Warning: This chapter will contain spoilers from Irresistible Love and also graphic violence.

Point out my errors so I can fix them. Vote, share, comment, and enjoy!

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(Athena's POV)

"Jackson," I speak into the phone and hear a hoarse groan on the line. "Get your ass up and come down to the car now."

          "Athena," he says slowly, frustration evident in his deep voice. "I still have a couple hours. Let me fucking sleep."

          "Leo called." That's all I say before I hear erratic shuffling on the other end of the line.

          "I'm up," he croaks out hurriedly before I hang up and continue locating Astor, sending men to all of his previously owned properties that are now Leo's. Astor made a big mistake by taking Leo's queen and he'll pay for it with his life. I'll make sure of that myself.

          "Why the hell are you wearing that?" I hear Jackson yell from across my private parking lot. His quick and worried pacing rattles through my ears, however, I could care less. "What the hell is going on?" He motions to my black leather outfit and the guns strapped into the two holsters around my waist.

          "The future queen has been taken," I continue pulling out the satellite images of the Aguillard properties, wondering which one of his former properties Astor could have held Arie in since Leo blocked all the roads leading out of New York.

"The boss probably asked for your help in locating because you're good at that. I won't let you go into a war zone, Athena." He declares and forces my eyes to him.

"Jackson, don't start with me right now and get in the car. You're driving." I lift the laptop off the hood of my Maserati and slide into the passenger seat while Jackson gets behind the wheel.

"I know you won't listen to me, but you'll listen to boss and he sure as hell won't let you go in there after what happened three years ago."

"Shut up!" I glare at him, anger fuming through me at his irrelevant babbling. "Drive towards the fourth Bonferroni estate now." He scoffs at my command, but complies and does as told.

          I understand his fear and it's rational because even I have a little trepidation swirling deep in my heart, but I need to get over it. It has been three years since that incident which pushed me to be the CEO of Estle and no the ruthless woman I loved being. Playing that role sure doesn't get much blood on my hands which is frustrating when I can't release my anger by drawing blood from some filthy men. Trading and shuffling gun shipments for Leo was the only mafia related thing I have done for the past three years other than killing a few occasionally. Sending some men to hell today sure as hell sounds tempting. I'd be the biggest fool to pass up on that.

          Stopping in front the huge gate that leads to the estate after an hour of driving, we wait until it opens for us. No one can get in unless you're authorized by Leo and the heavy security placed is impenetrable which makes me wonder how the hell Astor entered Arie's house when I know Leo would have twenty-four hour security outside her house. Someone on the inside must have helped Astor.

After driving down the longest driveway for five straight minutes, the car comes to a halt over the gravelly round driveway, right in front of the two pillars that sit before the majestic double doors of the beautiful mansion and by the huge fountain in the middle. Some of the most luxurious vehicles rest in the humongous garage as I step out into the pinkish light of the dawn creeping on us, the motherly caress of the cool breeze stroking us gently.

          Hundreds of Leo's men guard the entire secluded property which stretches on for miles upon miles. One of his men is confused to see me here as he opens the door to the estate for me. "Athena," he acknowledges me and then the man behind me. "Jackson. Who would have thought that you guys would ever be returning and taking over our lives again?"

          "I'd rather die than listen to your annoying Boston accent, puta. Stay in your limits before I lodge a bullet in your head." I roll my eyes and saunter right past him, my heels clacking against the polished marbled floor of the mansion.

"It really is you," the man's voice fades away as I step out the back door towards the large outhouse, entering it to find scared men under the wrath of Michael Arellano, who usually goes by Mike. Being the most powerful man's best friend and also his second in command sure does bring you a lot of power.

"Why the fuck did you guys move early? You aren't supposed to leave until the next batch comes and now because of your idiocy, those women have been taken." Mike hisses and inches closer to Paul, one of Leo's men. "I'm going to kill each one of you even if a little scratch is found on them."

(Leo and Mike! My babies! ❤️ Aren't they hot? 😍)

          "Calm it, Mikey." I interrupt and embrace Leo. "We'll find them."

          "Thank you for coming." Leo looks at me before plopping down onto his chair helplessly, a necklace, what seems to be more like a locket, is tightly clasped in his hands, a silver fragile chain hanging off. "I have no idea where he could have taken them."

          "Which is why I'm here," I smile meekly and saunter over to Mike, tugging him into a warm reassuring hug. "Mikey," I say before pulling away. "You okay?"

