I'm fucked.

My ribs scream as they take another blow, freezing my brain for a moment before setting my body on fire. I don't even bother spitting the blood out of my mouth as I collapse to the floor, my shoulder smacking against the dark wood.

"Come on, haven't you learned anything all these years?" Bo's voice crack every single rational part in me, sending more shivers to my spine then his fists. He doesn't let me time to reply, not that I would've, and connects his foot to my chin, flying my head back with a loud thud.

I think it's been two days, maybe three. Bo, Elsher, doesn't waste any chance he has to come into this room and remind me the power he has over me. I can't do anything, and he knows it. He knows how my body freeze with just one look from him, with a fucking thought about him.

So, I have to take every single punch, every single kick he sends my way, just because my traitorous body can't function around him. I'm the same eleven year old girl from the orphanage, and I can't do anything about it.

So, yeah. I'd say I'm fucked.

I cough against the pain in my chest, wheezing as I try to push myself up with my palms. My vision is blurry, and I can't tell if it's sweat I feel on my forehead or if it's blood. This is just pathetic

"Still waiting on your brothers to show up, aren't you?" he chuckles, taking a few steps away as he rolls his sleeves up. My knees wobble, but I still push back to lean against the wall.

The fucking wall is my only source of support right now.

"They will." I whisper, trying to convince myself. Maybe if I'll say it enough, I'll actually believe it. By the growing smile on his face, I realize he sees right through me.

"Isn't that cute?" he says, wiping his bloody knuckles with his shirt. "Two days apart and you're already starting to doubt them. Now that's..."

I take my eyes off of him the second they collide with mine. They'll be here. They'll be here. They have to, or else I'm fucking dead.

My brain hurts more than anything as I fight back the dread crawling it's way through my body, trying to think of a way to get out of here on my own. Why the hell aren't they here?

I'm shaken from my thoughts as another one of his fists finds my jaw, reminding me that no matter what mafia they claim my brothers are, right now Elsher holds the power. And he loves it.

I think a few hours pass when the door opens again, breaking the deadly silence in this room. I'm lying on my back, looking at the ceiling while clutching my stomach tightly.

Elsher left a while ago, but all I can seem to do is think about him. Why am I so undeniably weak around him? Why every single one of the walls I have built around myself crumble when those green eyes find mine? Why can't I hold my ground and fight?

"I brought you water." Thiago's voice doesn't do anything to me as a stray tear rolls from the corner of my eye, making a wet trail down my cheek.

I don't speak, I don't move, I don't fucking breath. I can't. Everything hurts, and I'm not so sure anymore it's the physical pain that's the worst.

"Olive... You have to eat something." he sighs, no doubt looking at the sandwich he brought me this morning. And yesterday.

His tone makes me want to strangle him. He doesn't get to tell me to eat. He doesn't get to pretend like he actually cares if I'll end up starving. Because if he really cared, he would have done something to stop his coworker from beating the shit out of me.

I say nothing.

"I know the last thing you want is talk to me, and I won't force you to, but you do have to at least drink." Thiago continues, taking a few steps towards me.

I look up at him, hatred shimmering in my eyes. "Fuck you."

My voice comes out raspy, proving his point. But I couldn't give a shit. Lying on the cold floor, as piteous as it is, is the only thing I'm capable of doing. My stomach is in every possible shade of blue-purple-black, just like my left shoulder. I can't even imagine how my face looks like.

Thiago doesn't flinch by my tone. His eyes dart to my hands. "You shouldn't hold your side like that, it'll only make it worse."

"Then keep Elsher out of here." I manage to grit out. I know he's right, but why would I try to make it feel better if the one who did this will just do it again, make it worse by himself? This is straight up pointless.

He crouches down, his hands resting on his knees as he looks at me for a moment, searching my face. I don't know what he finds, but whatever it is, I wish he hadn't. He sits down. "I can't do that."

I don't answer. Of course he can't keep him away. He's the reason I'm here, he's the one who planned all of this. Just because he brings me food doesn't make him friendly. I'm not stupid enough to think that, and at least he doesn't treat me like one by pretending to be.

"I wish they had listened to me." he sighs, his eyes settling on my face. His stare makes my splitted brow pulse. "It wasn't supposed to be like this."

It goes against everything my body tells me, but I push myself up. I gasp as pain shoots through my veins, but it's less painful than being caged by his eyes. I don't want to listen to him.

"This is your doing." I mutter, pushing myself back against the wall. It isn't much, but those few feet between us make my mind relax. I don't trust him more than I trust Elsher. "Even if it's not your fist."

