Eliana:
The weightlessness was temporary as I went headfirst out the window. The feeling of descent was very different, until all of the sudden, the entire weight of my falling body was yanked onto my ankle. The fall turned into a swing face first towards the building, not having enough time to totally cover my face with my arms before I felt the impact of the brick wall. I hung there, feeling suspended in time and space before the pain set in and I could process the words being yelled above me.
There was panic between the two voices I had come to know so well, Alessio's yelling out, "Eliana!"
Angelo's voice was much weaker than I had ever heard from him, his usually strong and intimidating tone was almost desperate and begging for help, "I've got her, boss."
It was his hand that I must have been feeling around my ankle, clenching tightly the part of my body that was suddenly screaming in pain. Catching and dangling my whole weight on one joint definitely broke something, but it was better than the alternative.
Niklov's body was strewn on the ground three stories directly below me, twisted in unnatural ways as blood pooled larger around his head. The realization struck me that if I were to fall now, I would land on top of his disfigured corpse, and panic gripped me as my adrenaline finally settled, telling me to get to safer ground.
Reason won out over instinct this time, thankfully, because panicking and yanking my weight around would get me dropped much more quickly. Someone grabbed my other ankle, using it to hoist me up and drag me back over the windowsill before I, too, could plummet to my death. The raw side of the building scratched my skin, but the adrenaline from what I had just done was enough to dull it. It wasn't until my ribs almost cracked being dragged over the windowsill that I felt I could breathe again, that I wasn't going to fall.
Alessio seemed to have the same sentiment, that as soon as I was back on solid land, he was never going to let me go. The second I was safe, he had his arms thrown around me so tightly I almost couldn't breathe. Maybe it was a good thing, because the impact of my actions finally caught up to me and my legs completely gave out. I sank to the ground, Alessio gripping my shoulders and shaking them slightly.
I had been so disoriented that I hadn't even noticed him speaking to me "What were you thinking, Eliana?! That was so stupid, how could you even-"
Alessio's voice cracked, and I knew he was only half angry. The other part of him was terrified, it was the same reaction I would have if our roles were reversed. I gripped his elbows, trying to make him understand why I did what I did.
"He was..." I took a gulp of air, breathing heavily, trying to keep my emotions from spiraling. "He would have killed you."
"Then you let him!" Alessio shouted, kneeling in front of me still. "Never do that again! I don't care if someone's about to drive a knife into my chest, never put yourself in danger like that-"
I grasped his face in my hands, wishing I could reassure him so that the lines of worry would leave his face. I hated knowing that I was the cause of them, "I know, I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking and I love you, I'm so sorry."
Tears of panic and adrenaline were fighting their way out of my eyes and a wave of exhaustion threatened to take all of the energy from my body. Alessio was frozen, like he couldn't comprehend everything that had just happened. I didn't confess my feelings because I had almost died, or because it was the heat of the moment, but because I knew it for so much longer than I was willing to admit to myself. He stared at me for a moment longer, making sure that I really was sincere in my promise not to do it again.
Alessio shook his head in disbelief and swore, "Christ, Eliana. Don't ever..."
He gave up on words, instead clutching me to him and sinking down to the floor in front of me so that I was halfway across his lap. He didn't say the words back, but I knew from the way he shook, the way he let the relief roll off of him in waves, that he felt it too. His heart pounding through his shirt, his chest heaving as he tried to take a deep breath. I buried my head in the crook of his shoulder until my mind could function again. I looked up to see the man who had saved my life politely looking anywhere but at Alessio and I.
"Thank you," I breathed to Angelo, who was leaning against the wall like he was about to pass out. I had thought he was completely unconscious before, when he was laying underneath the window, but if it wasn't for his quick actions, I would have been dead.
Alessio's enforcer glanced out the window to the pavement below where Niklov's body lay damaged beyond repair, "Don't mention it."
Angelo was a big and tough guy, but he was looking a little green, and there's only so much the human body can take. His weak stance brought me back to reality as he walked towards the gun I had dropped.
I stopped him, "Don't bother. There aren't any bullets in it anyways."
"What?" I could feel Alessio's angry gaze again, rather than see it. "You tried to bluff a mafia lord with an empty gun?!"
I could waste my time making an excuse again, but I knew it would just restart the same conversation we had before. Instead I answered bluntly and took the moment to bring my mind back to reality, and the whole reason I had come into the building in the first place, "Yes. But we have much bigger things to worry about. We have to get everyone out of here, now."
