Alessio

"The docks." I muttered as she pulled the car to a stop alongside four other parked cars, one of which was one of our own. "Always a great sign. Wait in the car."

"Like hell."

"I need you to wait in the car. I can't have you both hurt today, please."

"Too late for that Genovese." She didn't wait for me before getting out of the car. I quickly followed her and grabbed her roughly by the arm.

"Not unarmed." I said with no room for debate. "You go down there with me you take a weapon. Nonnegotiable."

"He's my brother."

"Nonnegotiable!"

With an eye roll she pulled the right side of dress up to reveal a gun strapped to her upper outer thigh. "I always have a weapon Alessio." She said taking it from the holster. "And this time, it's pink."

With a nod I followed her down the grassy terrain and to the docks.

Sure enough, the docks had six men lining it, Tommy in hand waiting for us. Off the dock and in the water Dante stood on a buoy with a tied up and gagged Kate.

I kept my eyes trained to Kate as we stepped onto the wooden dock. That surreal feeling fluttered around me, taking me as far from reality as possible and planting me in a perfectly calm state of mind. Her eyes were red and mascara running, from this situation or our own, I couldn't be sure. She was gagged, naturally, hands bound behind her, knees and ankles tied together, big filthy tan colored life jacket on her, and Dante had a hand tangled in her hair. Surprisingly, she didn't look scared, she looked pissed as all hell.

"My, my, my." Dante said loudly from the water once we had stopped at the center of the dock "So nice of you to join our little get together." He said pleasantly.

"Katherine, baby, are you okay?" She nodded. "Has he hurt you?" She seemed to take a moment to consider this before shaking her head. "Everything will be okay, understand me? I'm not leaving this dock without you, I promise you, everything will be okay."

"How sickeningly cute." Dante muttered and then his eyes traveled over to Ari. "Go wait in my car."

"The hell I will."

Dante glanced to me and raised an eyebrow, waiting for me to tell her to do the same, when I kept my smoldering gaze on Dante and mouth closed Dante shrugged and pushed Kate off the buoy. She sunk under the water immediately.

Aria and I raised our guns in unison to Dante and the six men surrounded us naturally pointed their guns to us. "Ah, ah, ah. I wouldn't do that if I were you." Dante said in complete calmness as he untied a rope from one of the poles on the buoy. The surface of the water shook with struggled waves and bubbles. "You see if you kill me then you'll certainly be killing her. You don't think I'd get into this water without taking precautions like weighing her down do you? This vest isn't a life vest, quite the contrary. It's a weighted vest. Your little Kate will be going straight down." He pulled her up by the rope, it must have been connected to the rope around her ankles and knees, perhaps her wrists behind her back, maybe even the back of the life vest in general. In any case, the rope held Katherine up, and Dante held the rope. He pulled her up just far enough that she sat on the edge of the buoy and calmly he pushed the gag from her mouth to allow her to gasp and cough violently spitting out water she'd inhaled through her nose. "Now, I'll say again. Guns down." He looked towards his men and with a scoff added in. "Take her to my car."

Two men grabbed Ari and a fight immediately erupted. She let them take her a single step backwards and then brought her elbow into one of their stomachs, stomped on the others foot and when he hunched over took the base of her palm to her nose. I hit someone with the end of my gun, kicked someone off the dock completely and just as I had raised my gun to point at another Ari hit the ground, someone had her hair in a fist and a gun pointed to her head.

The sight of a gun at her head made my stomach lurch and I finally hesitated. She was his sister, he wouldn't kill her. I turned back to Dante who was cool as a cucumber, Katherine had her eyes on the water but her chest was heaving, rather than watch the scene before him he'd put the gag back in her mouth. "You are a sick bastard." I growled.

"Put your gun down." He said casually.

"Don't do it." Aria chirped in from the ground. "You're defenseless once you do!"

Dante sighed and rolled his eyes. "He already is defenseless and if he knows what is good for him, or rather you and Katherine, he'll lower his gun lest your brains splatter his shoes."

I didn't lower my gun. "No. You wouldn't do that. You wouldn't shoot her."