"Your nose is bleeding." God, I almost laugh from his words. My entire face bleeds. I don't look at him as I take the crumpled pieces of toilet paper he offers me.

"Why are you still here?" I press it to my nose. I fight the urge to hiss in pain, biting the inside of my cheek instead.

"If I'm here, Elsher will wait." is his response. It's as simple as that, and it makes me narrow my eyes. Nothing is that simple.

"You know what?" I shake my head, dropping my hands to my lap. "Humor me. Why are you acting like that?"

"Unlike some people here," he starts slowly, his fingers running through his hair. "I don't enjoy seeing you like that. And like I've said before, it was never the plan."

"Yes, you did say that." I say, my voice breaking as I'm reminded of how dry my throat really is. I contemplate reaching for the bottle of water he brought with him, but decide against it. I'll drink when he'll leave. "What was your plan?"

"Trade you for a truce." he says, watching carefully for my reaction. I don't give him one. "Make them stop the hunt for Viktor and the rest of his guys."

"And then you found out peace doesn't cut it for a man who kidnaps a two year old?" I ask, bitter sarcasm dripping from my voice.

He doesn't reply, but the way he diverts his eyes from mine is enough. He's just as powerless as I am. How ironic.

"Tell me more about my brothers." the words are out of my mouth before I manage to stop them. What he said to me didn't leave my mind for a second, and I want to know more. I need to. "About what they do."

"Drink first." he nods, leaning back to grasp the bottle before rolling it to me. "You sound like a walking desert."

My body is too weak to stop my lips from tugging upwards, even if it's only for a moment. I miss Theo's unfunny jokes. God, I can't even think about what he and Ares are feeling. If I were them, I'd blow this entire country to find them. I really hope they will.

"Alessandro is the head." Thiago says as I pull the bottle to my lips, embracing the feeling of cold water. "Amadeo is his right hand."

Hearing their names bring just as much pain, and my stomach turn. They'll be here, they have to. They care about me.

"And Riccardo?" I ask quietly.

"He's..." Thiago starts, searching for words as he rubs his chin. "I don't know. He's like a really long tail."

I smile, looking down to my lap. Sounds like Riccardo. "Why does he have your photo in his room?" I ask hesitantly, my eyes jumping back to his face.

He sighs, his open palms meeting the floor behind him as he leans back. "Because he's an assassin."

"What?" my eyebrows rise. "Are you serious?" My mind goes through my memories, trying to find... Something.

"He wants me dead, and to be honest..." a smile finds its way to his face, even though it's not a happy one. "I don't blame him."

"Help me escape." I say, my voice shows my desperation. "And he won't kill you. I promise."

"I wish I could." he shakes his head, looking at what I'm sure is a splitted cheek. The last string of hope I have is taken away by his words, and my shoulders slump.

"You keep saying that." I rest my head on the wall, my face blank. "But you can. You just don't."

We stay quiet for a while.

And then there's shouting from outside.

My head snaps to the door, trying to understand the muffled sounds. "What's going on?" I ask Thiago the second he rises to his feet. He glances at me, his jaw clenched.

"What I warned them about."

"What?" I whisper, pushing myself up with one palm on the wall. The pain in my ribs makes my vision blur, and a second before I fall down, Thiago's hands catch me.

"You need to lie down if you don't want to pass out." he says as the voices from outside get louder. I try to shake him off me, but I can't. Black spots dance around my vision as he guides me down to the floor, putting me in the same position I was before he came in.

"What's going on?" I try to push myself up again, but he stops me with a hand on my good shoulder. I glare at him.

"I guess I'll have to go and find out." he says, only taking his hand off of me when he's sure I'm not about to get up. "Don't do something that'll get you killed, Olive."

"Like being here?" I counter, focusing on the drumming pulse in my stomach. What is going on out there?

"Like trying to leave on your own." he shoots me a serious look, and I furrow my eyebrows. He already made it pretty damn clear I can't do it, not with those guards.

"I'll just stay here, staring at the fucking ceiling." I grumble, my hands feeling like bricks as they crash onto the floor. At least it's not as painful as trying to stand up.

"Maybe try looking down while you're at it, will you?" he says, halting momentarily by the door. The crease between my eyebrows deepens and I raise my head, but by the time my vision focuses again, he's gone.

What?

Before I can even think about his last words, the voices from outside get a lot louder. I can't help but think it's because of Thiago's appearance. I try to listen to them, hoping to hear something, anything, that will tell me if I should get my hopes up.