Alessio stood, extending his hand to help me. He faltered with a worried expression when he saw my arm, but it wasn't bleeding as much as it was before, so I just shook my head, hoping that he would ignore it. I knew that his expression was also a little angry, but he seemed to understand the urgency and instead helped me up by grabbing my waist.
Angelo was already headed to the door on what appeared to be a pretty injured leg, and probably some ribs from what I could see, but he was doing his best. Alessio's hands were lingering on me, but I gestured to his best fighter, "Help him, I'm alright."
Alessio rolled his eyes, being his stubborn self, and looped himself around my waist before dragging me forwards to duck under Angelo's arm. I had told myself it wasn't necessary, but as I suddenly put weight on my ankle again, I was grateful. It was a small price to pay for not falling to the pavement and dying, but Angelo's life saving instinct had probably broken it, and the only thing muting the pain at this point was adrenaline.
Alessio didn't have any obvious injuries, but the further he helped carry us, the more convinced I was that he was hiding some pain. I ended up ducking out from underneath Alessio's arm and grabbing Angelo's just to take some of the weight from him. The enforcer was barely conscious by the time we made it to the top of the staircase, but thankfully Leonardo must have told everyone else in the wing that they needed to evacuate because we didn't come across anyone.
The floor beneath us shook slightly, just enough that with my bad ankle, I stumbled slightly. I looked at Alessio with a worried expression, "Do you think everyone is out?"
"I-" He started to respond when there was a louder sound. I had never heard walls break or a building crumble, but I could only assume that was the sound in the distance behind us. Alessio had more worry in his eyes this time, "Let's hope so."
I couldn't feel or see a fire yet, but the mere thought of what Michail had set up and done was enough to make me want out of the building as quick as possible. Readjusting my grip on Anglelo's arm, I started tugging him down the stairs.
The lobby to the building was mostly empty- there were a few bodies on the ground that I was trying my best not to look at, and a couple of our men tending to a wounded friend. Leonardo was helping Soren across the threshold and towards a car I saw idling outside the front doors, and Sebastian was carrying a semi-conscious Lucia as well. I wanted to stop him and ask how his little sister was doing, or at least what happened, but based on the worry on his face, he was in a rush. My heart sped up at the thought of my friend being so badly injured.
Aldrich came running up the stairs towards us, we probably looked like a mess and anyone would have assumed we needed help. He looked relatively alright, a cut across his cheek and bloody knuckles seemed to be his only injuries, but his eyes were wild.
Alessio nodded to him, "Niklov is dead. We need to get everyone out immediately."
"I heard the explosion. We've already-"
A yell across the large entryway stopped him mid-sentence. I looked across the lobby to the other staircase, just in time to see Scarlette being dragged from the hallway by a huge man. He was built like a tree, tall and with muscles in his upper body that alone would have scared me. She was doing her best to fight back, but he had a tight grip on her hair and slammed her into the wall. Scarlette weakly pushed herself back up onto her elbows as the man advanced on her. He didn't seem like one of the Russian goons without any loyalty or purpose, he was fixed on hunting her down. It had to be Michail. I pushed Angelo's weight towards Alessio and started down the stairs, even though I knew that from all the way across the massive hall, I would never get there in time to help her.
Aldrich was further ahead than I was, but neither of us were even halfway across the hall before a figure darted towards Michail, appearing in the hallway behind him. The shock of blond hair was what gave her away as Allegra took a flying leap onto Michail's back, wrapping her arms as tight as possible around his neck. He was so large that she couldn't even wrap her legs around his chest to hang on, but she was going to try and strangle him anyways.
Aldrich and I stared in horror as he crushed Allegra into the wall behind him, and when that didn't shake her off, spun around and slammed her sideways into a window. She didn't fall out like Niklov had, but it was enough to loosen her grip and send her stumbling. It gave him time to turn around and land a kick to the center of her chest that sent her flying.
My first instinct was concern for her rib cage- he must have broken something, but the force pushed her over the edge of the stairs. Allegra reacted immediately as she hit the steps, covering her head tucking her legs to her chest so that she rolled, but it was a full flight of stairs. By the time she reached the bottom, she wasn't moving.
Aldrich got there before I could even get close- his legs were longer and both of his ankles were completely intact. He crouched over Allegra and shook her slightly, trying to make sure that she was still breathing.
Now that Allegra was out of commission, Michail bore back down on Scarlette. She rolled onto her back, blindly grabbing for something next to her as he sent the first punch to her face. He gripped her shirt, pulling her up to his height, leaving her feet dangling and kicking out towards him. He barely even flinched when her feet hit him, but the shard of glass she had in her hand glinted in the light.
