This chapter is dedicated to -Miimiii- Reeyanah_16
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Ivy's POV
I knew they were coming.
Even with the chaos hammering through my veins, I held on to one thing—my brothers would be here.
But time—
Time wasn't something I had.
The man dragging me was fast. Every second he moved felt like three stolen from me. I couldn't see his face. Just the disgusting scent of sweat, the rust of metal, and the black jacket brushing my arms as I fought against him.
The gravel behind the canteen scraped under my boots. My hands clawed at him, nails finding nothing but layers of fabric. I twisted, stomped, yanked my body out of rhythm—
And then came the slap.
My neck snapped sideways from the force, the sting blooming along my jaw.
My breath caught. I screamed as the pain registered, but so did the anger. I looked around to see if anyone can hear me.
Fuck no one is going to hear me, the match is on the opposite of this school. No one will come for atleast next hour.
"Touch me again," I hissed, voice cracked but steady, "and you'll be dead before you even see them. My brothers are going to find you."
He said nothing. But his grip tightened.
He reached the black car parked behind the dumpsters, shoved the passenger door open with one hand while yanking me toward it with the other. My shoes scraped against the concrete. I kicked against his shins, twisted my body until my shoulder popped. I didn't care. Pain meant I was fighting.
But just as he was about to stuff me into the seat—SCREEEECH.
Tires shrieked, rubber burning into the ground, headlights slicing through the yard.
Black SUVs, matte finish, windows rolled down, engines still growling like beasts unchained.
My brothers.
"Massim—!" I screamed, just as the man wrapped his arm around my neck and yanked me back against him. His other hand reached inside his jacket.
I froze.
Then I felt the cold press of metal against my ribs. A gun.
Deja vu of Felipe but this man is much more aggressive and angry.
"Move again and you die," he whispered against my ear.
The car doors slammed open.
Massimo stepped out first, gun already in his hand, jaw locked, eyes fire and storm.
Declan and Zayn followed spreading out. Jaxon slid from the back seat .Vale stood beside him, but his face—his face was murder painted in silence.
All of them froze when they saw me.
The barrel against me.
Massimo's hand didn't waver, but I saw it in his eyes—the scream buried beneath his skin.
The man shifted behind me, voice low but grating, "Try anything, and I'll blow her brain open."
Why does it the voice sound familiar—
Declan took a step forward, gun aimed but voice angry. "Who the fuck are —" he took a deep breath controlling himself.
"Tell us what you want. Say the name, the money, the car, the place—whatever you came for, you'll have it."
Zayn echoed him, one foot forward. "I can see you are alone and You don't want this war, man. You don't know what kind of hell you've just called down."
The man laughed.
Slowly, he reached up with one hand and pulled back the black hood that had masked his face.
And everything inside me fell apart.
Marcus.
Marcus Vitalo.
My stepfather.
Holding me like I was still fifteen, still stuck in that house where breathing too loud could earn you punishment. Still afraid to put a foot wrong, because the wrong step meant pain.
And I froze.
Everything in me locked up. My limbs stilled. My mouth dried.
His hold on me became heavier. Not just physical—but mental. He wrapped around my mind, dragging me back in time. Back to the girl I used to be—the one who lived in constant fear of doors slamming, of footsteps approaching.
"Ivy, breathe" Massimo's voice thundered.
But it wasn't just him.
"What the fuck are you doing here?" Declan barked, stepping forward, gun trembling in his grip. Not from fear—but restraint.
"You sick bastard," Zayn spat. "Take your hands off her"
Jaxon's eyes were locked on me. "Let her go."
Vale's voice was quiet, a cold kind of lethal. "Marcus, You're not leaving with her. You're not leaving at all."
I tried to move—to take just one step toward them. Toward the safety they represented.
But Marcus yanked me back with a force that made my ribs ache. My gasp caught in my throat.
His grip was bruising.
Declan's jaw locked as his voice dipped into deadly quiet. "You really want to die tonight, don't you? You think taking her's gonna end in anything but your blood on this ground?"
Marcus snorted, the laugh twisted.
"You little bastard," he sneered at Declan. "You took everything from me. You and your brothers—siding with that slut."
I flinched, The word hit me like a blade.
It always did.
Even now, even after all this time. After being safe. After finding love. That one word, from his mouth, still made something cold slice through me.
Massimo raised his gun higher. "Call her names again—and see if you get to finish your sentence."
Vale's expression didn't change, but his eyes burned like lit gunpowder.
Zayn stepped closer. "You don't talk about her. You don't even look at her."
"I want what's mine," Marcus snarled. "All of it. Everything. You give me what you owe—and maybe then I'll consider letting her go."
"No," I said, my voice sharp through the chokehold he had me in. I looked straight at my brothers. "No. You're not giving him a goddamn thing."
"Ivy—" Declan started.
"I mean it," I cut in, locking eyes with Massimo. "Massi, I'll go with him. For now. But you don't hand him anything."
They have worked soo hard on building their empire, I cant be the reason the lost it.
"Time is ticking massimo" Marcus called out.