What could Thiago possibly warned them about, if not for my brothers' arrival? But again, the last thing I want to do is get my hopes up for something like... I don't know, a wild, loud disagreement.

Fuck, I need to get closer to the door.

"Let's do this." I whisper out loud, trying to hype myself up before doing the most stupid thing I've done in a while. I roll over to my side, pressing my palms and my good shoulder to the floor. My knees are almost collapsing under my weight, but I don't let them.

I groan as my head spins the moment I push myself up, losing my balance and crashing to the wall. Come on.

Taking the remaining steps to the door takes more time than I'd like to admit, but I eventually get there. There are no cracks I can look through, so I press my ear to it.

I almost yell in frustration when I can't put the sounds I'm hearing into words, but just before my feet give up to the pain, I hear the one thing that makes the hair on the back on my neck rise.

I can't understand the full sentence, nor am I capable of focusing on it, because I'm one hundred percent positive I've just heard someone say my last name.

Our last name.

They're talking about my brothers. Oh my God, they're actually here.

The shouting from outside is less loud then my own heartbeat, consuming my every thought. They're here. They didn't give up on me.

My eyes burn in realization this might be over soon, and the rush of adrenaline makes me forget the pain in my ribs. I stand by the door half frozen, my eyes wide as I wait.

Sounds of boots clashing onto the floor take over, the rattling of guns against the straps follow suit. I take another step until I'm pressed to door, my heart stops for a moment. Please don't get shot.

A few minutes pass in what feels like a heartbeat, and suddenly I can't hear anything. My eyes flare as I jerk my head back, panic settling right in the middle of my chest.

"No, wait." I whisper to myself, or maybe to them. This is not... No. They were supposed to come here, the noise was supposed to get louder. They were supposed to come my direction.

"I'm here." I say, fear cursing through my veins. My hand automatically reaches for the door handle, trying desperately to twist it. "I'm here!"

My palms crash onto the door in a frantic rhythm, and my throat burns with every yell I let out.

They were supposed to come here.

"Alessandro!" I scream, my hair flies onto my face whenever I connect my hand to the door. "I'm here!" please, please hear me.

Tears I can't control run down my face, and my screams only get louder when I hear someone right across the door.

I stumble back as they fumble with the lock, holding my breath. Thank God.

And then the door gets open.

My heart doesn't get its chance to break when a fist lands right on the side of my face, sending me down. My entire vision goes black for a second, and when I manage to open my eyes again, Elsher is right above me.

"You need to shut the fuck up." he hisses, grabbing the collar of my shirt and pulling me closer to his face. My head feels like a giant brick, and my mind somehow still manages to freeze.

"He should've just killed you." he grits out, his fist curling with his words. My head snaps back, blood filling my mouth. He stands up as I cough uncontrollably, running his hand through his hair aggressively.

"Maybe it's time for someone to actually do it." he rasps, turning around and kicking me right where he knows he should. I roll back, gasping and coughing simultaneously. I can't breathe.

He's going to kill me.

I fight every single part in me that tells me to stay down, and push myself up to my feet. It feels ten times worse then before, but this time I fucking have to.

"That's just sad." Elsher comments as he watches me struggle to stay up, blood dripping down my nose.

My eyes find the door behind him, and my heart skips a bit with the realization he didn't lock it.

Yeah, his plan is to make me too dead to walk through it.

I plant my feet to the ground, chanting in my head how this can't be how it ends. I've escaped him once, I can do it again. I don't have another option.

Elsher looks at me like I'm nothing but an inconvenience to him. "You can't possibly think you'll get out. You're not that stupid."

"Fuck. You." I bite the words out, every sound I make sends a fresh jolts of pain through my body. The sheer terror I feel whenever I look at him drives me even more to get away.

A smirk slowly appear on his face, and I can't take my eyes off of him as pure malice shimmers in his. Shit.

He takes the remaining steps until he's right in front of me, and throws another fist at me face. My body works on its own and against the pain as I move to the side. Everything seems to be in slow motion as my crashed shoulder slams into him. I slide right past him, but my body can only take so much. I'm too slow, and Elsher's patience finally ran out.

A well aimed kick to the back of my knee drives me to the ground, my palms saving my head from a certain concussion. I groan, trying to get up again. The same chair Thiago sat on yesterday is right in front of me, and I stretch my hand out, trying to get a hold of it to push myself up. It's a fucking inch too far.