He was just close enough for her to stab him with it, but it wasn't a big enough piece to do much damage, mostly leaving shallow cuts. His hits kept coming. I tried to get closer, but my foot was past screaming in pain- it was just giving out completely in numbness. I could barely walk, the stairs were going to be almost impossible.
He suddenly froze, seizing up and dropping Scarlette, but still gripping her collar. Another man stepped back from behind Michail, hands covered in blood as he wrenched a knife out from his broad back. I hadn't even seen this new one behind him, he must have come silently from the hallway, but his ink black hair was striking. With one last desperate lunge, Scarlette swiped her piece of glass across Michail's neck, letting blood run freely down it. She must have nicked an artery, because he finally relinquished his grasp, tipping forward and collapsing on top of her.
She couldn't seem to push his body off of her, which wasn't surprising because he was massive. I could now see the blade sticking out of Michail's back, the black haired man a few feet behind him with a look of shock on his face.
It took him a moment to realize what he had done, but Scarlette's muffled and slightly weak voice snapped him out of his stupor, "Dimitri-"
He darted over to her, dropping to his knees so that he could push the body away. She scrambled out from underneath the bloody mess hurriedly, the man I now knew as Dimitri gripping under her arms and pulling her away. It shouldn't have surprised me the way that he held her- comfortingly, more than merely a friend. I didn't know her enough to say it with total conviction, but Scarlette had never been anything but kind to me, and she had a genuinely good heart. I just hoped Dimitri really was the opposite of Niklov, and would treat her well after all of this was over.
Scarlette's panicked eyes met mine, giving me a nod to let me know that she was going to be alright. I trusted that Dimitri would help her get out of the building quickly, after everything I had just done and seen, it seemed crazy that we were still trapped in a building that was probably on fire and we just didn't know it yet.
Knowing that there was someone to help her, I turned back to Allegra who was closer. Aldrich seemed to have given up on waking her, but picked her up carefully, as though he was worried about irritating her injuries. There wasn't any obvious blood, but a push down the stairs like that certainly did some internal damage. My main concern was her spine, of which Aldrich seemed to be very careful of. Allegra had an air of invincibility about her, and seeing her draped in someone's arms as if she was dead seemed almost more terrifying than anything that had happened that night.
Alessio had managed to help Angelo to the bottom of the stairs by the time I got back over to them, but he was barely standing, it was more like Alessio was dragging his friend. I supported him the rest of the way to the door, checking over my shoulder to make sure everyone else was not far behind us.
The cold weather bit into my skin the moment we made it through the doors. It seemed to revitalize Angelo slightly, giving him enough of a shock that he raised his head and looked around. There were dozens of men holding a ort of triage, checking on each other and calling out names like a roll call. There were a few standing towards the outer edges of the crowd, some pointing their guns at the men who sat below them.
Blaise appeared amidst the people, approaching Alessio and Aldrich who wasn't far behind. "Sorry we got here too late for the real fun, but we found some of these men on our way in, making a run for it. I thought I'd leave it up to you on what to do to them."
Before anyone could respond, there was a crackling sound and the roar of a fire growing. We turned around just in time to see the windows along one side of the building shatter from the heat as flames escaped.
I heard Scarlette mutter to Dimitri, "I'll bet that was Niklov's vodka cellar."
"Do we know if anyone's missing?" Alessio asked out loud.
Leonardo must have heard him and stepped forward. "Ours are accounted for. We lost two inside, and Lucia and Soren are already en route to the hospital. Their injuries were beyond what he could address here."
My stomach clenched in worry as another man stepped towards Aldrich, I was pretty sure it was his second in command that I briefly met at their meeting. Christopher, I wanted to say. "We're all accounted for."
Aldrich seemed pleased that none of his men had died, but he commanded his second quickly, "Good. We need to get her to a hospital as quickly as possible. Bring a car up, I'll get her there."
Blaise just seemed to realize who he was still clutching to his chest, and all of the color seemed to drain from his face. "What happened?"
"Stairs," Was Aldrich's short answer before hurrying after Christopher, trying his best not to jostle Allegra too much.
Blaise glanced after them, almost taking as step as if to follow when Alessio turned to Dimitri, "Do you see any of your supporters here?"
The boy with the black hair glanced at the men on the ground at gunpoint, nodding. "A couple, but I know some of the others didn't survive."
