Five's A Crowd

sixty two

Charlie's Point Of View:

I stand clueless at the sight of my little sister in front of me. I just rescued her, and my father from a cell at the bottom of a house. My father!

The same father who everyone believed was dead for over a decade. But no, he's very much alive and was kept with Hazel.

He took my weapon, and ran straight into the gunfight, without considering his mental and physical health first.

I roll my eyes at his antics. Dad was always a selfless, and brave person, but I guess that after being trapped for several years under a house by himself, he might want to do something a little bit dangerous.

I suddenly feel rage erupt in my bones at the thought of this house owner hurting my little sister. On the way in, we discovered that Fletcher and Sierra also live here, because they're all related. That's fine, just more people for us to kill.

I can't believe that we never connected the dots. It seems so obvious now, that they are all siblings, and I want to bang my head against a wall for being so stupid.

Although they don't look too similar, they all have the same background, and have hurt Hazel in some way throughout the year.

I look at my sister up and down to make sure that everything about her is okay. From what I can see, there are no visible marks against her skin. There's no blood anywhere, either, which greatly reassures me. 

She just looks rattled up, and a little traumatized. I have to thank Noah for that. I don't know what we would have done if we found Hazel with injuries, or something worse.

Like if he violated her body, or touched her in ways that he shouldn't.

"We'll just wait down here for a second, okay?" I inform my sister, and without hesitation, she nods her head, listening intently to the loud sound of gunshots, above us.

I have to sigh in frustration. I don't know why the boys decided to start shooting everyone, but if it works for them, and none of us die, then I guess that it's all okay.

"Is Adrian alright?" Hazel quietly questions, sounding sheepish. When I look closely at her face, I can see the red tint that has risen on her cheeks.

She's embarrassed.

"He's completely fine. A little sad without you, but very helpful," I explain. "Without him, we wouldn't have been able to find you."

At my words, her head flies up to face me, not completely believing what I'm telling her.

"Don't tell me..." Hazel trails off in anger, stomping her feet childishly, against the ground. "Please tell me he didn't."

I pass her a guilty expression, but answer her question, never the less. "He did. Adrian had to, though. I doubt that he would have done it, if we didn't force him to open his mouth."

Despite my truthful face, and soft smile, I'm lying.

And the worst thing about it, is that I think Hazel knows I'm lying. Her eyes dramatically narrow, as she hesitantly scans my face, however she doesn't push the matter, and instead decides to nod.

I let out a breath I didn't even know I was holding, and flash my sister a large smile this time.

"Let's head upstairs now, I think that the sounds have dyed off a lot," I suggest gently, taking Hazel's hand, and leading her through the door I had to kick down a couple of minutes ago.

You can tell that our father was here, due to the footprints that lie in the dust pile, just ahead of us.

He never was a very neat man.

I can't remember my father a lot. I was very young when he was kidnapped, the same with my mother, but I remember some of their main traits.

Mum was kind, selfless, and caring. While father was ruthless, brave, and loved to get himself into danger.

I remember when I was young, Matteo would tell me stories about how our father never did anything to put us at risk, despite being attracted to a dangerous lifestyle. 

I use my body as a shield, as Hazel and I make our way towards the sound of gunfire. I hope that by now, most of the oppositions are dead, while the three main captors have been taken, so we can all have some fun.

Even though I promised Hazel that she can kill Noah, I'm not sure that anyone will let her go through with it.

Our hands have all been tainted with blood, but hers hasn't. She's still what we consider pure, and to be honest, I want her to stay that way.

Chase and I were too young when we lost our purity. It felt like our childhood had been ripped away from us, and I refuse to have Hazel experience the same thing.

She's different than us. She's younger, and she didn't grow up in the same environment. I was eight years old when I found out what occupation I was destined to, and over time I learnt to appreciate it, but I'd much rather go to school everyday not knowing that my education was pointless.

We don't need school. The mafia is our life. Our family was generous enough to let us attend school, and graduate, because apparently, my father, and his father were not lucky enough.

I refuse to let Hazel follow down the same path as my brothers and I. 

I promise that I will protect her no matter what, even if it cost me.

A/N: Hey guys, thank you so much for reading. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE VOTE, COMMENT, AND READ WHEN I GET A CHAPTER OUT TOMORROW. I have a plan for where this book is going, I just need a little support. Also, thank you very much for 50100 reads and over 2k votes- 2040. (I know that it's not a lot,) but to me, it means the world. Keep slaying in life, and I will see you tomorrow night- or day depending on where you live- when I update tomorrow. Bye <3 

P.S. I have an early update for you guys, just like yesterday, because I have to go to the cricket tonight, and wanted to give you all a chapter. It's unedited as usual, but I haven't used Grammarly or anything, so there will be even more mistakes than usual... Sorry for that. 

P.S.S. I can't believe that we just hit 50 thousand reads (10/12/2022). I never thought that this book would go far. Thank you so much for everyone who has gotten this far. My life right now is literally revolving around this book, so to know that people are enjoying it, makes my day. Don't be afraid to comment, even if I don't reply to your words just know that I read them all, and smile as bright as some of these characters. Thank you all again for making my dream come true. Stay tuned for a new chapter tomorrow, and keep reading <3