          Mike grunts in response, fuming like a bull who's ready to explode. "Can we just find them?" He sits in a chair, holding his head in his palms, frustrated from the kidnapping of his woman who is also Arie's young thirty-one year old aunt.

          "Okay!" I take a seat next to Leo while Jackson stands right behind me. "Since you've blocked every road that leads out of the state for that bastard, he's probably still here and as far as I know him, he's definitely in a place that we'd think he wouldn't be."

          I grab the laptop from Jackson's hand and open it up, turning the screen towards the two men who are brothers to me. "He has two mansions here." I point at the bottom left corner and the middle. "I had men go there to pick up on any movement, but they got nothing. You have seized all of his property in the city and I had the boys check out those too while on my way here, but they're clear as well."

          "He's probably on one of my properties," Leo suggests and hits the bullseye.

"Exactly!" I say, opening up a different satellite image. "Here," I motion to the hundreds of red dots on the screen. "You literally own half the city which is going to be difficult to decipher which one he could actually be in." Intertwining my fingers together on the table, I look at Leo. "I need you to point out the properties that don't have any security and which you possibly think Astor knows about."

"I don't fucking know," he shouts in frustration, his British accent dominating his American one. Seeing him so distressed angers me more than anything. Happiness was finally gracing him and now this fiasco makes me doubt if he'll ever receive that.

"Give it to me," Mike slid the laptop and stood by me, telling me the locations.

          It narrows down to three main warehouses. Just as I'm about to order men to leave for the locations, I hear Leo spit into his phone. "You got some nerve." Leo's face bubbles crimson as he rises from his chair, his brows stressing. "You do realize I can track you right now." Everyone's ears perk up in anticipation and curiosity as I exchange a look with Mike while mounting to my feet. His features soften slightly before a breath leaves his lips. "Thank you."

          "What was that?" Mike queries whilst crossing his arms over his suited chest like Leo and the rest of his men. Everyone who works for Leo screams class with suits and poise that not many hold.

          "I know where they are," Leo says while putting the locket into his suit jacket and motioning to the men. "There are in the warehouse down in Long Island."

All the men in the room hurry out the doors while Leo walks to me. He soothes his palms up and down my arms like a brother before planting a sweet kiss on my temple. "Thank you for coming, Athena. You can go home and rest now."

          "Let me come with you." I plead to him. I know the chances of him letting me fight for him after years is very low, but I still have to try. Those boxes surfaced a lot last night and then I almost killed Mr. Azallion by imagining him to be one of them. I need to release the tension from my body and there's no better way than this.

          "You're not coming and that's final," Mike stands next to Leo and orders me. "Jackson, take her home."

          "Yes, sir," Jackson immediately complies and tugs on my elbow before I jerk his hold away and stare at the two of the most powerful men I know.

          "Please!" A hint of desperation in my voice lingers. "I can help and you know that."

          "I said no," Mike's voice rises a little as he motions me to back off. "We already have two of the most important women taken from us right now and we are not adding another one to the list. Are we clear?"

          Their concern for me is coherent. They're my family, my brothers. This is how they're supposed to react to my declaration, but they don't understand the urge. I would give up my life for these two without a doubt if it ever comes to it. Their women being taken means the same.

"I was one of your best assassins and I still am."

"Mike is right." Leo agrees with his second in command and looks at Jackson. "Take her forcefully if you have to." His blue eyes train on me as a sigh escapes his lips. Grabbing my face, his lids soften. "I cannot put you in danger, not after what happened last time. Like Belle, I'm putting you on house arrest."

"Leo," my brows frown at his order, but I can't sit ducks while everyone is out there. "Arie and Wendy are your lives." I hold each one of their hands tight, giving them a gentle squeeze. "Let me save your lives for once like you two have always done for me."

They pass each other quick and frustrated glances before turning back to me. "Fine," Leo says in defeat and turns me around by my shoulders. "Let's go."

          My heart dances in exhilaration at the thought of finally getting to have my hands dirty in something I loved years back. The rush and high that I receive from it is exciting more than anything. This right here kept me sane for years until I became the Athena Estle that the world knows about who sexually tortures men in the constraints of her bedroom with enough pleasure for both.

          The fastest cars race down the roads of the boroughs towards Long Island. On Leo's order, the governor had the roads cleared all the way up to the warehouse. Being the most powerful king across the globe sure did bring him abundance of power.

          All the cars are parked away to not alert the Aguillards and his filthy men. More than hundreds of Leo's men charge stealthily towards the warehouse, their guns ready to draw blood. A smile creeps on my face as I look at the warehouse which is soon going to turn into a slaughterhouse.

