Scarlett Mila Marino

[A week later]

Rowan comes home after a late night out. He moves fast and grabs a few of his stuff. I follow.

He then turns and gives me a quick kiss. "What's happening?" I ask.

He grins. "We found them. I'm getting your friends back." He says.

I want to cry out of happiness but it's too early to celebrate. They have to get out safely first.

We hurry to get our things, and I follow him outside.

***

We're parked a few feet from an abandoned house. Rowan has left me in the fucking car.
My shoulder burns with pain, but I don't want to stay behind. Not when they're going after my friends. I know Rowan doesn't want me there, he's made it clear. But staying behind isn't an option. I can't just...wait.

I sit in the back my teeth clenched. My mind racing.
I've been stuck here with a driver who's been given strict orders to keep me in the car.

I lean forward, speaking low but firm. "Let me help, I'm fine. I'm ready." I say to the driver that knows nothing about me.

He doesn't even look at me. "I'm sorry miss Scarlett. It's Mr. Marino's orders. You stay in the car." He says.

My fists tighten at my sides. Rowan. He thinks he's protecting me, but this is suffocating me. My friends...my family is in danger. They could be killed. How am I supposed to sit here, safe and sound, while gunfire rages around them?

From the car I hear it, the first sharp cracks of gunfire in the distance. My pulse quickens. Everyone is in there. I can't just sit in here while they're fighting for their lives. More shots echo through the air, followed by screams, deep shouts, and the chaotic noise of war erupting around the house.

I can't just sit here. I can't.

"Let me out! Unlock the doors." I demand, my voice rising.

"I told you, I have orderes..."

"To hell with Rowan's orders!" I snap, anger bubbling over. This is my fight too.

The driver sighs and glances at me in the rearview mirror. He's loyal to Rowan, and he's not going to let me out.

Screw this.

With a surge of adrenaline, I lift my legs and kick the car window. The first strike jars my body, but the second cracks the glass.

The third sends it shattering outwards. The driver yells in shock. He tries to stop me but before he gets a chance to, I scramble out through the window. Landing hard on the gravel below.
Pain shoots through my shoulder, but I grit my teeth and push it down.

"Miss Scarlett! Wait!" He yells. But I'm already running. My heart pounding in my ears.

I hear more gunfire as I get closer.

The front of the house is chaos Rowan's men are engaged in a full on assault, bullets flying as they take down Marcos guards. Bodies litter the ground and the scent of blood is thick. I duck down behind an overturned barrel, scanning the scene. My eyes catch the entrance of the house.

I need to get inside.

I dart across the yard, avoiding the bullets. Rowan catches my eye as he's fighting 5 men at the same time.
And if looks could kill, this would be it.
"Don't you dare!" He yells while trying to stay focused on the men around him.

I ignore him and slip inside, through a side door. It's dark and cramped, the walls pressing in on me as I navigate the narrow hallways. My heart races as I search for the stairs to the basement. That's probably where they'd be. Somewhere deep underground.

The basement is dimly lit, the smell of damp concrete hitting my nose.
And then in the middle of the room I see them. My friends.

Tied up, bound with ropes, helpless. I can't breathe for a second.

They're alive...that's what matters.

I move quickly, pulling the knife from my boot and slicing through the ropes. Anthony looks at me with panicked eyes. "Scarlett you have to get out now!" He says.

"I'm not leaving without you guys." I whisper, cutting through the last of the ropes.
But as I free the last of them, a cold voice cuts through.

"Look who we have here..."

I freeze. I've had enough of him, enough of his bullshit.

Slowly I turn around, meeting my fathers gaze. Standing at the far end of the basement, a gun in his hand, aimed straight at me.

My blood runs cold. His face twists into a cruel, mocking smile. "You really thought you could be the hero?" He says.

He cocks the gun.

"Say goodbye, Scarlett."

Time slows.

I see him pull the trigger, hear the click of the gun. And before I can think, I thrown myself to the side, dodging the bullet by inches.

I roll to my feet and lunge toward him. The knife in my hand.

