XXV

The moment I enter the cafe, I fixate on Luca Martínez seated at a round table, surrounded by thick cigarette smoke and a few goons.

"Milana." Luca calls out, acknowledging my presence. "Luca." I reply, taking a large step towards him. The smoke from his cigarette engulfs me and I inhale the strong scent. "Have a seat." He proposes, looking down at an empty seat. I motion to the dock workers to stay behind, and take a seat in front of Luca.

"I've been expecting you." He announces, taking a drag of his cigarette then passing it to the goon seated besides him. "My apologies. I had to deal with a - minor convenience." I blurt out. He rests his elbow on the table to keep his head upright and narrows his eyes at me slightly. "Tell me, hows your Uncle Tony?" He questions. I fold one leg over the other and sit up confidently. "How would I know?" I reply, shrugging my shoulders.

Luca falls silent for a long moment, still resting his face on his hand. "Tell me what you want to get the hell out of my city." I speak, fanning the thick cloud of cigarette smoke away from me with a frown. "You don't seem to understand your position. You're not making it out alive."

I turn my head towards all of the dockworkers, all heavily armed and on alert. "You can't hope to defeat us all, not here, not out there." I reply with a smirk. "I will. Because I have help." He replies in an instant.

I hear his footsteps behind him and I know who it is before I turn my head. "Nico." I call out.

"Marco didn't kill you, did he. That was all a lie." I add quickly.

How could I be so fucking stupid. Marco didn't kill him, he was working alongside him.

I jump to my feet and stare in confusion at his expressionless figure and the gun in his hand. "Hello, Milana." He menacingly greets. I stare into his eyes and see pain flickering there. "You fucking traitor! I let you live and you turn against me?" I snap at him, balling my fists. "You're the one who turned against this family by going after your uncle!" He snaps back, clutching the gun excessively tightly in his hand.

"That deranged bastard killed my father!" I yell, the angry words falling out of my mouth without hesitation. My finger points over and over in his face. "Enough. Finish her already, Nico. Prove your allegiance to me." Luca instructs.

Coldness settles on Nico's face and his arm begins raising slowly. I freeze at the sight of the barrel pointed at my heart. From the corner of my eye, I notice Luca standing up from his chair, watching in satisfaction.

"Any last words, Milana." Luca asks.

"Burn in hell." I spit. One of the dock workers standing in front of me widens his eyes but he is too far to do anything. I think about my gun, but I know it's already too late. I close my eyes in front of Nico's gun and wait.

Suddenly, someone bumps into me with brute force, knocking me down just as the gun goes off. "What the hell?!" Luca calls out from above me. Horrified, I stare at the man who's just fallen next to me, lying halfway between life and death. One of the dock workers lies in pain, a bullet to his left arm.

Seeing this, the rest of the dockworkers start fighting Luca's goons and I throw myself over the injured man, protecting him from the sea of bullets. "Don't move." I whisper.

Seconds feel like minutes, yet I still don't move. Finally, the room goes quiet. I'm aware of the victims around me but my eyes fall on Nico, who is lying with a bullet wound to the stomach.

Pure rage drives through me when I aim my gun at Luca, who's panting hard and struggling to stand. "This is your fault." I confront.

"Hasn't their been enough blood shed tonight? Look around you, Milana." He says, darting his eyes to each of the mutilated bodies on the floor. My eyes don't follow, they stay set on his expressionless face. His cold, empty eyes staring back at me.

I wonder if he will ever have any remorse for his actions. Was he just born to be bad?

"Your men are dead. By the roar of the city, I'd say we're victorious out there as well." I spit.

"You don't know that" He assumes, slumping down against the wall. "Are you willing to risk it?" I ask. Luca purses his lips together, falling deep in thought for a minute. Finally, he speaks.

"You will let me and all the surviving members of my family leave unscratched." He demands.

"Will I?" I question, shaking my head vigorously. His face grows red and I laugh at him, he lunges towards me but I swiftly dodge him. "You better listen to me, bitch!" He says with an extremely demanding voice. "Stay the hell away from this city." I order, pointing my finger in his face. He lets out a sigh and reluctantly nods, extending his arm for a handshake. I ignore his arm, outstretched to me, and slam the gun down besides me. I wait until he and his men leave through the back room, then I kneel against the wall, checking for any survivors.

I notice one man. His breathing is rough and jagged but he is moving slightly. With all the strength in his body, he lists himself up and opens his mouth to speak.

"You know he'll be back for blood, Milana." The injured man says, worry flooding into his eyes. "Then I'll kill him." I reply.

Shit. Marco. I need to call for a doctor.

I ring for an ambulance and it pulls up a few lengthy minutes later. A man in uniform loads Marco into the back and I get inside to. Together, we drive off to the hospital.

***

Three days later, Marco's still recovering in my bedroom. I take a seat on the edge of the bed, watching him carefully.

"How are you feeling?" I ask.

"Fine. Have you killed Nico yet?" He asks. I purse my lips before shaking my head and leaning against the wall. "No, I haven't. He's recovering from his gunshot wound." I reply a few seconds later.

"I hope he's in the dungeons." He adds, throwing the covers off of him and standing up. "No, but he's heavily guarded. And don't give me that look. He's still my godfather." I reply, rolling my eyes at him.

"Do you really think you can grow to trust him again?" He asks, closing the little amount of space between us. "No. I know better than to trust a man like that." I reply, thinking about all of the things Nico has done to betray me.

He stands still for a moment before his face twists into a grimace of pain once again. "Sit down." I order. He obeys without putting up a usual fight and positions himself in the middle of the bed. "So what do we do now?" He asks.

"We'll probably end up killing each other." I say, half as a joke.

"They won't be gone for long, Marco." I quickly add. His face shows he's taken aback by how serious my tone is. "I know. How are our families getting along?" He questions.

"Pretty good, actually. There are a few fights, of course, but it's almost like watching siblings fight." I explain, watching as he nods carefully to each of my words. "And what do you want, bella?" He asks powerfully. I tilt my head to the side at him. "What do you mean?" I question back. "Do you want to go our separate ways?" He asks.

I look at him closely, trying to read his intensions. He goes very still, waiting for my response. "You and I couldn't go our separate ways even if we wanted to. Life has a way of throwing us back into each others path." I explain convincingly.

He sits up and looks me in the eyes with strange intensity. "It seems that way." He agrees.

***

Another few hours have passed and I am now at Marco's penthouse. We have barely been separate due to all the conflict that has gone down. "Do you think we should be showing our faces at our headquarters anytime soon?" He asks.

"Why?" I question.

He comes closer to the bed i'm lazily sprawled over, and I fix him with a hungry challenge in his eyes. I extend my arm and pull him by the collar until he falls on top of me on the bed. "Let me take you out tonight." He proposes, squinting his eyes slightly.

"Thought you hated me?" I reply bluntly, smiling cockily. "My hate for you has nothing to do with it." He answers.

I stand up on my elbow to reach him and bite down on my lip gently. "Fine then. As you wish." I reply.

-------------------------------------------------------