          "This is so exciting, tigress!" Vincent squeals, just as thrilled as me. "You and me. The gory devils are back. Let's give them something to remember right before they leave for hell, shall we?"

"With pleasure." I smirk and fix my eyes on the guarded door through the bushes that we all hide in, but like the fearless lion that Leo is, he walks right into their line of vision with Mike and shot all of the six men right between their eyes effortlessly. The army follow their king's footsteps and cautiously near the warehouse, their ears on high alert.

          "Well, boss just took our kills," Vincent sighs and begins walking towards one of the side doors alongside me. "The first one to reach the door gets all the kills," he smirks and sprints like a cheetah, but I'm no less. I bolt faster than him and reach the door literally by an inch. "What the fuck?"

"The kills are mine," I say breathlessly and open the door quietly with Vincent and Jackson right behind me along with other thirty or so men while the others go in through different doors and windows. The rhythmic sounds of bullets bellow through the other cemented wide hallways as I pull out my guns from the holsters. "You ready, Vincent?"

          "Always, tigress!" He smiles wickedly and yanks out his knives from his waistband before turning to all the men behind us. "You all go that way." He orders the men and looks at Jackson who doesn't budge. "You too."

          "I'm not leaving her alone. The king's orders." Jackson stares at Vincent whilst whipping out his guns from his combat boots.

          "Can't argue with the boss," Vincent shrugs and cracks his neck. "I think I'll need Starbucks after we save the boss lady and Mike's lady. Steak 'n Shake for breakfast maybe. Bacon sounds good right about now."

          "Shut up and let's go." I whisper and walk carefully over the damp concrete ground. Pillars stand to support the tall ceilings as the walls match the same grayish color. When we hear chatting coming from the hallway close by, all three of us stand against the wall until the sounds get closer.

          Jumping out of the corner, Vincent throws his knives at two of many startled men who take a defensive stance and begin firing while I do the same. I press on the trigger and fire off bullets at the men while Jackson helps me out. They all start dropping like flies as I take cover behind a pillar and reload the magazines of my guns.

          I immediately run out of my pillar and bolt to their safe territorial area in which they hid behind pillars. "This is not the trench warfare, boys." I roll my eyes and the shoot the remaining four men of that batch. Blowing on the smoke that flows out of the muzzle, I turn around to find Vincent on his knees by a dead man.

          "Damn, my one knife is stuck in his eye. Disgusting!" Vincent scrunches his nose and twists his knife to pull it out easily from the man's eye, but instead pulls out the eye from the socket itself. Blood drips down from the severed eye along with nerves and veins that still cling onto it. "Oops," Vincent stares at the eye in fascination before looking at my repulsed face. "My bad?"

          "Drop the eye. We still got men to kill."

          "Have you seen a lot of people with purple eyes before, Athena?" Vincent looks up, pulling out a handkerchief from his suit pocket to clean up the blood from the eye. "This right here," he amusedly turns his knife from the side admiring the eyeball. "This is rare. Very rare. Thanks man!" He taps the dead man's chest and rises to his feet. "I'm keeping this as a souvenir."

"I said drop it." I yell in frustration at his weird admiration. "We are here to kill Aguillard men, but don't make me kill you first."

"Whatever." He sticks his tongue out mockingly like a child before throwing the eyeball away. "Such a buzzkill."

Ignoring his immaturity, I let Jackson take the lead ahead while I look for more ammo, but none. Shit! Should have gotten more. I still have a four bullets in each gun, so they should suffice before I start using my fists.

Hurried footsteps sound through another hallway behind us which captures our attention immediately. I roll the glocks and hold on tight before sauntering into that wide aisle. "Look who it is," I smirk at one of the enemy who I once trained myself. Millions of men are trained under the Bonferronis and many of the men standing against us are our past recruits that Astor bought a couple years back.

          "Athena," the man says with a stoic expression like he was taught which makes me proud. "Surprising to see you. Thought you quit this." He raises his free hand stops the men behind him from firing off before a good chat.

"It's a filthy habit." I point my guns at the men opposite us. "Quitting isn't an option for me."

"I don't want to kill you." He says softly and elevates his gun just like me. "Back down."

"You're on the wrong side, Dash." I cock my brow, staring at him and the other twenty armed men behind him. "I'll give you a chance to change it."

"You're the one who taught me to be loyal to the one I start working for after the training, whether it be the king or any other mafia organization." He flashes his wrist that has a small tattoo engraved into his flesh. "I have the Aguillard family crest tatted on me. My loyalty lies with them."