Scarlette reached out to squeeze his hand like a consolation while Blaise gestured to the building, "Should we call the fire department?"
I glanced over at Dimitri who shook his head with a grim expression, "Let it all burn."
Alessio looked to Blaise and gestured for someone from the forces of Greek men, I could only assume it was someone that Elias chose to speak in his stead. "We need to decide what happens now. Dimitri, you were Niklov's right hand and in order to take his place, you would know...."
I knew that I would be more help anywhere but there- I didn't know the first thing about running the mafia, but I was pretty good at helping people with injuries and first aid. Some of the injuries were far worse than others, and I was suddenly glad that I tended to overpack for things- we would probably need all of the supplies I had shoved in the car.
A couple of men were trying to tough out a couple of injuries that should have been addressed almost immediately. I wasn't qualified to deal with bullet wounds, so I stemmed the bleeding and sent a group of them off to a hospital. From what I could tell, Aldrich and his men were staying not far from Alessio's headquarters, but I recommended they stop at a nearer hospital instead of trying to make it all of the way back before receiving medical help.
By the time that I addressed everything deeper than superficial cuts, Alessio and the others seemed to have reached a compromise. The building behind us was completely engulfed in flames, I had never expected it to create so much heat. It almost felt like a summer night, and the light was so blinding that I couldn't look straight at it.
As I wiped some of the blood off on my shirt, a pair of arms snaked around my waist from behind. I leaned back into Alessio's chest, finally feeling some of the exhaustion and pain creep in again.
I felt him press a kiss to the top of my head before muttering in my ear, "Are you alright, amore?"
Avoiding putting too much pressure on my ankle, I turned and wrapped my arms around him in return, "Are you?"
He chuckled, looking around at the men scattered across the lawn, "I'm ready to go home."
"Me too. What else do we need to finish up here?" I asked, looking up at him but not letting him go. Displayed affection wasn't something we normally did in front of his men, but after the night we had been through, no one seemed to care.
"Nothing that can't be dealt with tomorrow. Dimitri and Scarlette will stay for awhile and deal with the immediate issues, Blaise is going to stay close to help him out as well. In the morning..... Well, I guess it's technically later today, we'll work out more details."
His comment gave me pause as I looked at the sky around us. I hadn't noticed with the blazing fire a couple hundred yards away, but the midnight sky was starting to lighten almost imperceptibly.
"Then let's go home," I gave him a grim smile, thinking of the men we had lost and the ones who were injured badly. "Or the hospital, so I can check on Allegra and Lucia."
He ruffled my hair, "Sebastian texted me a few minutes ago that Lucia is out of surgery, she's under observation but the bullet didn't hit anything vital. Most of her problem was blood loss. When she's stable they'll move her to a hospital closer to home."
"What happened to her?"
"Niklov," He sighed. "We rounded a corner and Lucia was towards the back, but we didn't know he had a bunch of men ready to come from behind us. He shot her almost point blank, it's a good thing he had awful aim."
"And Allegra?"
"Still waiting to hear from Aldrich, but it'll take time. With a fall like that, they'll want to do x-rays and probably some CAT scans."
I was never good at sitting idly when I was worried about people, but I knew there was nothing I could do. If anything, maybe I could pack Lucia a bag of her things and take it to the hospital for her when she could eventually have visitors.
Alessio set his hand on the bottom of my back, guiding me towards a car nearby when Scarlette's voice rang out behind me, "Eliana!"
I glanced over my shoulder to see her jogging down the slope towards me. Alessio let go and stepped away, "I'll go get the men together. Take your time."
"How are you feeling?" I asked as she drew closer.
"Still a little shaky, this has all been.... A lot."
I raised a single eyebrow, "You never mentioned Dimitri, by the way. That you two were close like that."
She gave me a guilty grin, "It didn't really come up. There wasn't exactly a good time to discuss it while we were crawling through abandoned tunnels."
I laughed, reminding myself that it had only happened a couple of hours ago, even if it felt like a hundred years. "Well, if you ever want someone to have some girl talks with, let me know. Dimitri has my number, I know Lucia and I would love the female company. It would be nice to actually get to know you instead of just crossing paths when one of us is about to die."
"I'll take you up on that." Her real smile was so warm and innocent that it almost surprised me. "It'll be busy for Dimitri and I for a while, but I think it can only get better from here. What's next for you?"
"Sleep."
Scarlette chuckled, "I meant long term."
