Property of the Mafia

[20] Betrayal

Everything in front of me seemed to slow down into estranged, elongated movements as Leon slowly toppled over, falling to a knee as he clutched his arm in pain. I could only shake my head in disbelief.

Marcel.

Marcel had shot Leon.

It would have been a fatal shot if Alyssa hadn't screamed to alert him. Van, completely unfazed by his son getting shot, continued to stare me down with utter hate. Compassion did not exist within him. Marcel stood by Van's side with pride. He was devoted and loyal. He acted upon what he believed in. Van---at the advantage after years of interaction between the two---could abuse that privilege.

"That hurt... f*ck!" Leon hissed angrily as I helped him back up. Splatters of blood stained the surface of my white dress like crimson raindrops, leaving small, iridescent, flower-shaped patterns on the hem. I didn't even have the time to ask Leon if he was okay before he dove across the floor, pulling me along by the waist as Van shot again. The musky, smoky smell of gunpowder lingered in the air.

"Marcel, please! He's innocent!" I pleaded, not sure how I could prove myself. I knew it had to be difficult to distrust someone you had been dedicated to for so long, but... this was wrong! Leon and Marcel were almost like siblings; to pit them against each other was too cruel. Leon had already been through so much---after losing Damon, he had to deal with this?

"The traitor has returned. Kill him." Van ordered bluntly, his voice lifeless and full of malice. Marcel's jaw flinched slightly, alarmed by the brutality of Van's order. He was hesitant. Marcel's eyes narrowed with resolution, trying to revert to the merciless machine he was supposed to be.

"Understood. Men!" Marcel responded robotically, signalling to the others that had herded around us. Leon rushed to his feet, pulling me along as we tried to run for it. Alyssa tried to cover us, firing both of her machine guns simultaneously at the audience. Looks like she had learned a couple things from that last maniac....

Glancing back over my shoulder, I met Van's eyes for a second as we darted through the procession hall. A second was long enough for a barrage of shudders to ripple through my body.

He was smiling. 

It was like death itself was smiling at me.

His true nature was surfacing. 

Leon and I hid behind a stack of dowry and presents for a brief moment of rest. I tore the train of my dress sharply, longing for some agility to run. I ripped off a strip of the dress and wrapped it around Leon's arm to stop the blood.

"Thanks." He grinned adoringly, loading his gun with a few more bullets. He pushed back his dark hair as he flashed me a devious smile.  He handed me a handgun and a tazer. "You'll need these." 

"I can't take this." I protested, remembering the last incident at the host club. I was not sure if I had the courage to shoot again. My hands had already began to tremble. 

"Nonsense. It's either you, or them. And I'm not going to lose you. Not now. Not again. Not ever." He whispered wistfully. He paused for a moment before his lips met mine. He pulled back a for a moment, read my expression, and softly kissed me again. "Okay?" He kissed me on the edge of my nose.

"Okay. I'll try. For you." I promised, my cheeks heating up. It was almost starting to feel natural to be with him... to kiss him.

"Thanks, hon." He beamed, taking a shot into the audience before ducking back behind the boxes. "But those handcuffs are a problem... I'm not really into that." He added with a smirk.

"Hey! It's not like I asked for these." I retorted timidly. "They're treating me like a wild animal."

"Don't worry. Next time, you'll be mine." He chuckled. "And you'll be even more beautiful than you are today." He continued wryly, peeking around the edge of the boxes. He fired multiple times as the group finally grew closer during Alyssa's reloading time. We were doing better than I thought.