This is just rock bottom.

"You're stubborn, I'll give you that." Elsher's voice fills my ears, and as much as I want to crawl to the corner and ease the growing pain in the back of my leg, I fucking have to get out of here. "Stay-" a kick to my stomach. "Down."

"Shit." I cough, rolling to my back. I'll never take functioning ribs for granted again. If there even will be an again. Elsher appears in my view again, those green eyes glowing with what I can dreadfully identify as satisfaction. He loves watching me in pain, and even though I was able to keep my facade in those last two days, I don't bother doing it now. Nor that I can. This is it- those moments are everything I have to determine whether I'm going to die in his hands or not, and that is more terrifying than Elsher himself.

So, when he lowers himself to a crouch in front of me, I punch him. Hard.

I've never had a good hook, and as he stumbles back to his feet while holding his nose, I hiss. If I get out of here, I need to work on my punch.

"Son of a-" he mutters, tilting his head up. His nose didn't break, not even close to it, but at least I hurt him. This thought makes my heart leap.

I use those precious seconds to reach for the chair again, and this time, I actually manage to grab it. And just as I pull myself up to my knees, just before I climb up, a hot, blinding pain in my leg overtakes everything.

I cry out as I fall back down, and this time, I can't bring my hands to shield me from the hit. The unforgettable sound of bone shuttering tries to lull me into the sweet nothing of unconsciousness, and I desperately want to let it.

"I wanted to give you a quick death." he hovers above me, three of him are, and this time I don't try to get away. All I try to do is breathe and stop myself from screaming.

When he puts his boot on my now broken leg, I fail to do those two things.

"But after that little trick you just pulled..." he chuckles, his fingers skimming over his red nose. "Your dear brothers are not going to recognize your dead body."

I close my eyes shut, praying for whatever out there to lead someone here. I can't die, not like this. Not by him.

But when I open them and see him still there, my chest tightens. I'm as good dead.

My head sinks to the floor, and I tilt it towards the wall in defeat. I was weak as a child, and I'm somehow even weaker as a-

Holy shit.

Holy fucking shit.

My eyes are as wide as they can get as I look at the chair, or more specifically, at what's under its legs. What the actual fuck. How?

"Imagine what their reaction will be." I snap my head back to him, adrenaline and shock mixing in lethal shots that run through my spine. "They were so close to retrieving you."

It's all gone in a blur. Before he can even understand what's going on, I stretch my dislocated shoulder and hold my hand out, immediately locking my fingers around the cold metal of the hidden gun.

I cock it in less than a second, pointing it right at him.

Disbelief, or confusion, hits his face as he takes a step back, looking at me with too many emotions I can't seem to understand. But rage, that I can clearly see.

"All the way back." my voice is not above a whisper, but it carries every bit of pain and hatred I'm feeling. Elsher stays rooted, not doubt running every possible scenario in his head.

My good hand is holding the gun, making sure it's aimed to his face while I use the back of the chair to stand up. My left leg is completely shuttered, and I keep it in the air.

My body wants to give up, but I can't. "I mean it!" I shout, my hand shakes. "Walk. Away."

His lips tilt upwards as he holds his arms up in surrender. His smirk sends shivers through my body, and even though I'm the one holding a fucking gun, I can't help the trembling his gaze cause me.

This is the man who terrorized me for years, the man who hunts my thoughts, my dreams. The man I've spent most of my life dreading of.

And by the way he remains in his place, he seems like he knows the power he holds against me.

"Don't." I hiss, my knuckles turning white around the trigger. "You lost."

"Did I?" his smile only gets bigger, but he doesn't make any moves towards me. Just eyeing the gun.

"I have a gun pointed to your face." I say, my heart beating fast and loud in my ears. "I think that's count as losing."

"The gun was a twist I did not expect, that's for sure." he furrows his eyebrows, his expression puzzled before bringing his eyes back to me. "But the ending is pretty clear."

My throat dries as I glance to the door. "Is it?"

"You're not going to shoot me, Olive." I snap my head back to him. My chest rising and falling quickly, every breath crashes my ribs even more. But his words are like a knife to my heart.

"Move back." I gulp, tightening my hold on the gun. If I want to get to the door, he needs to walk away. He has to.

"I know you." he chuckles, green, blazing eyes meet mine. I focus on everything but them. "You are incapable of fighting me."

"I punched you." I almost yell, using both hands to hold the gun while my back is pressed against the wall. I punched him. I can fight. I can shoot him. I just need to ignore the way I want to run away, to shield myself from him. Fuck, I have a gun. I have the upper hand.