"I'm not really sure. Alessio and I have been walking sound with targets on our backs for most of our relationship, I think it'll be nice to feel more normal and get back into a pattern. Or as normal as it gets for someone in this business. What about you?"
She shifted, pondering the idea. "When this settles down? I know it's not realistic to try and dismantle the entire concept of human trafficking, but I want to do something to make sure that what happened to me won't happen to other people. I feel like even just saving one person...."
"I'd love to help you with that," I nodded to her. "I saw a lot of that stuff happening when I was living on the streets, it's a worthy cause. It's a lot to take on alone, if you'd like a comrade."
Scarlette held out her hand with a mischievous smile on her face, "I'll hold you to that."
I gripped her hand and pulled her the rest of the way into a hug. "Be safe."
It took her a second but she hesitantly returned the hug, "You too. If you hear anything about Allegra, would you let me know?"
"Of course," I drew back. "I'll see you soon."
"Make sure to get that ankle looked at as soon as you get home," She reminded me pointedly.
"She will," Alessio's voice sounded behind me.
I hadn't even heard him approach, but he ducked under my arm to help me along. He raised his eyebrows in question of whether or not our conversation was done and I nodded in return. Even if he was exhausted, I was sure that before he even thought about getting any rest, he was going to call Dr. Montcroix to come take a look at my foot.
I waved goodbye to Scarlette, letting my weight fall onto Alessio. Not far away, his men were loading into cars and preparing to leave. As we neared one of the SUVs, Alessio tossed his keys to Leonardo, "You can take the wheel."
Angelo was standing on his own and clutching a bottle of water that I had forced on him earlier when he got dizzy again, but he fell into the shotgun seat quickly. Alessio opened the back door for me, helping me climb in and then closing the door behind us. He seemed either too exhausted to stand on decorum, or maybe he just trusted the discretion of the men in the front, but he leaned against the door in exhaustion, pulling me towards him until I was practically draped across his lap.
With my back pressed to his chest, he ran his fingers through my hair and used his free hand to grip mine. "How bad is your ankle?"
"Sort of throbbing until I put weight on it. I'm sure it'll be fine."
He pulled his phone out of his pocket, and I glanced down to see that he was texting Dr. Montcroix. I sighed, knowing that there was no way to stop him, "If you're going to insist on me getting a check up, then you need one too. We all do."
"We didn't all fall out a window." His chest rumbled in a low laugh, "At least we know that your signature move is the flying tackle. You did it in our room that night, and you did it again when faced by the Russian mob boss. You should have played football."
He fell silent and I nestled back into the comfort of his arms. The heat from his body was comforting, and I knew it would be futile to even point out that Angelo needed it more than I did. There was a comfortable peace that settled over the car, the two men in the front chatting quietly and focused on the road. I was so close to letting my eyes fall shut when Alessio spoke.
"I love you, too, by the way," He murmured in my ear. I felt his chest vibrate slightly as he sighed, kissing the top of my head. "Sorry it took me a few more minutes to say it, I just wasn't expecting it before. It's not often that someone takes me by surprise. After watching you almost die, I didn't think that would be the first thing on your mind."
I tilted my head back to look up at him, "Alessio, don't feel like you have to say it just because-"
He broke me off by pulling me closer to him and kissing me with tantalizingly soft lips before he broke away looked down at me with an incredibly vulnerable expression, "I accepted that I loved you a while ago. I know you mean it just as much as I do, but even as the words came out of your mouth, all I could think was that you had just tackled someone out a window for me. It was almost worse, knowing that I could have lost probably the only person I could love, who might love me back."
The two men sitting up in front of us were completely oblivious to our conversation, but I knew better than to test those limits by making out with Alessio right behind them. Instead I shifted sideways, resting my head in the crook of Alessio's neck, "You would have done it for me. I didn't have any bullets left, I panicked."
"I meant what I said before, Eliana. If you're ever confronted with that situation again, don't risk your life like that. I'm not worth you."
"Yes, you are."
I. LOVE. ALL. OF. YOU. I woke up this morning after a really stressful couple of days (really bad experience moving into my new apartment) and I was having a rough time, but then I checked on my account to make sure I could upload this afternoon and saw it..... Cold Brew & Bullets is #1 IN THE MOB CATEGORY. I wanted to scream, I couldn't believe it. I owe it to all of you, especially those of you who have been vocal, supportive, and have offered feedback. There's a little more coming for these two before we start on our next journey with some of the other characters you've already met, but please let me know what you think and don't forget to vote!
Thank you all so much, you'll never know how much I appreciate it-
Elizabeth