"And you also have the lealtà (loyalty) tag on the side of your wrist. That's where your loyalty lies first, with the Bonferronis, and that's where it should be. You don't remember me telling you that?" He parts his mouth slightly before I speak back up. "Boys, let's do this the good old fashioned way. Let's wrestle." I throw my guns to the ground, sliding them over to the wall, disarming myself.

          "What the hell are you doing?" Jackson whisper yells from behind me in clear disapproval of my decision.

          "Now that's what I'm talking about," Vincent snickers and shoves his knives back into his waistband while the enemy team looks at one another before following our lead and taking a defensive stance against us. "You're twenty-one in total against us three." Vincent glances at me and smirks before looking back at the enemy. "This should be easy for us."

          Smiling wickedly, we all charge towards one another like bulls on a mission to kill. My clenched fist meets the first man that darts for me. He falls on all fours and I use that to jump on him and launch off at the other running man. My legs trap the man's head while my hands make quick work and snaps it. The cracking of the spinal cord in his neck ends his life as I tumble off and grab another man by his hair who rushes for Vincent.

          "Not so fast, baby boy." I fling him to the floor and land a hard punch on his throat before shoving my heel into his neck and killing him right away. Jackson and Vincent viciously beat up men around them as my eyes fall on Dash who is now fighting off the Aguillard ass-kissers. I guess he finally changed sides.

          Two men clasp my arms into their strong ones, attempting to drag me away. Anger boils in me at their filthy touch. They made a mistake. A big one. I violently jerk my arms away from their hold and immediately tangle my fingers in their manes. Yanking tight, I slam their heads together repeatedly until I draw blood and force their now droopy bodies to the floor. Holding one of their arms out and situating them in an uncomfortable position, I hiss at them.

          "Never touch me." I kick those arms and break them in half. Their screams mixed with rusty crumbling of their bones echo through the hallway before I go easy and break their necks with a single and swift twist of the head which I have mastered quite well.

          Running for the last one in my line of vision, I kick him in his chest, sending him stumbling back, but his big and well built physique prevents him from falling. He quickly regains his stance and growls at me which only makes me laugh at the thought of him thinking he actually has a chance. He flies forward and throws a punch that I dodge whilst ramming my fist into the side of his torso.

He bends sideways for a brief second to soothe his pain, but I don't waste any time and drive my fist into his jaw, forcing blood and a couple teeth to slip out his mouth. He falls to the ground holding his dislocated jaw as I climb on him and continue punching him in the face. Blood spews everywhere, on my knuckles that have no mercy and my face that doesn't care.

All I care about is killing him. My balled up fist keeps up the momentum as I take out all of my pent up frustration with everything. The nightmares and all the memories it brings in. The thought of those bastards still walking around burns my blood in rage. I see their faces in this man's as I pound harder than ever, each punch stronger and vicious than the previous one. His life slips away, yet I don't. This feels good and I can't leave. For all the horrific and traumatic events I went through in my life, moments and incidents like these make me happy as I just imagine my culprits' faces and kill them with my bare hands.

"Athena!" I hear my name getting yelled before two strong pair of arms pull me off the man whose face is barely recognizable with his completely dislocated mandible, broken nose, and swollen face with blood oozing out of everywhere. "He's dead."

I forcefully brush Jackson and Vincent's hold off and look at my shaking fist that is covered in blood from the man and bruises that I attained from beating them all up. The shakiness is not due to the horror of the scene, but from the adrenaline coursing through my veins. My eyes wander around and rake over the fallen twenty men only leaving one sanding which is Dash.

          "Why did you change sides?" I ask Dash and wipe my hands on a dead man's shirt before picking up my guns and securing them in the holsters.

          "I took what you said into account and realized that I was on the wrong side of the war. My loyalty will always lie with the king first."

          "Are the ladies hurt in any way?" Vincent asks and nears him slowly in anticipation.

          "I'm afraid they are." Dash lowers his head in remorse. "Nobody could stop what happened."

My hands tremble in rage at his declaration because all my mind could think about was the worst possibilities and I can't let that happen. Leo and Mike didn't deserve this after everything. My brothers deserve better.

I slowly strut towards Dash like a tiger ready to pounce on its prey. "And you didn't do anything while Astor did what he did."

          "Athena," he whispers out and steps back in fear of me as I pull out a knife from a strap around my thigh.

