Thanks for all the support recently! I've been going through it lately. My anxiety is so high I've barely been able to leave the house and my depression has kicked into high gear. It's a fantastic mix. Hell, it's right up there with a Molotov cocktail when it comes to explosive tendencies. I'm sorry if my writing isn't as good as usual.

Anyway, we're nearing the end of TFB!

I don't plan out chapters, I just sit down and write what comes to mind with a general idea of where I want the story to go or what dialogue I want to add, so I have no idea how many more chapters there's going to be, but it won't be too many more.

Gemma's POV:

Mother dearest gulped loud enough for me to hear and I had to bite down on the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing madly at the sudden fear in her eyes. It was as if she'd just realized that her actions, her words, her choices weren't going to be swept under the rug and excused.

"You've gotten so big." Madre from hell smiled, fingers snapping against her thigh. I watched her hands for a second before looking over her face, over her badly dyed hair, and towards her eyes.

Holy shit. She was in withdrawal.

I didn't know what she'd been on or how long she'd been off of it, but she certainly wasn't on it at the moment. Her eyes were wide and glassy in a sort of desperate way, her skin sweaty and yellowing with need. My lips quirked into a smile when I locked eyes with Sinclair and I knew he'd noticed her state too.

"That happens when you haven't seen your kid in twelve years." Zion sneered down at her, looking utterly disgusted with her attempt to touch him. She jerked back, like she'd been struck, and her nervous smile fell into a wet, teary frown. I rolled my eyes and leaned further into Zion's side, where I stood slightly curled into his leg. She was going to start the spiel again and I really didn't want to hear it again.

"Sinclair, Zion!" Tobias's voice rang across the yard, loud and dominating. I lifted the body weight I'd been letting Zion hold and started to look around for my eldest brother. He was standing near the door of the house, wrapped in black with a fancy bullet-proof vest strapped to his chest.

"Tobi!" I shouted, racing towards him. He crouched and held his arms open. I plowed right into his chest, knocking the air from both of our lungs but neither of us cared. His arms were steel bands around my back, keeping me close to his chest. I breathed in his scent, my belly warming with love, and I locked my legs around his waist, my arms around his neck.

"Look at me, Gemma, look at me, baby," He ordered, using one arm to keep me locked to his chest and his free hand to tilt my face up to look him in the eyes. "Are you hurt? Did they touch you?" He panicked, only relaxing his devastating grip when I shook my head vehemently.

All my damage was mental and emotional, not physical.

Yeah, I was gonna need a ton of therapy after this. Scratch that, a ton more therapy.

"I had to do something really bad." I whispered in his shoulder, from where I'd stuffed my face. Tobias froze a bit but continued to walk around with me in his arms, rocking me side to side gently, as if I were a baby he was lulling to sleep. I nuzzled further into him when I heard steps behind me. I knew he wouldn't let anything happen to me so I didn't make a move to get down, but I was pretty sure Tobias shooed the person as I didn't hear anyone speak.

"It's okay, minha vida, you can tell me." (My life) He cooed, rubbing his hand up and down my spine. I let my muscles go lax, completely at ease in his arms.

"I killed a man." The words floated in the air between us. For a moment, I wondered if Tobias had heard my quiet whimper as he hadn't paused in his actions or responded in any way. I went to lift my head off his shoulder, to see the look in his eyes, but the hand that had been rubbing my back rose to nudge my head back into place. I went without much of a fight.

His hand stayed on my head, fingers carding through my hair. If I was a cat, and a little less anxious, I would've started purring.

"Did he deserve it?" Tobias's voice was soft, warm, nothing like his normal stern tone. I nodded against him, picking at a piece of lint on his black shirt to keep from focusing too hard on the topic at hand. He could probably guess that I was eleven levels past overwhelmed, because he let me continue picking and prodding at his clothes.

"He tried to touch me." The words broke past my lips before I could stop them. But they did stop Tobias. He stopped so suddenly, so abruptly that I hit my chin against his shoulder with enough force to make it ache.

Uh oh.

Tobias's composure was cracking.

*red sirens start to go off in the background*

"Who was this? Where is he?" Tobias was growling, so tense I would readily compare him to a marble statue. I considered not telling him, but I knew whatever he was planning was going to make him feel better. Anyway, the guy was already dead so what the heck.