"Than why am I still alive?"

I try to control my breathing, try to stop my hands from shaking and just press the Goddamn trigger. But the undeniable fear of the hidden truth in his words are enough to make my mind shut down.

Why can't I fucking kill the man who abused me?

"I made you." he whispers, taking a small step towards me. I want to fire the gun, I want to send him flying across the room, I want to stare at his dead eyes. But all I manage to do is take a step away.

His smile remains at its place. "And it's time I finish you."

Before I manage to blink, he drops his arms to his side and lift his shirt, pulling a replica of the gun I'm holding.

All air in my lungs freeze as I stare at the barrel. Both of us pointing the guns, and whatever happens in the next second can easily end me, or free me.

I'm fucked.

My head screams at me to pull the trigger, and I look up frantically. This is it.

"Goodbye, Olive."

Boom.

My eyes flare as I gasp, the gun in my hand feels like fire, just like the rest of my body. Green eyes hold mine in what feels like a trance, and I try to stay up. The pain is unbearable, but I have to stay up.

Elsher takes a step back, then another one. His own eyes widen when he looks down, a pool of red covering his shirt. The gun drops from his hand before he goes limp, and he crashes to the floor.

Oh my God.

I whip my head towards the door, feeling the ache in the middle of my chest intensifying. It feels like I can breathe again, but at the same time, I feel like I can't breathe at all.

Not when every part of me is focused on Riccardo and the gun in his hand, pointed to where Elsher stood just a second ago.

His eyes snap to mine, and the relief I see in them makes everything hurt more. "Olive." he whispers, scanning my entire body for injuries. There's too much of those.

He lowers his smoking gun and races to me, kneeling in front of me. He looks like shit. His hair is a complete mess, the bags under his wide eyes are the darkest I've ever seen them, but the worry and fear on his face are the worst.

"My leg is broken." is all I manage to say. My brain is too foggy, and the adrenaline fading from my system makes the pain I'm feeling double itself. "I think I'm going to pass out."

"Let's take you out of here." he nods, his voice tight with emotions I'm too tired to figure out. He carefully swings my arm over his shoulder, crouching down as he leads us to the door.

My eyes move on their own, finding Elsher's. The green in them looks the same, like Riccardo didn't take the life out of them. I hold his shoulder tighter.

"I'm so sorry." he whispers, stopping us the second we walk through the door. When he presses my head to his chest, holding me carefully while trying not to hurt me, it hits me.

He's here.

I let tears roll down my eyes, my hand clutching his shirt. "Thank you." I cry, trying to block the pain and focus on him, on his presence. "Thank you for not leaving me here."

"Never." he pulls back, cupping my cheeks. His dark eyes washing my body with relief, with home. "I love you, Olive. Fuck, I love you."

Before I can say anything, loud footsteps make me snap my head to my right. The corridor is unfamiliar, but those who walk towards us definitely aren't.

My heart jumps as Amadeo and Alessandro come to view, both immediately finding my eyes.

It takes a second before they scan my body just like Riccardo did, and while Amadeo rushes to me, Alessandro stays rooted in his spot.

My gaze snaps down, taking in the person he has in a tight hold. Thiago.

Alessandro presses a gun to his temple, and a sound that resembles a growl escapes his mouth as he tears his eyes away from me. "You're going to wish you were fucking dead."

Amadeo reaches to my side, engulfing me in the hug I'd dreamed of. But I can't take my eyes off of Thiago.

He looks at me silently, his nose bleeding. He immediately finds the gun I'm holding tightly in my hand, and I swear, I can see a ghost of a smile on his face before Amadeo pulls back to look at my leg.

"I'll just stay here, staring at the fucking ceiling."

"Maybe try looking down while you're at it, will you?"

It was him. It was Thiago who hid the gun under the chair.

"We need to take her to see a doctor, now."

But how? When-

When he took the ropes away yesterday. Was it there this whole time?

I can't look at him again before Amadeo lifts me up, my head resting on his shoulder. Everything hurts, and I just want to close my eyes. I can't think about anything other than the pain. I'm alive. Elsher didn't kill me, and I'm alive.

Even after I let darkness surrender me, the ache in my chest doesn't leave. Riccardo's voice reminds me one simple truth, one that scares me beyond belief.

I had a gun, but I didn't shoot him. I couldn't. And if Riccardo hadn't showed up, I'd be dead.

Chapter 45!!

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