I move faster than I've ever moved in my life, fueled by fury and the need to end this, once and for all.
I've had fucking enough.

I swing the knife in a wide arc, and it connects with his side. His eyes widen in shock as I pull it out and stab him again, harder this time.
He drops to the floor. My vision blurs as I pull the knife out and stab him again, and again, and again.

I cry not knowing what else to do. I've done the one thing I had promised myself I would never do. I've killed someone.

There's blood all over me. On my face, hot and sticky. His body jerks with each strike, his gasps turning into wet gurgles.

He's...lifeless. It's over. He's dead.

The knife falls from my hand.

I look down at him, my hands shaking. For a second everything is still, and quiet. Like the world is holding its breath.

Then I hear it. A low, rasping sound, like someone's gasping for air. My head snaps up and that's when I see them.

Anthony.

Asuka is kneeling beside him, her hands pressed against his chest. Blood pooling beneath them.
No. No. No, this can't happen.

I stumble forward, my legs trembling beneath me as I drop to my knees beside them. "Anthony!" My voice cracks. My hands shaking as I reach out, pressing them over Asuka's, trying to stop the bleeding.

The bullet...it must have hit him when my father fired. I didn't even realise, I didn't...

"I...I can't stop it." Asuka sobs, her face streaked with tears. She presses down harder, desperately trying to stop it. "Scarlett, I can't..."

"No, no, no." I whisper, shaking my head. "You're going to be okay. Just hold on...please hold on." I beg.

But I know it's too late. I can see it in his eyes. The way his body is failing him.

Anthony's eyes flicker open, just barley, as he looks at us.
"I...I...lo..." he can't finish what he's about to say.

"Don't talk, just keep breathing okay? You're going to be fine." Asuka says even though we both know he won't.

He gives a faint, weak smile. His eyes filled with pain. "You're...both...my family." He says barely above a whisper.

My throat tightens, and I feel the tears spill over. Falling onto my bloodstained hands. "Don't...don't talk like that. You're going to be fine...you have to be..." I say sobbing.

"Please! Don't go..." Asuka begs, clutching his hand, her whole body shaking.

And then his chest rises once more. A long shaky breath.

And then...nothing.

He's gone.

A sharp, strangled cry escapes me. I feel the world shatter around me. It's like I'm drowning. Like the air has been sucked out of the room.

I took a life, but I couldn't save the one that mattered.

I sit beside his dead body, my hands still trembling. I can't bear to look at Asuka. There's too much pain in there, and it mirrors my own.

Slowly I shift toward her. My body feels heavy, numb, like I'm not really in it. I move my arms around her. Pulling her closer to me. We cling to each other.

For a while it's only the sound of our cries. Nothing else.

Then the door swings open. And people rush inside. But I barley hear it. It's like the world is moving in slow motion. I hear Rowan's voice, faint and panicked.

"God...Scarlett..." he says looking from me to the two bodies on the ground. I don't look at him. I can't do anything.

Rowan rushes over and gets down to our level. He cups my face in his hands. "Are you hurt? Do you have any wounds?" He asks panicking. He searches me for any sign of wounds.

I break down crying again not knowing what else to do. "Shit!" Rowan murmurs under his breath. "We have to go, Mila. They're coming." He says begging me to get up.

Lucas and Theodore step forward to help Asuka. Carefully lifting her to her feet. She's barley able to stand, her body shaking. She clings to Lucas, her sobs muffled into his chest.

"Boss we have to leave now!" Theodore says hurrying to get out through a back door.

Rowan kneels in front of me.

"You have to get up baby. We have to go." He says. I look down on Anthonys lifeless body. It feels like the world has stopped spinning.

I shake my head. "I can't....i can't leave him." I say.

"I know..." Rowan says understanding me.
But I also know we don't have much time before the guards finds us. Rowan's hands wrap around mine as he slowly helps me up. He's careful, like he's afraid I might break. I don't resist. I don't have the strength for that.

We don't say a word as he helps me out, his arm securely around my waist. I lean on him. There's no more crying, no more screams, just the cold, empty silence inside me.

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