"Of course I wouldn't. She's my sister. But you see I wouldn't be shooting her, he would." He motioned to the man holding Ari by the hair.

"You're bluffing." I bit out and Aria let out a frustrated grunt as her head was jerked back on a rough hair pull.

"How sure are you? Perhaps you are a coward, Mister Genovese, afraid to shoot your brother when he betrays you and your family, but I am not. After all, who do you think it is that arranged the death of my own grandfather?"

I looked back to Aria and she looked down briefly. Dante had had their grandfather killed, and she'd known it? And not told me?

"So I ask you again, how sure are you? True, Aria is the only person who matters to me, but if Ari is betraying the family, biting the hand of those who have fed her, housed her, loved her...how sure are you?"

I didn't answer. I watched Katherine instead willing for her to look up and meet my eye. If I put my gun down, would he push her under immediately? Would he shoot me and then push her down? Without my gun the chances of a heroic rescue drastically reduced. Her chance at life drastically reduced. But even with it, I couldn't shoot Dante, not while he held the rope. I didn't have the time to take down all of his men before being taken down myself, I could do two definitely, maybe three, perhaps even a fourth if Aria could keep hold of the one tangled in her hair while the one I'd knocked off tried to climb his way back up.

"Don't listen to him." Aria said from the ground.

I saw a moment of possibility, when one lowered his gun, turned his back and reached his hand down to retrieve the one in the other. This left only three with immediate attention to me, a difficult but not impossible task, by the time he realized what was happening and turned around, or the other let go of Aria I could have two down already.

"Shoot her." Dante said before I could act. Nno smirk, no condescending tone, he said frankly and uninvested.

I dropped opened my palm up and dropped the gun. "You win? You need six men, my fiancé, and a gun to your own sister's head but you've done it. You got me to put my gun down." I clapped slowly for him and he smirked.

"Smug little rip, aren't you? Tell me Alessio, how awkward is this for you, your fiancé and...your other fiancé." He chuckled. "I know, let's grant you a courtesy our families never did. Choose."

"What?"

"Don't do this." Ari breathed, even Katherine raised her eyes to stare at me.

"I will not humor you, I will not give you the satisfaction of playing your games."

"CHOOSE!" Dante yelled this time and I did just the same.

"NO!"

"Then I will kill them both!" He threatened.

"Enough!" Ari yelled and Dante turned his gaze to her. "Enough damn it!"

Slowly but surely he looked back to Ari and said in a perfectly calm, but fatherly tone. "When I tell you to go to my car Ari, are you prepared to listen?"

The son of a bitch. That display wasn't even for me, it was for Ari. This was for me, the men, the dock, Katherine, but his little show just now, it was not.

"Don't kill her." Ari pleaded.

"Don't make me let go of this rope to come drag you to the car by your hair myself. Go."

The man holding her let go of her hair and grabbed her by the arm instead as he pulled her to her feet and back to the shore. He wouldn't hurt her, I was sure of this now.

"Don't kill them." Ari repeated over her shoulder as she complied with being dragged away.

"What do you want?" I growled.

"This is just a friendly reminder." Dante said simply. "To remind you of what could have been avoided, and what has been caused. Choose your place carefully in this world Alessio." He pulled Katherine up to her feet hard by her hair. With her knees and ankles tied she struggled to maintain her balance in a crouched position, her eyes skirted the water as the buoy rocked in light waves before raising her eyes up to me.

"You're going to be okay. I'm right here Katherine, always." She didn't look convinced. I turned back to Dante. "My place?" I repeated with a scoff. "Is this about my place here, or my place with your sister because I can assure you neither are a priority to me."

He watched me with calmness for a few moments before smirking slightly. "And choose the people in your life even more careful." He shoved Kate off the buoy.

I started forward but stopped when he raised a single hand. "Move, and we shoot you, and surely she dies. Take three steps backwards, and we may consider otherwise."

"This is because of what? Aria? She didn't want me anymore than I wanted her!"