"The guy who was stabbed in the neck in the courtyard. His belt is off and his pants are unzipped." I explained, each word feeling like acid burning my tongue. Tobias let go of me, lips turned into a dark smile.

"Go hang out with Zion and Sinclair for a moment, sweetheart. I'll be right back." He muttered, stalking back into the building before I could say anything back. I made my way back to Sinclair and Zion, neither of which looked amused by my flustered mother's terrible explanation of how she wasn't to blame for abandoning her children or damning one to a life of abuse.

"You're the one who didn't kill her." I told Sinclair with an amused grin. He rolled his eyes playfully at me. Mother choked on her words, staring at me wide-eyed in horror. I shot her a deadpan look before turning around, starting my search for my youngest brother who was no doubt still searching for anyone left alive.

I flinched when shots rang from the building. I counted ten. Guess Tobias found the pedophile. Mother whirled around to face the building, leaning over to retch her guts up a moment later.

The woman needed to pull herself together, seriously.

It's embarrassing when the twelve year old is in more control of her stomach than the fully grown woman.

"What the hell was that?" Zion asked, reaching for his gun. I rolled my lips into my mouth. I wasn't confident in my ability to explain it a second time.

"Tobias will explain later but he's not in trouble." I clarified as best I could. Zion nodded, trusting my words. Sinclair shot me a look but didn't press for answers and I continued my search for Damian. I spotted him across the yard and took a few steps towards him.

He saw me a minute or two later, waving wildly with the hand not clutching a dagger as long as my forearm. I waved back, preparing myself for whatever he was about to yell across the yard.

"Gemma! I love you!" He screamed, laughing when I shook my head at his antics. Of course the first time he said that he'd be waving a knife in the air, covered in blood, and standing not two feet away from a pile of dead bodies. If that didn't explain who my brother was, loving me in the midst of his latest murder spree, I wasn't sure what would.

"I love you too!" I shouted back, cupping my hands around my mouth for added volume.

A weight started to lift from my shoulders. I had all of my brothers back, the people who'd taken me were either dead or being dealt with, and I was virtually unharmed.

There was going to be serious fallout later on down the road. I was sure that I'd need copious amounts of mafia therapy after this, that I'd have nightmares for months, but at that moment in time, I was at peace. Weird considering my surroundings, but true.

Tobias walked out of the house, letting his soldiers behind him drag one defeated mob boss through the door. Daniel Garcia was drug from the house, hands held behind his back by a soldier who was conversing with one of his buddies. It looked like he'd been shot in the leg, blood smeared on his clothes. It also looked like someone had tried to bash his face in. I wouldn't have been shocked if that was the case. He saw my mother standing with my brothers, playing the victim, and his ears went red, a vein on his forehead pulsing with rage.

Did this guy expect her to be ride-or-die?

This was the woman who killed her husband, ditched her kids, and threw her entire identity away solely for money and drugs.

My smug smile fell when I saw Daniel's elbow smash into the gut of the guy holding his hands. Daniel lunged for the guy's gun and was pointing it at Tobias before I could blink.

"Tobias, duck!" I shrieked before I could even think.

Tobias dropped to his stomach right as Daniel pulled the trigger. Four more guns went off, each bullet connecting with some part of Daniel Garcia, who fell to the ground dead.

Half a sigh of relief had left my mouth when I noticed the burning pain in my chest. My knees went weak all of a sudden and I collapsed onto the ground, hitting the ground with a thud I could hear but not feel. All I could feel was my heartbeat, pounding so hard I could feel it in my face.

There was screaming, the sounds of people running, and then hands. So many hands touching me, pressing down on the area of my chest I could no longer feel.

When I screamed at Tobias to duck, I hadn't realized I was standing directly behind him. The bullet may have missed my eldest brother, but it hadn't missed me.

Oh.

"You're gonna be okay, Gem. You hear me?" Zion's voice was shaking. I'd never heard him sound like that before. I didn't like it.

"Gemma, keep your eyes open. You've just gotta keep your eyes open." That was Damian. When had he gotten over here?

Warm water hit my face, one drop at a time.

Crying. Someone above me was crying.

"I'm so sorry." Tobias. Tobias was the one crying. But... Why?

Why was Tobias crying?

And why was I so sleepy?

I couldn't remember anymore. I just needed a nap, then we could talk about whatever it was upsetting him. But only after a quick nap.

"Gemma?"

Sinclair.

Why did he sound so sad? It probably wasn't important.

And then everything faded to black.