from campus to my apartment. My feet were killing me from being on them all day and I wanted nothing more than to relax in a bubble bath with a glass of wine and my noodles.

I only had two semesters left before I would finally graduate from the nursing program at John Hopkins. Maryland was the furthest my family was willing to allow me to move away from home. Of course, my move came complete with two bodyguards 24/7; the perks of being the only daughter of Michael Costanzo and sister to Stefano Costanzo.

I blew out a deep sigh and continued to trudge down the sidewalk, trying not to think about my insane family life. I glanced behind me to find the familiar black SUV following at a safe distance. That was part of our agreement. I just wanted some normalcy as a college student, but understood the dangers of being away from my family without protection. I wasn’t an idiot and I wasn’t about to act like some spoiled brat.

Vincenzo usually drove the SUV with Samuel in the passenger seat. They had been my bodyguards since I was fifteen and didn’t hesitate to volunteer to go to college with me. It was almost a comfort to have them with me like a piece of home to carry by my side every day.

The SUV pulled into a parking spot in the apartment lot and I waited near the front entrance. Any time we entered the building one of them would sweep the lobby and go up to the apartment first. It was almost over the top overkill but two years ago I was thankful they were this thorough. At one point in my sophomore year I had a stalker that broke into my dorm and was waiting for me after a late night class. Vincenzo caught him before I even knew what happened.

“How was your class, sorellina?” Vinny asked while Samuel headed up the elevator.

It always warmed my heart when he called me his little sister. I had plenty of brothers but we had been around each other for almost seven years now. I considered him and Samuel family at this point.

“I’m ready for graduation, ragazzone,” I admitted, “I know we just got back from summer break a couple months ago, but I miss mia famiglia. I can’t wait for Thanksgiving break.” (big guy, my family)

“Me too, Ro.”

He went to continue on but closed his mouth when we heard his cellphone vibrating in his pocket. He held up a finger to me and excused himself to answer the call. I watched his shoulders tense and he started speaking quickly and roughly in Italian.

I didn’t want to eavesdrop so I looked around us and wondered why it was so quiet tonight. It was already nine pm but it was a Friday night. The streets should have been bustling with the beginnings of nightlife.

Suddenly two black SUVs swerved down the road headed straight for us. My eyes widened in fright and I turned back to tell Vinny but he was still in the heated argument. I slipped my hand around his bicep and harshly jerked his arm to gain his attention.

“Che c’è, sorellina?” he growled at me, not having a chance to calm down. (What is it, little sister?)

I pointed over at the two SUVs right as they pulled into the lot. Vinny yelled into the phone before ending the call and swiftly placing himself in front of me. One hand pushed me back while the other reached into his jacket and pulled out a gun.

“Stare dietro di me,” he warned me to stay behind him.

Four men poured out of the first vehicle all with guns drawn. They wasted no time pointing them at us. No one spoke a word yet. A man stepped out of the front passenger side of the second vehicle and opened up the back door.

It felt as if my heart literally dropped to the bottom of my stomach. What the hell was going on? The man who stepped out took his time as he straightened out his suit that was a little rumpled from sitting in the car. He ran a hand through his slicked back dark brown hair before finally looking up at me with piercing almost black eyes.

“Oh cazzo,” Vinny swore under his breath. (fuck)

“Lower your weapon, Vincenzo,” the man demanded.

“Tell your men the same,” Vinny bit back at him.

A dark look passed over his face and an amused smirk twitched onto his lips. My stomach clenched at the low chuckle that escaped his mouth. I placed a hand on Vinny’s back.

“It’s okay, ragazzone,” I whispered, “Just do as he asks.”

“Listen to her, Vincenzo, and she just might save your life.”

Vinny reluctantly lowered his weapon and the other men followed suit.

“What do you want, Valentino?” I asked before stepping out from behind Vinny’s back.

My whole body shivered in disgust while Valentino openly ogled my body. Before I left my last class I had changed out of my scrubs. I opted for tight dark blue skinny jeans and a short sleeved black v-neck shirt. It was starting to get cold out so I completed the look with my maroon leather jacket.

Vinny let out a low snarl forcing Valentino to look back up into my eyes. Valentino took a few steps forward until he reached us. His men stayed back by their vehicles.