"I could care less what you and Aria choose to do together, though, from what Katie here claimed you guys seemed quite cozy."

"Dante Please." I motioned to the water.

Dante looked down and acted as if he'd forgotten all about Kate. He pulled the rope until she came back to the surface but didn't pull her from the water or remove the gag out this time. Instead he bent down and wiped the wet hair from her face tenderly.

"It's unfortunate for her to have found you." He sighed and looked back up to me. "Such a pretty thing too, so much life left in her, the whole world at her finger tips, before you came along that is."

Kate turned her head away from his gentle touch. I weighed my options quickly, I couldn't grab my gun without being shot the moment I bent down, I could disarm someone easily, perhaps even quicker than bending down but that would still leave four in front of me. I could use the body of the one I disarmed as a shield, try to take them out, but if they turned their fire to Katherine instead?

"Your father coming back was one thing, he earned his empire. You are a spoiled boy, born with a silver spoon in his mouth."

"And what do you suppose you are?" I snapped.

Dante raised an eyebrow slightly amused. "I have earned my keep. You? You've no pull here, no feet to stand on. This is my country. Stay within your father's perimeters and we have no qualms Alessio. You and I, we could be good friends even. But take the role you have again been handed with no work or right and you might find yourself..."

"Fὑck you."

"...sinking." He let go of Kate and the rope this time. He watched the water for a few moments before hopping off the buoy calmly and swimming the few feet back to the dock. Two of the men at the end hoisted him up.

I could do nothing but watch the water with wide eyes, fists clenched, feet tapping raring to go. I looked to Dante desperately. Dante strolled over to me and plucked a cigar from the breast pocket of my jacket lit it casually and blew the smoke in my face. "You should see your face right now." Dante said giving me a once over. "You look pathetic, weak, over what? A silly little girl? Commandare e' melio che fottere."

(It is better to command than to fuck)

"Lei è il mio tutto." I muttered attention still on the water.

(She is my everything)

"E adesso? Lei è nulla." Dante turned to watch the water as well. "Guardare fino a quando le bolle si fermano.

(And now? She is nothing.) (Watch until the bubbles stop)

"You know." I growled, my fists twitching as I tried with all of my strength to remain calm. "If she is hurt I will destroy you."

"You mean should I ever let you leave this dock?" Dante said and motioned to all of his men. "You forget my friend. You are on my turf, in my country."

"Turf? You're worried about me getting in on your turf?"

"Take it however you will." Dante shrugged.

They were both quiet for a few moments and then Dante took a step backwards. He took in the pleasant image of me once more. Watched the sweat along my brows, the tense lips, concentration as I was surely trying to come up with some sort of plan. Nothing could work.

"I don't care about turf, these stupid wars, drugs, money, anything. You can have it all."

Dante blew smoke into my face again and finally I glance from the water to him. "I already have it all."

"Then what?" I demanded "What the hell do you want from me."

"Absolutely nothing my old friend. I want nothing from you. I want you to stay as nothing, stay out of my way, out of my territory, away from my sister. I would have preferred you dead, but out of the country wasn't bad either. I want you to fade away into nothing, be invisible, be quiet, be nowhere. I want you to be nothing. Just like you were in the States. Nothing to us."

"You want me to surrender my post."

"It was never your post to have."

"Take it. Everything. I don't care. Please Dante." I motioned to the water again this time more frantically. How many seconds had gone by with her under? How many more could she survive?

"And what of when I leave this dock? Your life won't just resume where it left off? No, of course it will. We are at war, no? This is what we do! I kill yours, you kill mine."

"No."

"Except, the only one of mine you could kill we both know you won't. So then, what leverage have you over me? Dear Alessio."

"This is no war. I don't need any damn leverage. Damn it Dante she's drowning! She's an innocent girl and she's drowning!"

"Not a war?" Dante yelled ignoring my panic. "Of course it's a God damned war! A war you started! This is your war! You started this when you returned. This is your war." Dante turned around, grabbed a tommy from one of the men behind him and brought the end of it into my stomach.

