“Antonio! Wake up! Wake up!”

I open my eyes to see Bunny hovering over me.

I yawn wearily and turn to the side of the bed where Alyssa is supposed to be.

It is empty.

“Can you hear me?” Bunny says, looking down at me and holding a piece of paper.

I can’t make out his words, but he looks angry and desperate.

“Can you hear me? They took Alyssa!”

I bolt out of bed and snatch the paper from Antonio.

“Donatello, he took her, he’s taken her,” Bunny snaps. “How could I sleep through it?”

“Empty the account and bring it to me—or your whore dies. Love, Donatello.”

That is what the note says. On the back of it, there is an address, a familiar one. It’s the family warehouse. That is where he took her.

I stride past Bunny and walk into the room we share.

“Antonio,” he calls, following me.

I begin to rip my bandages off.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Bunny asks, grabbing my hands.

“I need to get her. I can’t go to the meeting looking like this.”

“So you’re giving him the money?” he asks.

“You said it yourself that he has Alyssa.”

“Shouldn’t we at least think of a plan?”

I snatch my hands away, rip the bandages from my shoulder, and slide on a shirt.

“I made a plan already. I meet Donatello, get his bank account information and wire him the money. Then I get her back.”

Bunny follows me to the truck, trying to be the voice of reason, but nothing he says makes me budge.

“Give me the keys,” I say to him. He stops and taps the back of the truck.

“Antonio!”

“The keys!” I snap.

He sighs and throws them at me. “I know she’s your girl,” he says, getting in on the other side of me, “but can we just think?”

I ignore him and turn on the ignition.

“Listen to me, for heaven’s sake!” he screams, grabbing the steering wheel.

I turn to him in rage. “If you’re not going to help me replace her, get lost!”

“Fine!” he snaps. He opens the door and gets out.

Like a man possessed by the devil, I drive down to the warehouse, my heart thumping.

“Please, God, let her be safe. Please, God, let her be safe,” I mutter repeatedly.

As I drive down to the warehouse, I see Donatello standing there and waiting for me with a few of his men.

“Brother,” he calls.

I get out of the car and walk toward him.

His man walks up to me and starts searching my pockets. I wince as he runs his hands over my injured shoulder, but I don’t make a sound.

Donatello claps. “Now that’s my brother, a man of honor. I honestly never expected anything less.”

“I need your banking information so I can wire the money,” I tell him.

He waves a man forward with the bank account information where he wants the money deposited. I take care of the transaction. It’s for ten million dollars. I don’t care. I just want Alyssa to be safe.

“Where is she?” I ask him.

He sighs. “We can’t have a moment without you bringing up your whore, can we?”

I give him a punch that sends him reeling to the side. His men raise their guns, but he signals them to bring them down.

He chuckles, wiping the blood from his chin. “Bring the girl out!” he says.

One of his men goes in, and in a few minutes, he returns with Alyssa.

Her hands are tied, and so is her mouth. She stumbles as the man pulls her behind him.

When he gets to us, he throws her to the ground.

“You bastard,” I curse under my breath, running to her, but Donatello points a gun to my chest.

“Not so fast.” There is an evil glimmer in his eyes.

“What did you do to her?”

He smirks. “I’ll admit it, your lady was quite feisty. In a fun way, but it started to get a tad bit annoying.”

“You doped her, didn’t you?” I ask as rage courses through my veins.

He shrugs. “I replace that I like my ladies quiet.”

“I’ll kill you,” I say to him between my teeth.

He chuckles. “I am sure you will—that’s why I guess I will have to get rid of you forever.”

He moves the gun from my chest to Alyssa, who lies sprawled on the ground.

“What better way than giving you a Romeo and Juliet story.”

“Donatello!”

“Just that in your case, Romeo lives a long life where he mourns his precious Juliet.”

“You wouldn’t dare.”

He laughs. “I heard your little conversation with Bunny in the car. I am sure the fool didn’t know my men tailed him to the grocery store.”

He turns to Alyssa. “You’ll ditch your precious little brother for this bitch? I am almost getting goosebumps thinking of how miserable you’ll be without her.”

I stare into his face, looking for any trace of the Donatello I knew and loved. He was my brother, flesh of my flesh.

I see nothing except a monster standing before me. “Why are you doing this?”

He shrugs. “I must admit, at this point, I am just enjoying the front-row seat to your misery.”

He snaps his fingers, and his men prop Alyssa up.

“Don’t worry. She’s so out of it that she’ll feel nothing.”

He aims his gun at her head and places his finger on the trigger.

A shot rings out, and it hits the man holding Alyssa as Donatello and I fall to the floor.

I press down on his neck, and I begin to rain down punches on his face.

His men pull me away from him as he reels in shock.

“I fucking hate you!” he shouts as he gets to his feet, his face red from my blows.

“Then take it out on me, you coward.”

“Hold his fucking knee in place!” he cries to his men.

They hold both my knees in place, and he begins to stomp on them both.

The pain hits my body like bolts of electricity as jolt after jolt of pain knifes through me.

He finally stops, and he turns to Alyssa.

“Nothing hurts you, but this will.”

He is about to lift his gun when police sirens rend the air, and the warehouse is instantly surrounded.

“Police! Drop your weapons!” comes a voice over a loudspeaker.

“You called the fucking cops?” he grits out as he raises his hands.

I ignore him, and I crawl over to Alyssa, whose eyes flutter open.

“Antonio!” Bunny’s voice calls from behind as he runs towards us, followed by the police.

“Alyssa, talk to me,” I plead.

She coughs. “Antonio? Is that you?”

I turn to Bunny, who has tears in his eyes.

“It’s over. It’s finally over,” I whisper to him.

He nods, and he helps me up. I stand on my feet weakly, watching him prop up Alyssa.

We slowly begin to make our way back to the car.

“Brother!”

I turn, and Donatello’s eyes meet mine. A cop is handcuffing him.

He pulls out a gun from the cop’s belt and takes two shots aimed at me.

I stand frozen to the spot as Alyssa’s face hovers by mine. The first shot hits her shoulder before Bunny pulls us both to the ground.

The second shot zips over our heads and deflates a tire.

Bunny looks at me in horror, and my eyes fall on Alyssa, who is now in my arms.

I feel her warm blood seeping into my hands.

This isn’t real. This can’t be happening.

“Alyssa,” I gasp.

She smiles and lifts her shaky hands to my face.

“There is something I never told you,” she gasps.

I can hear Bunny calling the paramedics desperately. Simultaneously, I hear complete silence.

“What is it, my darling?” I ask.

My tears drip onto her face.

She tries to wipe my tears, but her hands fail her.

“Your baby—I—I am carrying your baby.”

With that, her eyes flutter shut.

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