“Bellissima. You just get more beautiful every time I see you.” (beautiful)

His words washed over my body like a cold shower. He always gave me the creeps any time he was even in the vicinity of me. My bright blue eyes clouded over in confusion as to why he was here in Maryland seeking me out.

“I won’t ask again,” I gritted through my clenched teeth, “What do you want?”

He reached his ring clad left hand out and brushed the back of his pointer finger against my cheek. It took everything in me not to lash out and punch this douche in the balls. But I couldn’t as such a reaction was sure to cause a lot of backlash between our two families.

“On behalf of Don Genovesi we are here as a warning.”

Shit.

We reacted just two seconds too late. His other hand had already slipped into his jacket pocket and pulled out a gun. I hastily grabbed onto his arm and knocked his gun back just as it went off. Instead of the bullet hitting Vinny’s chest it went straight into his leg. Blood splattered all over the sidewalk painting it a deep crimson red.

But that wasn’t going to stop him. Vinny’s gun lifted and he started to shoot Valentino’s men. Unbeknownst to any of us Samuel snuck out the apartment building while this was going down and quickly came to our rescue.

I thanked god Valentino made the first move as now I could pummel his smug face without repercussions. His face whipped to the side the moment my right hand collided with his cheek.

Scoparmi. God that hurt. But man was that worth it. (fuck me)

I was too busy celebrating in my mind that I didn’t even see it coming. Blood splattered to the ground from my mouth when the butt of his gun collided with my face. If I thought punching him hurt then this was ten times worse.

“Motherfucker,” I screamed out.

His arm wrapped around me effectively pulling me away from Vinny all while pointing his gun to the side of my head.

“Fermare!” Valentino yelled out and immediately everyone stopped.

Four of his men were on the ground dead, leaving only one of the drivers left. Samuel came around the other side of the SUV from his hiding spot with his weapon still drawn and pointed at Valentino.

“Put Aurora down, Martinelli,” Samuel commanded him, “You have no idea the mess you’ve just created. You so much as harm another hair on her head and you’ll have the full weight of the Costanzo and Moretti families coming down hard on you and Don Genovesi.”

“Fuck the Costanzos,” Valentino growled, “Every last one of those Silician fucks can rot in hell.”

“Let her go and maybe we will let you out of this alive.”

Valentino snorted knowing very well he was not leaving unless it was in pieces in black trash bags. He started walking towards the SUV with me in tow, never releasing the pressure of his gun against my head. Sadly this wasn’t the first time I’d been threatened like this, probably wouldn’t be the last, so I knew it was best not to struggle right now.

“This isn’t the end of this,” he snarled before pushing me away from him.

I stumbled forward into Samuel’s arms while Valentino jumped into the SUV. The wheels squealed against the pavement and the vehicle tore off into the night, leaving behind one giant clusterfuck.

“Are you okay, sorellina?” Samuel asked, checking me for injuries, “Fuck he got you good. Stefano is going to have my balls for this.”

“Under the circumstances, I think keeping me alive is what counts here,” I tried to reassure him.

We both knew that wasn’t true. When it came to my oldest brother, the head of the Costanzo family, and his temper it was relentless especially when it came to me.

Right now my focus was on Vinny, who was stumbling our way. I reached out to catch him right before he fell onto the sidewalk. Blood was steadily pouring out of his leg and I was worried his femoral artery had been hit.

Samuel pulled out his phone to call someone and ran to get the SUV. I pulled out the first aid kit from the trunk when he stopped the car near us. I needed to get the bleeding under control and make a tourniquet so he wouldn’t lose the leg. He really needed a hospital but I knew that was out of the question. Hospitals are legally bound to report all gunshot wounds and the one near us wasn’t under the Costanzo thumb.

“He really needs a hospital,” I whined to Samuel while we tried to get him into the backseat.

“You know that’s not a possibility, Ro,” he quickly responded.

He hopped into the driver’s seat once Vinny was settled in the back with me. I kneeled on the floor next to him doing everything I could to stop the blood from flowing out.

“Where are we going and what are we going to do about Genovesi’s dead bodies?”

Samuel’s phone went off interrupting his response. The phone call only lasted a minute before he took a hard left to turn around and drive in a different direction.

“What’s going on, Samuel?” I pried further, “Why is Genovesi so angry with Stefano?”

