I turn my attention back to him to see he is pointing a gun at me and Giovanna. “What are you doing?” I frown.
“We haven’t been properly introduced.” He smiles and dips his head. “I’m Luciano Lombardi. Pleased to make your acquaintance”
What?
I take a step back in fear. “What are you doing?” I whisper as I take Giovanna’s hand in mine, we take another shuffle back. Bruno holds his hands up as his eyes flick to meet mine. My heart hammers in my chest and something catches my eye to the left, I turn to see five men, all with guns pointed at us. Where did they come from?
Fuck.
He smiles calmly. “You have something I want.”
“What’s that?” I whisper.
“His name is Giuliano Ferrara,” he announces loudly, he looks at his watch. “And he’ll be here in about… five minutes.”
A trap.
“No.” I shake my head. “I’m not calling him.”
What the hell? I’ve been working with him all this time.
“You already did,” he replies calmly.
“Huh?” I look around in a panic, what does he mean. “Mr. Lombardi, please…don’t do this,” I whisper in a panic. “Your war is with his father, not him. He’s not your enemy.”
“Run,” Giovanna screams, she makes a run for it and a gunshot rings out, she falls to the ground and blood splatters all over the snow.
I turn and see Carlo holding the gun that just shot her, my eyes widen in horror.
What the fuck?
“What are you doing?” I cry.
Bruno dives for him and in lightning speed, he points the gun at Bruno and without hesitation pulls the trigger, Bruno drops to the snow and blood runs out from underneath his body.
Carlo points the gun at me.
“Carlo,” I scream. “No. What are you doing?”
“What needs to be done.” He gestures up the hill with his gun. “Go.”
“Carlo!” I cry. “We trusted you.”
“Dumb move.”
I stare at him as my mind tries to catch up…what the fuck?
His eyes are cold and he’s completely detached…as if he doesn’t know me at all.
My God.
Bang, bang, bang goes my heart.
I look around frantically, I have to get out of here, I need to warn Giuliano. I slowly click my skis off and look around.
“Don’t even think about it, princess,” Carlo snarls. “Happy to shoot you too.”
What the fuck is happening right now?
“Now go.” He pushes me up the hill and I stumble and fall, he drags me up by the arm and pulls me along.
“What are you doing?” I cry. “You don’t want to do this. It’s not too late.”
“Shut the fuck up,” he cries as he loses control.
We walk over the top of the hill and a helicopter comes into view. Suddenly the plan becomes crystal clear. They’re going to take me somewhere secluded so they can kill me too.
No.
I stumble backward. “No,” I cry, I fight to get out of his arms, Carlo holds me tight as he struggles to control me and in desperation hits me with the barrel of the gun.
Sharp pain steals my sight and I drop to my knees, I feel the hot blood run down my face and see it drip onto the snow in front of me. I look over and see Giovanna and Bruno dead in the snow, the blood running out from their bodies creating a sea of red.
Oh my God.
I’m gasping to catch my breath and Carlo grabs me by the hair and drags me back up to my feet. “Get into the chopper,” he demands.
“Go to fucking hell, you traitor,” I spit, I slap him hard across the face and he smiles sarcastically.
“It’s going to be fun killing you.” He hits me again with the gun and I fall backward. I hit my head on a rock.
Fear, pain…darkness.
Giuliano
“Oh my God,” I cry as I run for the door, Valentino and Alex are hot on my heels. “What’s happening?” Val cries from behind me.
“Lombardi has Francesca at the top of the mountain.”
Our guards run from everywhere and we pull people off the ski lift to take their seats.
My hands are in my hair as panic runs through me.
The chairlift rises at a snail’s pace and I look around frantically to search for a quicker route.
No…no…no…no.
Please don’t hurt her, please don’t hurt her.
As we get closer, I see panic as people scream as they come down the mountain.
What’s happened up there?
No.
A loud sound echoes and we all look around and then we see a chopper rise from over the back of the mountain.
“Ahhhh,” I scream as I lose all control.
Valentino holds his gun up to shoot at it and I grab his arm. “She might be on there,” I yell. “Don’t shoot, she might be on there.”
The ski lift gets to the end and we jump off and run to the top of the hill and over it to try to find where the chopper left from. We are slipping and falling in the snow and finally we get to a clearing and we see Giovanna and Bruno lying in the snow, blood everywhere.
“Nooooooo,” Valentino cries, he holds his gun in the sky and shoots off three rounds as he screams. He drops to the snow beside Giovanna and takes her as he rocks her in his arms. “Hold on. Hold on. Somebody call an ambulance. Please,” he yells. “Hurry, please. Don’t you leave me, baby!” he cries through tears. “Hold on.”
She stares straight through him. It’s too late.
She’s gone.
Bruno’s dead too.
I frantically dig my phone out to call someone to track the chopper.
No reception.
“Fuck it,” I scream. “Who has reception?”
Everyone is scrambling to call for backup.
No reception.
“Ahhhhhhhhhhh,” I scream, it echoes into the valley and I hold my gun up and shoot it into the sky. “He’s got Francesca,” I cry. “He’s fucking got her.”
“No sign of Carlo,” someone yells from behind me. “They’ve taken him too.”
I stare up into the sky as the chopper disappears out of sight.
Dear God.
Francesca
The dull ache throbs through my skull and I frown as the distinct smell of cigars fills my nose.
My head drops forward, waking me up, and it’s then that I realize my hands are tied. I’m sitting on a chair, my feet tied to the chair legs.
Where am I?
The walls are timber, I can see through the window, it’s dark and snow is falling outside. I can hear men talking in the next room, what the hell happened?
“She’s awake,” I hear someone call.
Lombardi comes into view with Carlo behind him.
My heart hurts as my eyes search his.
We trusted you.
Lombardi leans his behind on the table and crosses his feet at the ankles, he watches me as he takes a deep drag of his cigar. “And now we wait…to watch him rise from the dead.” He smiles darkly and inhales deeply again.
My eyes fill with tears, please no…. “He’s….” I screw up my face, I can’t even say it out loud in case it makes it happen for real. “Your war is not with Giuliano, he doesn’t deserve this.”
“I’m not after Giuliano.”
I frown, confused. “Who are you waiting to rise from the dead?”
Lombardi takes another deep drag, he blows the smoke up in a thin stream as his cold eyes hold mine.”
“Your brother…Enrico Ferrara.”
26
Francesca