Massimo's head tipped back—and then he laughed.
A cold, cruel sound that never touched his eyes.
"You really think you're getting out of here alive?" he asked, stepping forward. "With her? You think you'll breathe by the time this is over? We have a sniper on you right now, drop the gun"
Something flickered in Marcus's expression.
Fear.
But then, just as fast, he masked it—and tightened his grip on my throat.
Hard.
My lungs screamed. My nails dug into his arm as my vision blurred around the edges.
Black spots danced across my vision. My chest burned. I couldn't get air in. Couldn't cry out. Couldn't—
My brothers moved at once.
And the last thing I saw before the world bent was Declan's voice breaking into a roar.
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Zayn POV
The moment Marcus squeezed her neck, I felt something inside me shatter.
Her hands clawed at his arm—desperation, pure and frantic. Her eyes widened, lips parted for breath she couldn't reach. Her body was still, save for the fight in her limbs, and even that was fading fast.
And it was Declan who moved first.
He blurred forward in a burst of fury, a sound ripping from him that I'd never heard before. He struck Marcus hard, clean across the face, the gun slipping away from his hand.
The bastard's grip slipped.
The second his arms dropped, Jaxon was there—scooping her into his arms. His entire focus was on her. Her body slack. Her lips pale. Her throat marked red.
"Breathe, Iv," he whispered, holding her against him, rocking slightly. "Come on. We got you. We're here."
But I was staring at Massimo.
And Massimo had just ripped Marcus out of Declan's grip and slammed him onto the concrete like a corpse being thrown into its grave.
The sound of it—his back hitting the ground, his skull bouncing off the pavement was Satisfying.
Massimo straddled him and wrapped a hand around his throat.
"You dare put your filthy hands on my Ivy?" Massimo growled, eyes wild, voice low and guttural. "You're going to beg me for every breath now, Marcus. Every single one."
His knuckles turned white as he applied pressure, harder with every word. Marcus's legs kicked. He flailed. His face turned blotchy red and purple.
Suddenly I noticed Ivy still wasn't breathing properly.
I dropped to my knees beside her as Jaxon and Vale gently lowered her to the ground. Her eyes were open but panicked. Tremors raced through her hands. Her lips trembled.
"Ivy," Vale said softly, brushing the hair from her forehead. "It's okay. You're okay. Deep breaths, alright? We got you. You were brave. So fucking brave baby."
Jaxon held her hand, voice close to cracking. "You did everything right. Just breathe okay. Just breathe."
But she couldn't.
Her body wouldn't let her.
She was trembling so hard her teeth were chattering. Her mouth kept opening, but no words made it out. Just these broken sounds. A stammer of breath. A silent cry.
I cursed.
I pulled her into my arms, lifting her gently, holding her close to my chest
"Jax" I barked. "Open the fucking doors. Now."
Jaxon didn't waste a second. He and vale bolted toward the doors, yanking them open, keys already in hand. I walked with Ivy in my arms, whispering nothing but quiet comfort into her ear.
"You're safe now. You hear me?" My voice was calm even if my soul wasn't. "You're in my arms. No one's touching you again."
I opened the back door and slid into the seat, keeping her cradled in my lap. Her head rested against my shoulder.
She was still shaking.
I reached forward and flicked the heat on full blast, cranking the dial until the vents whirred and warm air spilled into the cabin. She was ice in my arms. Her fingers cold, her cheek pressed to my shirt like she was trying to melt into me.
My palm cupped her jaw carefully. I couldn't stop staring at the faint red marks on her neck. My throat tightened.
"No one is taking you back," I muttered, my voice sharp, edged with steel even as it broke on the edges. "Not even that fucker Marcus. Not again. Never again."
Her head moved the tiniest bit, enough to let me know she heard me. Her fingers curled in the fabric of my shirt, gripping tight. She didn't speak. Maybe couldn't. Her lips parted like she wanted to say something, but her throat worked soundlessly.
I ran my hand up and down her spine in slow, grounding strokes, whispering, "You acted good, Ivy. Real good. You pressed your necklace. You fought. That was brave as hell, baby. So fucking brave."
She blinked slowly, lashes damp and tangled. Her lips parted again. I saw the words on them before they formed.
"Where's..." Her voice cracked. She barely got it out. "Where's Vale? Jax..."
The sound broke me.
"Don't talk," I said gently "Shh. You're hurting. We'll get it looked at once we're home, alright? I promise. You're not gonna say another word till then."
She blinked again, slow and dazed.
"They're outside," I added, brushing her hair back. "Jaxon and Vale. They're with Massimo and Declan. They're safe. They saw what happened. They're making sure that bastard stays down."
Her eyes softened Then she buried her face in my chest again and just breathed.
My hand stayed on the back of her head, stroking through her hair, and the other rested over her heart to feel it slow down. Beat by beat, her body started giving out, exhaustion crashing over her all at once.
A few minutes later, her lashes lowered, her breathing evened, and she finally let sleep take her.
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-Mr_Hyde bluemoonwhisperer
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