Aliyana(2)
9 years ago
Death has a way of creeping up when you least expect it, there was no longer a thing of natural causes, or dying in childbirth, it was all just a quick end from pain, suffering, and murder. It is what it is. 3 hours ago I was a queen with an army of shadows, a girl in university, a best friend with a secret, a lady in love with a man, and a mezzosangue half-breed Italian girl.
'Surely there must be some fucking footage, somewhere, how did they get into the wolves' den? When did Lucca even have a chance to get in the house? Call the ambulance again and ask them if the baby is going to make it."
I am seated on the patio. Sirens, lights, mafia, and shadows all surround my house. Some are here for a reason but for others, I am not sure why they are here. I hear the man talking, Leonardo, my sister's husband, or should I say my sister's widower.
He is all over the place.
He is my Shadow, my guard, now fully immersed in something he had nothing to do with. He wasn't part of the famiglia like his brother Dante, and his wife though born into the world we know as the 5th state the underground, was also innocent in all of this. She wanted babies, a home, and a present sister.
Unfortunately, my sister didn't get either of those. She ended up in an early grave, horrible death and although I want to believe differently, the same fate was set for her kid.
'Aliyana, per favored ordinami di fare qualcosa? None posso starevseduto Centre tutti glib altri?" Aliyana, please order me to do something? I can't sit while everyone is in mourning, Xander's Italian words have me breaking my trance to stare at him. His hair is disheveled, his shirt rolled up onto his forearms.
'Sí, impara meglio I'italiano!"Learn better Italian.
He rolls his eyes and in another setting, I would laugh. But all I feel inside is emptiness.
How can Lucca do that? How dare he come into my life and attempt to assassinate me? I was under the impression that I was safe. I had an army of shadows, a pack of wolves, how did someone infiltrate everything with no clue, no sign,? It didn't make sense. What the fuck just happened? Is my sister really dead? Is she gone for good?
I want to scream and wreak havoc on everyone and everything. I want to find Lucca and kill him slowly, make him suffer for what he did, what he is doing because I didn't believe he was done yet. He was just getting started.
'Go home Xander tomorrow will be the day for violence. Tonight we mourn the losses, and feed our urges because come tomorrow morning we join the war." I look at Xander as his eye twitches and his face grave in anguish for my pain transforms to a slight sparkle at the idea of vengeance.
'I can't go home, I need to stay here, Salvatore was called away by Marco, Killer is only landing in another hour or so. Michael Stone and his brother, David are arriving now. The rest of the Shadows are surrounding the place. Leonardo is in no state to leave with but I take it his brothers would fetch him since his father just died."
I frown, 'When was that?"I wanted to kill him, but I didn't give the order to end him just yet, I wanted him caught. We were kidnapping him, not killing him. Killer was going to see it through himself. What changed? I knew things were a bit crazy with Killer.
'It was the same time your house was blown up," He confirms my suspicion.
Beggar, aka Amariya, was linked to him somehow because of his biker gang, the Satan snipers motorcycle club. He was around to visit her. Deno was the one who told me. I didn't question my shadows about their personal life unless I had a reason to. With Marco, I had reason to and still didn't do it.
I didn't want to have to face him with crushing questions I wanted to know but didn't want to hear from his mouth. Xander told me a bit but nothing too revealing. He was part of Marco, or whatever it is he did. Because he wasn't Capo, that title belonged to Deno. He was part of something which afforded him a large part in the famiglia by birthright, but no part in their illegal dealings now that I was queen. Leonardo fell in the same group, and so did I. But I felt over the last year that a lot of it all blurred into one. Because we all belonged to the 5th state and that meant we came with bad blood painted on our hands. Xander and Salvatore didn't form part of the shadows, they protected me as Marcos men, which I found off since Marco was supposed to just be a normal guy but I know there was nothing normal about him.
But my suspicions, curiosity, and desire to understand the bigger picture that hid behind the Catelli siblings was a raging fire I could not quench. The hunger to know grew to a maddening addiction I needed to satisfy. Because if tonight was anything to go by the Catellis' had made an enemy of someone who had zero qualms when it came to taking an innocent's life.
Maybe my sister was not that innocent but the baby in her stomach was. It was my job to see vengeance be given. I had to make an example of Lucca Sanati.
But first I needed to find out how the hell did he get into my house without alleging the men because surely the shadows knew if someone was going to make a play at their Queen? A group of elite men, soldiers trained their entire life? Smart educated men, including a genius who made sure to add every kind of security feed to my house ever imaginable.
'Get Michael Stone to see me as soon as he arrives."
I dial Kylie Bray after seeing the missed call on my now broken screen.
The call rings before going to voicemail. I have known Kylie for a while, we were close, and she never left her phone to ring, especially if she was expecting someone.
I dial it again. It rings and does the same thing. Strange
I call Killer.
'I'm on my way," he says in answer. I hear the distant cars in the background.
'Kylie isn't picking up her phone."
'I know, Michael lost signal to her phone, car, and your house at the same time. He traced her to a warehouse but didn't see anything. We are on our way to you, we think it's Lucca. She had something he wanted."
Shit, that meant he hits all of us in the same night. Was it planned? Surely someone must've suspected something.
'Diamond?"
'Funny you mention it, She's on her way with Michael. I suggest you keep her on a need to know, she's different."
'Go it."
'I want the order."Killers' words have a deep weighted meaning behind them and I knew exactly what he was asking and what the consequences were but I first needed to hear everything before I decided what our priority would be.
I put the phone down, catching Leonardo staring at me with anguish painted on his face. They say the extent of love is only weighed in the middle of conflict, disaster, and death. He wasn't going to like it, but our time for mourning was going to be short-lived. The shadows had a job to do. Two innocent women needed saving, four funerals that needed attending, and more dead bodies to add in the next weeks.
Vincent Stone's name flashes on my phone and I frown, he never calls me.
'Vincent?"His name comes out as a question.
'Aliyana, have you heard from Marco? I have an issue, he isn't answering."
I frown for a second because I wasn't dating Marco, surely he should call Camilla but the thought filters through, and reasoning kicks in.
'No, I saw him earlier, he fled. Can I help with anything?"
'Kylie and Be…ah, a friend of hers is missing, I need his help."
'You mean Amariya,"
'You know?"
'Yes, the Shadows take care of its own," I put the phone down after accepting my answer.
I look at Leonardo who is still watching me, and I want to smile and tell him it will be alright. But how can I, when my sister just died? His wife seized to exist. His child never got to have his first cry. How do I find the courage to smile at someone giving them a false hope that everything was going to be easier in time? Let's face it, I couldn't because Lucca Sanati wasn't done with us, this was just the beginning, the only difference now was that I was the new player in the game.
He wanted a war, then he'd get it. I wasn't opposed to winning in every way I could. There comes a point where one needs to taste the iron of victory to establish their level of hierarchy.
And I was on top, I was done hiding behind my Shadows and finally ready to come front.
Not just for my sister and her innocent child but for all those who would die in the future. The 5th State needed to understand there was a bigger player on the table and I was Queen, here to stay and rule all, except for one, The Capo Dei Capi, but that depended on who took reign now that the old one was gone.
It was the only way to form some sort of barrier, a part that couldn't be crossed because today Lucca and whoever helped him crossed a very dangerous line went too far. They came for the Shadows, a direct hit. And even though I wanted to wring his neck Marco was part of the shadows, and loyal to the course. Which meant he was under my protection. Which made my next move slightly complicated.