I fell to my knees and Dante hit me in the back between my shoulders blades, once, twice, a third time before I finally fell to the ground. "We could have had peace, you chose this war. You know this Alessio. This is your war. Our family asked but of one thing from you, unite our families and you refused. Peace was not important to you. This is your war Alessio and now all we have is to watch the bodies drop."

Dante looked back to the calm water. The sun reflected off the water and small almost nonexistent waves rocked the surface back and forth. It looked serene. No one would have known only minutes ago what transpired. "Such a beautiful day." Dante mused just before kicking me in the stomach just as I was making my way back to my knees, he forced me onto my back with his foot and stepped on my chest.

"Have you ever wondered?"

It was taking all my strength not to break his ankle now. To do so would only result in one of his men shooting me and the likelihood of getting Kate out of the water after that was too slim to risk.

"What it feels like? When your chest feels like it's on fire, watching the light get dimmer, and dimmer as you go under...what it's like when water fills your lungs."

"Vaffanculo a chi t'e morto." Alessio spat.

(Go fuck your dead family.)

Dante smirked and stepped back. He looked to the water one last time, threw the cigar into the lake nodded his head towards the water. "Go."

In seconds I'd lost my shoes and dove into the wayer.

Dante shoved his hands in his pockets and watched until the water stilled again and then waved for his men to follow him. "If Aria isn't in my car I expect you to find her and drag her home by her hair." He directed to two of his men.

"Of course sir." They nodded in unison.

The water was too murky. I was a strong swimmer, strong at most things I did, but there was only so much I could do without my sight. We were only lucky Dante had only gone so far out as the water got deeper with every yard. My hand brushed against the rope, I wrapped it twice around my hand and began swimming back towards the surface. I could barely make out the sun at all from under.

I came up to the surface and pulled the rope until Katherine emerged as well. She was completely limp in my arms. "Katherine, Katherine, come on baby." I shook her slightly and then looked back to the dock. Son of a bitch. Getting up on the dock without assistance was unlikely. I would have to go all the way back to shore, it was time I wasn't sure we had.

I pulled the gag from her mouth and discarded it in the water.

I didn't allow myself moments to be exhausted when I made it back to shore, I put her on her back. "Katherine, baby, please." I patted her cheeks and then rolled her onto her side. To get the jacket off of her I had to first undo her hands. Had he used cuffs instead of rope I had no idea what I would have done. I took my pocket knife out and cut her hands free, then made quick of getting the jacket off.

I put my head to her chest. No. No. No.

I sat up quickly and tilted her head back and put my mouth on hers. Her lips were cold, I blew into her mouth, pulled back and pressed hard on her chest too many times to counted follower by what I hoped was the kiss of life.

Nothing.

"Come on Katherine." I muttered as I administered another series of compressions. "Come on baby."

This was taking too long. It wasn't working. Another round of breaths, why wouldn't she breathe on her own? Breath, breath, push, push, push.

"Please. Damn it Katherine." I muttered as I pushed on her chest again with perhaps too much force. "Please don't do this to me." I pleaded before putting my lips to hers again.

Several long minutes passed with no change. Short, hard, pushes followed by long hard breaths. "Katherine." I groaned desperately.

She wasn't under that long.

Vomit came, I wasn't expecting vomit, I'd never saved someone from drowning before and had expected more of a sudden glob of water and then for her to suddenly be sitting up coughing up water and all would be right in the world.

But she didn't spit out water, instead a foamy vomit came out of her mouth, I rolled her onto her side, wiped her clean with soaked sleeve of my jacket and brought my mouth to hers again.

When I put my ear back to her chest again I fell backwards onto my ass and put my face in my hands.

Breathing.

She was alive.



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Hey readers! So I often get messages and comments about how my books and updates brighten people's day, don't know if I've ever told you guys how updating and writing brighten MY day too. So that's the reason for updating today because I could use some day brightening and something to throw myself into. :D

Pretty sure I used this song somewhere in book two before as well but I hadn't come up with a chapter song yet and I wanted t update sooooo ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Now you know why so much water was in the trailer, don't forget to vote and comment!