          "You didn't do anything to save them and yet you claim that your loyalty lies with us." I grasp his neck and ram him against the wall with the knife at his throat, forcing him to whimper as I punch a little hole. "Your loyalty doesn't matter now. You broke the pact which was to always keep your loyalty to us. You were sworn to it and look where we are now." I press the sharp edge a little harder and slice it across it neck. Crimson fluid oozes out and trickles down as disgusting gurgling sounds emit through his mouth.

          I step back and let his lifeless body crumble to the floor as my nose flares before I hear struggles from another hallway. We all bolt towards it and stop in our tracks to see a blood covered woman sprinting towards two men who bolt towards her. Sliding on her knees when they got closer, she positions the two survival knives in her hands at the right place just in time for them to drive their crotches right into the sharp blade. The most gurgling and blood boiling scream ripples through their voice boxes, forcing me to shudder internally. She then slides the knives vertically down their balls, compelling the men to plop to their knees in sheer agony.

I watch with my eyes wide and mouth agape in fascination to see the sweet little Arie that I met at the party to be a killing machine who has no remorseful emotion on her blood specked face.

"Holy shit!" I hear Jackson gasp from in front of me, Vincent standing right beside him as I can't pull my eyes away from the scene in front of me. "She's like a warrior princess."

          Arie stands up between them and twirls the knives in her hands. Placing each knife under their chins, she drives the sharp objects up into their mouths, urging my eyes to almost pop out of my sockets. Their lifeless bodies slam on the floor after Arie pulls the knives out.

Here I thought she was a student who just graduated from Colombia University ready to start a new chapter in life which is to help the sick, but I have it all wrong.

          There she stands, specks of blood lapping her face and nine lifeless bodies at her feet that she possibly took down on her own. She exudes the vibe that of a fierce warrior as her eyes stare at the pools of blood surrounding her. Her knives are covered in the same filthy crimson fluids that drip down the tip and onto the little puddle below them.

"She's seems worse than Athena here," Jackson comments again and grabs Arie's attention.

"Well, she's not the boss lady anymore. She's officially the queen now." Vincent clears his throat and looks down respectfully. "Bow down to Queen Arie." Jackson follows Vincent's lead and and gets down to his knees as they bow to the future queen of the empire who looks at my shocked face. I would join them, but I'm too fascinated by her. Leo picked a good one, better than the previous one for sure.

          The Bonferroni women are the strongest that I know and seeing Arie with blood on her hands just confirms that she more than qualifies to be the queen and sit on throne with Leo, the king. The will to fight in her is bright, but only darkness encapsulates her brown eyes. No emotion brushes her face as I meekly smile at the strong woman.

My eyes immediately fall on a man that comes up behind her with his gun pointed at her from a distance. I quickly raise my gun up in her direction. She raises her knives defensively, mistaking my sudden act as a betrayal which is the last thing I'd ever do to her. I pull on the trigger and shoot the man right between his eyes as Arie watches the bullet swoosh right past her.

I smile sympathetically at her and nod, reassuring her that she's safe. I can only imagine what she's been through in just a couple hours with a bullet wound on her arm and blood dripping down her. Being on edge due to everything that has happened can really make a person insane and I should know that. It wasn't fun.

Footsteps sound from behind me and I know exactly who it is, so I step to the side to let him walk through and see his queen. A long held breath of relief leaves Arie's body as tears drop along with her knives to the floor when she sees Leo.

          "Hello, love." Leo's worried voice echoes through the large place before they both sprint to be in each other's arms. Sobs rip away uncontrollably from her as they hold each other tightly. "You're safe now, mia regina (my queen). Shh."

He kisses her cheek as his hand rakes through her disheveled and bloodied hair. Her agonized cries keep rolling out continuously as her tears pour out all the pain they held. My heart hurts for her as I try to hold back my tears at seeing hers. Something about her just reminds me of when I broke down like her at a time I considered myself weak, but Arie isn't weak. A strong queen to her ruthless king.

I decide to leave them alone as Mike joins them in a little reunion, his woman still missing and the worst thoughts flooding me. I know for a fact that this would break Mike for sure considering Wendy is the first woman he has ever loved and my stupid mind is just cooking up the worst scenarios that I don't want to come true no matter what.

          I saunter into a room in the end of the hallway and my eyes immediately fall on two bodies, a lifeless one on a table and a breathing one sitting against the wall which piques my interest. "Look who it is."

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Okay, no more spoiling of Irresistible Love. So, did you guys like this chapter? Yay or Nay?

What do you guys think of Leo and Mike?

Most importantly, what do you guys think of Arie? I really want to know.

Sorry for no Eros and the length of this chapter. Next chapter, we'll dive back into Eros and Roman world.

Much love ❤️
~Reet