The smoke in the room has begun to fade as the cigars have burned down to buds. The laughter dies down at the men turn their attention to the masked women on their laps with groans and grunts. The mood has turned to one of bored relaxation, all except for me and the man who I sit upon. 

Our backs ache from sitting straighter than a right angle, our necks stiff and sharp. I just want to run out of the door but I worry that my legs have forgotten how to move. 

Terror has taken the place of the blood in my veins and I am slowly becoming accustomed to its shivering presence. 

"I think I can speak for all of us when I say that we all have other matters to attend to." Iago's gruff speech breaks the murmuring of the rest, as they speak words of approval, looking to their women once more. 

Luka's back begins to curve finally, and I swear I can almost hear his spine cracking with the broken tension. 

"As we conclude this meeting, I, Iago, will band you all to secrecy as we always have, and to the brotherhood of DQ." And with his final words, he stands up, the women on his lap quickly jumping off his lap with slight giggles. His large arms surround them, and he walks off without even a second look to either of his present sons. 

Luka exhales deeply, and is about to stand when a hand claps onto his shoulder, causing him to jump slightly. 

"Cuidado, hermano." Marcel's slippery tongue whispers to Luka, his eyes dark and thick with drink. He looks over at me, an unreadable expression passing his face. 

"You know, I think I'd like to have a word with your mujer." He says, his eyes still on me. 

Luka stiffens, his arms wrapping around my waist protectively. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't comforted slightly by his touch. 

"I trust you can get your own woman, Marcelo." Luka replies, danger and threats dripping from his tone. 

The two brothers glare intently at each other, each not willing to relinquish control to the other. 

"Maybe next time. I expect you to bring her when we meet, Vincenzo. Those eyes of her's aren't possessed by other's. And I'd like to get to know her more, fully." Marcel drawls, reaching his hand forward and touching my chin. I freeze at the calloused texture of his hands, the smell of smoke and tobacco wafting up from his pores. He leans closer to me, and I tighten my nails into the skin of Luka's back. 

"Adios, hermosa." Marcel whispers to me, his lips millimeters from mine. I shudder silently, and his smiles wickedly. 

And then he's gone into the night. 

"Let's get out of here." Luka whispers to me, and quickly stands up, keeping a vice-like grip around my back, as he escorts me out of this nightmare. 

~~~~~~~~~

"Where are we going?" I whisper to him and he hurries me down the steps of the condominium, my heels clicking painfully against my skin. 

"Back to Roman's. That's where we'll be staying." He says sharply as he walks briskly to his car, pulling the door open and practically shoving me inside the passenger side. 

He drops into the driver's seat and starts the ignition, racing away without even caring about his seat belt. 

"Luka, calm down, we're out of there." I say quickly, not wanting to get into an accident. 

His jaw tightens, and he doesn't respond as his grip on the steering wheel turns his knuckles to bone. 

I don't speak again,  just settle back into the plush leather of the seat, and removing my heels from my now blistered feet. 

Luka begins mumbling to himself in Spanish, smacking the steering wheel slightly. 

"Luka, calm down, what is going on with you?" I say hoarsely, moving my hand to his arm, which he jerks away violently. 

I cringe away, shocked and slightly scared by his actions. 

"We should never have brought you there. You're way too close to this and that just put you in extreme danger." He mutters, his voice croaking and husky. 

"I'm already in extreme danger, Luka." I snap, crossing my arms over my chest. 

"But now my father expects me to help Marcel track you down. You being near me is far too dangerous but you being away from me is too, maybe even more risky." 

He's rambling now, raking his hair back aggressively, causing several strands to dangle down over his forehead. 

"God, I'm so stupid." He mutters, fishing around in the compartment, pulling out a cigarette and a lighter, which he raises to his mouth, lighting quickly. 

The sight of the orange flame burning at the end of the cylinder, the all too soon smell of smoke, so matching that of that horrible room, causes bile to rise in my throat and anger to boil in my stomach as I reach over and snatch the cigarette away from him, rolling down the window and chucking it out. 

I turn back to him and his jaw is tight and set, his eyes flickering from the road to me and back to the road. 

"Listen, Luka," I start, but he interrupts me. 

"Why do you always say my name like that!" He snaps, his teeth gnashing and his eyes wild. 

"Like what?" I gasp, so shocked by his anger. 

"Like you actually give a shit!" His foot presses down harder on the accelerator, and I can feel my  hair falling from the bun, and I pull it down, the knotted mess flapping around like wings in the wind from the open window. 

"Because I do!" I snap back. "We're both in this way too deep already, so we might as well go through with it if we're both going to end up dead anyway!" 

The collective sound of our deep breaths mingle in the air and it feels too hot even with the window open. I close it, not wanting to fall away with the rushing sound of the air. 

The car is silent, as he pulls into Roman's gated neighborhood, swerving into his driveway. He pulls the key from the ignition, but doesn't move from the now moveless car. 

I hold my breath, waiting for his next words. 

"Marcelo is going to try to kill you." He whispers, his voice hoarse and broken. 

"I know." I reply, looking down at my hands. 

"I half expected you to be sobbing right now." He says, humorlessly. I look up and he's staring out his window, his jaw shining against the painted moonlight. 

"Why would I be crying? I have nothing left to live for anyway." I mutter. My words sink into my skin, but they don't bring tears, just an aching relief. 

"If I can't find my mother, I've lost. If I find her, I've lost. I have no family left, my friends are all untrustworthy, and I'm not going to return to school. I'm getting help from the brother of the man who wants me dead." 

He turns to me, his eyes as silver as the moon. His eyebrows are crinkled together, and I can't read his face in the dark light. 

"I'm on a downward spiral with nowhere to go. So I might as well do what I can to do the right thing and find my mother. With any luck, I'll die knowing my last words to her were worthwhile." 

"I'm not going to let you die." He murmurs, his lips barely moving. 

I stare at him, his silver eyes meeting mine, and the electricity of the dark car surrounds the air between us, crackling like the burning embers of a fire. 

"Why?" I whisper. 

"I have no idea." He replies, and he begins to move forward towards me, but I move back, turning my head to the side. 

In a time like this, I don't need to create something to live for. 

Sorry this chapter is shorter than the last two, it's a bit of a transition to the next one, which will be coming soon. 

I've seen a few edits that have been made for octavius and I loved them! It would be amazing to see what edits you guys can make of Guns & Roses! If you have a favorite quote from the story, you can use the wattpad quote feature on mobile and send me a pic of them! or post them on instagram and tag me on my instagram username (noenoehen) give me a follow! also if you have any questions for me, my ask.fm link is in my bio!