Samuel loudly sighed and threw his phone onto the passenger seat next to him. His left hand gripped the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles were stark white. His right hand practically ripped his dirty blonde hair out in frustration.

“I can’t say for sure what’s going on, sorellina. But right now we are headed for the airport. Emiliano Teruzzi is here on business and is willing to fly us back to New York.”

“Vinny can’t fly like this,” I protested instantly, “Also what the heck is Emiliano doing in Maryland?”

Samuel rolled his eyes, “Let me just call him right up and ask. Vinny will be fine. Stefano has a doctor that’ll be waiting for us when we land.”

I grumbled at his unappreciated sarcasm and huffed at him instead of biting out my own sarcastic response.

“We need to stop at a drugstore or something. He needs way more gauze and some pain meds. He’s going to need a blood transfusion if he loses any more blood. I really don’t think a plane is the best idea.”

Samuel picked his phone back up and dialed a number.

“I need a favor. Vin’s going to bleed out before we even take off. Is there anybody here on your payroll that can get access to blood and IV kits?”

The vehicle was quiet while Samuel listened to a response.

“I appreciate it. I owe you one, well Vin owes you one.”

He hung up the phone after that.

“Happy now?”

“You didn’t ask for gauze or meds.”

The vehicle went quiet again. Samuel swerved off the highway and drove towards the drugstore across the street from the exit. He unbuckled his seatbelt and started to exit the car when I stopped him.

“Let me go. I know exactly what is needed.”

“I’m not letting you in there alone. We have no idea how many of Genovesi’s guys are in the state or where they are.”

“I’ll be super quick. I swear.”

Before he could even rebuttal my argument I jumped out of the car. I could almost hear his eyes rolling at my stubborn ass and walked into the store.

I read a few of the signs and walked towards the back to the pharmacy where all the medical supplies would be. I piled packages of gauze into my arms practically depleting their entire stock.

The meds were a different story. The strongest thing they had was Extra-Strength Tylenol and that was going to be like throwing a spoonful of water on a blazing fire for his pain.

The cashier stared at me for a good two minutes when I placed the gauze onto the counter. I cleared my throat trying to get his attention so I could get the hell out of there. What the hell was his problem?

I looked down to realize my arms were covered in blood and my jeans were soaked with it. I also almost forgot about my split lip and probably bruised face. I’m pretty sure I was putting Carrie to shame with the amount of blood covering me.

“Is- is- is that all?” he stuttered out after another two minutes.

I gave him a small smile trying to put him at ease but this was probably going to scar him for life. I would forever be engrained in his nightmares. Oops.

“That’s it.”

“Do you want a receipt or a bag?”

“Bag please and no receipt.”

His hands shook while he placed the gauze into a plastic bag. He dropped a few of the packages a couple of times. I didn’t have time for this. I hastily took over, rushing to put the gauze into the bag and ran out of the store.

“I need you to break into the pharmacy,” I told Samuel while hopping back into the car.

“What do you want me to get?”

“Strongest meds you can find. I don’t really know what they’ll have in stock.”

Samuel exited the vehicle and made his way around the back. I concentrated back on Vinny and wrapping his leg up with more gauze. I also checked the tourniquet to make sure it was holding.

Five minutes later Samuel jumped into the driver’s seat and sped back onto the highway. He handed me a bag full of bunch of different meds. I read the labels before pulling off the cap of one. I handed Vinny a couple of pills and the bottle of water from my school bag. He gladly chugged the water and swallowed the pills.

“How are you feeling, ragazzone?” I quietly asked and wiped the sweat from his forehead with my scrub shirt.

“Like I got shot,” he tried to joke.

“Rest. Don’t worry about anything else tonight.”

He closed his eyes and allowed his head to fall back onto the seat. I climbed over to the front passenger seat and left Vinny to rest.

“How far are we from the airport?”

“About thirty minutes out.”

“I’m scared, Samuel,” I whispered my fear out loud to him.

His eyes softened when he glanced over at me. He reached out and placed a comforting squeeze on my shoulder.

“You know we would never let anything happen to you. Stefano is furious that Valentino was so bold as to track you down like this and threaten your life. Close your eyes, sorellina. I’ll wake you when we get there.”

*Thank you so much for choosing my book to read! I appreciate any and all criticism for my stories. I am an imperfect person, just try not to be too mean! I also appreciate any suggestions and will try to answer any questions!*